Teacher Salary in Mississippi 2026,
$49,790 Median | BLS Data by City

A median $49,790 a year per BLS OEWS May 2025, with the middle half between $47,660 and $59,490 and a full range of $46,020 to $62,990. That is 22.2% below the $63,970 national median, and the entire published band sits below the national figure. The wage row covers elementary school teachers except special education.

Gulfport-Biloxi at $50,820, ahead of Jackson at $50,240 and Hattiesburg at $47,650. Only three metros are published for this occupation in Mississippi, and the spread between them is about three thousand dollars — most of the state's teachers work outside these markets entirely, in districts the metro table does not capture.

Through the Department of Education's Office of Educator Licensure. Mississippi issues licences by class tied to degree level — Class A at bachelor's level, with Class AA, AAA and AAAA above it for master's, specialist and doctoral degrees. The standard route is an approved preparation programme plus the required examinations, with alternative routes available for career changers. Endorsements determine what and whom you may teach.

Yes, and more explicitly than in most states. Mississippi's salary schedule is tied to licence class, and licence class is determined by degree level — moving from Class A to Class AA on completion of a master's degree produces a defined step on the state schedule. That makes the financial value of the degree calculable in advance, which is unusual and useful. It is also the clearest progression available, since the metro spread is only about three thousand dollars.

Because the state salary schedule sets a floor that most districts pay at or near, and Mississippi's local property tax bases are generally too thin to support supplements above it. The 10th percentile of $46,020, the 25th of $47,660 and the median of $49,790 sit within about four thousand dollars of each other as a result. The separation only appears higher up, where the $59,490 seventy-fifth percentile and the $62,990 ninetieth reflect the higher licence classes and leadership roles.

It makes the return on further study calculable, which is genuinely valuable. In most states a master's degree moves you across a lane whose value depends on the district you happen to work in; in Mississippi the licence class itself drives the state schedule, so the step is defined statewide and you can work out what a degree is worth before you enrol. Given that the metro spread is about three thousand dollars and the state's districts have little capacity to supplement, licence class and years of service are effectively the whole of the progression. The honest limit is that even the top of that progression — the $62,990 ninetieth percentile — remains below the national median.

It annualises a contract of roughly nine or ten months and excludes coaching stipends and extended contracts. It comes from a broad occupation code covering elementary school teachers except special education, so secondary, special education and early childhood teachers sit on related but different schedules. And with only three published metros in a largely rural state, the metro table describes a minority of Mississippi's teachers — most work in districts outside these markets, generally at the state schedule floor.

Licence class first, because the state schedule is built on it — a master's, specialist or doctoral degree produces a defined step, and that is the most reliable progression available. Years of service second. Shortage-area endorsements in special education, mathematics and science improve hiring leverage in a state with persistent vacancies. Instructional leadership and administration reach the $59,490 seventy-fifth percentile and the $62,990 ninetieth. Geography contributes about three thousand dollars, and the honest structural answer for anyone prioritising income is that neighbouring states pay materially more.