Nearly Half Of CA Teachers Plan To Retire Within 10 Years: Report

Almost half of California's teachers plan to leave their jobs in the next 10 years. That's more than any other state.

It’s one of the key findings from the EdWeek Research Center’s 2026 State of Teaching survey, which analyzed responses from 5,802 K-12 teachers across the United States.

The researchers wanted to see what teacher morale looks like today. Among the survey questions, "What, if any, career changes do you expect to make in the next ten years?"

Forty-five percent of California teachers surveyed said they plan to retire over the next decade, the highest rate among states, according to the survey conducted August-November 2025.

Nationally, 36% of survey respondents said they will retire in the next 10 years.

Just 17% of California teachers said they plan to teach in a different school or school district in the next 10 years, compared to the national average of 22%. Only 15% of Golden State teachers plan to work in postsecondary/adult education in the next decade, compared with a national average of 17%.

California, New York, and Texas employ the most public school teachers in the country, driven by large student populations. In New York, 42% of respondents to the EdWeek survey said they will retire in the next 10 years. The Texas number was 39%.

Despite the high number of teachers planning to retire in the next decade, California teachers, overall, have slightly better morale than their peers in most other states.

The survey's "Teacher Morale Index" showed that only Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas reported higher teacher morale than California.

Arkansas had the highest level of job satisfaction, while classroom counterparts in Pennsylvania had the lowest, according to the survey.

Compared to one year ago, 73% of California teachers said their work morale is the same or better, the survey found.

California's relatively higher teacher morale is a bright spot in the study. Holly Kurtz, director of the EdWeek Research Center, sees a negative trend nationwide.

"There’s a lot of evidence that indicates that teacher morale has been declining nationwide and is at, by some measures, the lowest point in recent memory," Kurtz told EdSource.

Educator morale began declining during the COVID-19 pandemic, as teachers struggled with distance teaching, Kurtz said. They faced additional difficulties when they returned to the classroom.

Whether California teachers fared better or worse is unclear, but one thing is apparent. California has the highest average teacher pay in the nation, according to the National Education Association. In 2025, the average starting salary for a California teacher was $58,409, and the average salary was $101,084, according to the NEA.

More than a third of California teachers surveyed by EdWeek said their salaries were better or about the same as those of their family members and friends.

"People who felt like their salary was better or the same as their family or friends tended to have higher morale," Kurtz said.

See the full survey results here.