Those proposed raises range from 4.5 percent to 18 percent over two years — but will any of those options make a dent in North Carolina’s low ranking for teacher pay compared to other states? THE CLAIM: North Carolina teachers make about $12,000 a year below the national average, with a state average of $54,863 putting us 36th nationally, according to the National Education Association. But even the most generous of those three proposals would leave the average salary in North Carolina well behind the national average — and that also makes the highly unlikely assumption that the national figure doesn’t climb any higher.