As the new school year gets under way across Europe, teachers and their unions are again pressing for better pay and working conditions. Staff costs remain the largest single item in education budgets, yet in many EU countries teachers earn considerably less than other graduates. New data from Eurydice, the European Commission's education network, highlights a stark east-west divide in how much teachers are paid.
Luxembourg leads, Germany and the Netherlands follow
For the 2024/2025 academic year, Luxembourg offers the most generous salaries across most teaching levels, both at entry and at the top of the career ladder. Starting teachers there earn between €55,000 and €62,000, while those at the peak of their careers take home between €97,000 and €109,000. The Netherlands and Germany occupy second place, depending on the education level and career stage.
At the other end of the scale, Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary pay the least at the top of the career ladder. Slovak teachers earn between €18,000 and €22,000, while their Hungarian and Czech counterparts receive up to €27,000. For starting teachers, Greece and Slovakia offer the lowest salaries, at up to €17,000.
Career progression and pay growth
Reaching the top of the pay scale takes time. In 11 EU countries, teachers need between 31 and 40 years of service, depending on the level they teach. Only in Denmark and Finland can teachers reach the maximum salary within a decade. This slow progression can deter talented individuals from entering or staying in the profession.
Salary growth over a career is a key factor in attracting and retaining teachers. According to a 2025 OECD study, better teacher pay is linked to improved student outcomes. The largest salary jumps between start and peak are found in Cyprus, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Slovenia.
France's pay puzzle
The debate over teacher pay has intensified in France, where the education ministry recently reported an average net monthly salary of €3,090 for teachers in 2024. However, that figure masks wide variations: it includes school teachers, certified teachers, associate professors, and elite professors, but excludes contract teachers, who make up 8% of the workforce and are the lowest paid.
More concerning is that French teachers are among the five EU countries where salaries failed to keep pace with inflation between 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, with a real-terms decrease of 0.61%. Only Romania (-6.34%), Slovakia (-4.07%), Italy (-1.60%), and Belgium's French Community (-0.71%) saw larger declines.
The issue is not just about numbers. As Greek families face rising costs for school supplies, and with schools reopening amid conflict in Ukraine, the pressure on education systems across the continent is mounting. In France, the upcoming presidential debate has put the economy at the centre, and teacher pay is likely to feature prominently.
Eurydice's data also shows that in most EU countries, teachers' salaries do not keep up with those of other professionals with tertiary education. Starting salaries are often around 40% lower, and although the gap narrows at the top of the scale, it rarely closes entirely.
For policymakers, the challenge is clear: investing in teachers is not just a matter of fairness, but of educational quality. As the OECD has noted, better-paid teachers tend to produce better learning outcomes. With staff shortages affecting many countries, the debate over pay is unlikely to fade.
