No.
Florida ranks second behind Virginia in highest starting teacher salaries in the Southeast, but it’s close.
The Sunshine State had an average starting teacher salary of $48,639 in 2025, just a hair below the $48,666 average in Virginia. Although Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida was the top state, his claim might as well come down to a rounding error given the small difference.
In overall teacher pay for 2025, Florida ranks last in the country with an average salary of $54,875. Virginia is 26th in the nation with an average of $66,327.
Florida starting pay average was the 17th highest in the country, indicating little room for salary growth given its dead-last overall ranking.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- National Education Association Educator Pay Data 2025
- National Education Association Starting Teacher Pay 2025
- American Association of Geographers Southeast Division
