North Carolina is ranked #1 for business, but #50 in education funding. Our economic success depends on a strong public education system, and we're falling behind.
NC ranks last in the nation in funding effort, spending just 1.98% of GDP on K–12 education compared to the 3.10% national average. That gap shows up everywhere.
NC has the lowest starting salary in the South. Salaries freeze for a full decade (years 15–24) and top out at $55,950. Teachers hired after 2021 receive no retiree medical benefits.
| State | Starting Salary | Per Pupil Spend | Gap vs. NC | $ Behind Peer* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $41,000 | $12,193 | — | — |
| Virginia | $46,250 | $15,815 | +$3,622 | $5.4B |
| South Carolina | $47,000 | $17,698 | +$5,505 | $8.3B |
| National Average | — | $17,853 | +$5,660 | $8.5B |
*Spending gap scaled to NC's 1.5M students. Source: Education Law Center 2025; WRAL 2025.
Enrollment in NC's colleges of education has dropped from 14,000 to 8,000, producing roughly 1,500 fewer teachers annually. NC has faced teacher shortages for years — and the trend is accelerating.
Two-thirds of NC jobs require an associate degree, four-year degree, or industry or trade credential, but only 31% of NC 9th graders earn one within six years of high school. Businesses cannot hire what schools are not producing.
Students are graduating, but they are not graduating workforce-ready. Employers are 277,000 credentialed workers short of the state's 2030 goal. The gap shows up early: in 2024, just 31% of NC 8th graders were proficient in math and 27% in reading on the NAEP, below the national average.
Sources: NC Commerce/BLS 2025 · myFutureNC 2026 · NAEP 2024