Teacher Burnout Statistics in 2025: Causes, Effects, and Solutions

Over 3.8 million K-12 teachers are currently working in America’s classrooms, striving to educate the next generation. 

But behind the lesson plans and elementary mathematics lies a disturbing reality: 60% of these educators are experiencing burnout.

And this crisis extends beyond K-12 into higher education, where 64% of faculty members report similar struggles with stress and emotional exhaustion. 

We've collected key teacher burnout statistics across the U.S. and beyond to help you understand the scope of this issue. How widespread is teacher burnout? What factors contribute most to perceived stress levels? And what interventions show promise in creating more sustainable teaching careers?

Let's dive in!

Key Statistics (Top Picks)

• According to a 2024 RAND survey of nearly 1,500 teachers, 60% of K-12 educators are burned out, citing that the stress and disappointments of teaching are not worth it.
• The same RAND survey showed that 7% of K-12 teachers quit in 2023-2024, reporting worse well-being than the general population of working adults.
• According to a 2024 EDChoice survey of 1,034 K-12 teachers, 20% were absent from school in 2023 because of burnout and lack of motivation. 
• In a 2023 HMN survey of 1,003 tutors, 64% of higher education teachers reported burnout, 30% felt somewhat burned out, 19% said they burned out to a high degree, and 15% or to a very high degree.
• In a 2024 Pew Research Center study of over 2,000 K-12 teachers, 54% of K-12 teachers say it’s difficult for them to achieve work-life balance. 

Sources: RAND, HMN, Learning Policy Institute, EDChoice, Pew Research.

Before we dive in, what is teacher burnout?

Teacher burnout is more than just feeling tired. It’s a clinical state of chronic stress that leaves educators emotionally drained, detached, and doubting their impact. 

This condition is not just everyday stress but a serious occupational hazard affecting educators' well-being and professional effectiveness.

What causes teacher burnout?

Think relentless workloads, unsupportive environments, and the emotional labor of managing student needs.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), a gold-standard tool, measures burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion (feeling overwhelmed), depersonalization (cynicism toward students or colleagues), and reduced personal accomplishment.

Emotional exhaustion

• According to a 2024 RAND survey of nearly 1,500 public K-12 teachers, 59% of public school teachers said they experience frequent job-related stress, while 19% show chronic symptoms of depression. 
• In a Healthy Mind Network survey involving 1,003 faculty and instructors, 58% of professors and instructors noted that the job had taken a toll on their mental health.
• The HMN survey also reports that 84% of female lecturers and 68% of male faculty felt overwhelmed by workload, correlating with 56% reporting stress and 45% losing sleep.

Sources: RAND, HMN.

Depersonalization

• According to a 2024 RAND survey of nearly 1,500 public K-12 teachers, 45% of K-12 teachers overall—and 66% of new teachers—said managing student behavior was the most stressful part of their job.
• In a Healthy Mind Network survey involving 1,003 faculty and instructors, 47% of higher education faculty reported that supporting students in mental and emotional distress has taken a toll on their own mental health.
• The HMN survey also reports that 68% of higher education faculty spend their own money to meet the needs of their students.

Sources: RAND, HMN.

Reduced personal accomplishment

• According to a 2024 Pew survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers, 54% say it’s very or somewhat difficult for them to balance work and their personal life. 8 in 10 teachers say they don’t have enough time in their regular workday to get everything done. 
• In a 2024 EDChoice survey of 1,034 K-12 teachers, 20% said they were absent from school in 2023 because of burnout and lack of motivation. 
• According to a CUPA-HR 2023 higher education employee retention survey of 4782 participants, 44% of educators are seeking new work opportunities to satisfy the need for a more flexible work schedule. 

Sources: Pew Research, EDChoice, CUPA-HR.

What’s the burnout rate across K-12 & higher institutions?

Burnout hits differently across education levels, shaped by unique demands. K-12 educators face intense pressure from testing, accountability, and work-life challenges, while higher education faculty grapple with research demands and emotional student support.

K-12 teachers’ burnout rates

Recent findings from a 2024 RAND survey of nearly 1,500 public K-12 teachers and a Pew study of 2,531 teachers across the U.S. paint a clear picture of the challenges educators face:

• 60% of K-12 teachers said they are burned out.
• 22% face difficulty coping with job-related stress.
• 59% said they experience frequent job-related stress. 
• 54% said it is difficult to achieve a work-life balance.
• 74% of women teachers say they find teaching to be overwhelming extremely often or often, compared with 49% of men.
• 87% of K-12 teachers report that low pay is a moderate or serious concern. 
• 82% of public school teachers say K-12 education and burnout rate have worsened in the past five years. While 20% expect improvements over the next five years, the majority (53%) fear it will worsen.
• 20% were absent from school in 2023 because of burnout and lack of motivation. 

Sources: RAND, Pew Research, NEA, EDChoice.

Higher education teachers’ burnout rate

In a 2023 Healthy Mind Network survey involving 1,003 faculty and instructors and a 2023 CUPA HR survey involving 4,782 higher ed employees: 

• 64% of faculty said they are burned out.
• 30% said they are somewhat burned out.
• 19% said they are burned out to a high degree.
• 15% said they are burned out to a very high degree.
• Burnout was higher among women (69%).
• 50% say they work extra hours daily, making work/life balance difficult. 
• 44% say they are likely to quit their job for the opportunity to work remotely. 
• 64% of faculty at 4-year institutions reported burnout, higher than 54% at community colleges. 
• 25% of higher education faculty said they have a moderate or serious problem making a living wage.

Sources: HMN, CUPA-HR, NEA.

Who’s burning out most? The demographics tell a story.

Burnout in education isn’t evenly felt by everyone. Here’s a closer look at how demographics like gender, age, and experience are shaping patterns of teacher burnout.

Gender 

According to a 2024 RAND survey of 1,500 participants: 

• K-12 female tutors reported significantly higher levels of frequent teacher stress and job burnout than their male counterparts, a consistent pattern since 2021.
• K-12 female teachers also reported significantly lower base pay than male teachers, but there were no differences in the number of hours worked per week.
• Average public school female teachers earn $68,000, and male teachers make nearly $10,000 more.
• Among middle school teachers, the gender pay gap was closer to $16,000.

And according to a 2023 Healthy Mind Network survey of higher education teachers involving 1,003 faculty and instructors, burnout is higher among women (69%) and gender minority faculty (71%) compared to men (57%).

Sources: RAND,  HMN.  

Age

• In a 2023 Pew survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers, 52% of K-12 teachers say they would not advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher.
• According to an NCES 2021-2022 teacher follow-up survey of 10,300 participants, K-12 teachers with less than 3 years’ experience had 7% attrition vs. 9% for those with 15+ years in 2021-2022, suggesting that veterans burn out from cumulative stress.
• In a 2022 NEA survey of 3,621 participants, 56% of K-12 teachers under age 50 and 54% of older teachers over 50 reported considering leaving.
• According to a 2023 CUPA HR survey of 4,782 higher ed employees, teachers under the age of 45 are significantly more likely to seek other employment in the next 12 months compared to those who are 45 or older. 

Sources: Pew Research, CUPA-HR, NCES, NEA.

How often has burnout led to teachers walking away?

Teacher burnout has driven significant turnover in the education sector, with many educators leaving the profession or switching schools due to stress, workload, and systemic challenges. Let’s unpack the numbers behind teacher turnover: who’s leaving, when, and why.

Quit rates

• According to a RAND survey, 7% of K-12 teachers quit in 2023-2024, reporting worse well-being than the general population of working adults.
• According to a CUPA-HR survey, 50% of higher ed teachers report they are working more than full-time hours, likely because they are still absorbing the responsibilities of staff who have left.
• According to the learning policy institute, trends in at least eight states with annual turnover data suggest that turnover between the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 school years was at its highest point in at least 5 years.

Sources: RAND, CUPA-HR, Learning Policy Institute.   

Early-career departure

• In a 2024 Pew survey, 29% of K-12 teachers say they will likely look for a new job in the 2023-2024 school year. Of these teachers, those who reported poor well-being were more likely than their counterparts to say that they intended to leave.
• Within the 29% that say they are somewhat likely to leave, 40% say they would look for a job outside of education, 29% say they’d seek a non-teaching job in education, and only 18% say they’d look for a teaching job at another public K-12 school.
• According to a CUPA-HR survey across 529 institutions, 33% of higher ed educators were somewhat likely to look for new employment opportunities in the 2023-2024 school year for being overworked, underpaid, and not getting the remote work opportunities they desired.

Sources: Pew Research, CUPA-HR. 

Post-pandemic trends

• According to a RAND survey, 7% of K-12 teachers left in 2023-2024, down from 10% in 2021-2022. However, this turnover rate remains slightly above the estimated pre-pandemic level of 6 percent.
• The same RAND survey shows that the national principal turnover rate also declined from a high of 16 percent right after the pandemic to 8 percent as of 2023-2024.
• According to a 2024 Pew survey of over 2000 teachers, 57% say the overall state of public K-12 education has gotten worse in the past five years due to the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on educators' and students’ mental health. 

Sources: RAND, Pew Research.

How’s teacher burnout affecting schools and the educational sector as a whole?

Burnout isn’t just personal, it’s costly for schools and society. From understaffed classrooms to productivity loss and replacement cost, the data reveals persistent turnover and a system still struggling to retain its talent.

Understaffed classrooms 

• In a 2024 Pew survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers, 70% of K-12 teachers say their school is understaffed, making it difficult to manage their workload. 
• According to NCES, 82% of public schools needed to fill two or more teaching vacancies before the start of the 2024–2025 school year.
• According to a 2023 report put together by Learning Policy Institute, more than one-third (34%) of newly entering teachers in 2020-2021 were not certified for their assignments. 

Sources: Pew Research, NCES, Learning Policy Institute.  

Productivity loss 

• In a 2024-2025 National Center for Education Statistics survey, 64% of public schools reported a lack of qualified candidates applying for open teaching positions, with 31% reporting that staff vacancies created the need to use non-teaching staff outside of their intended duties.
• According to a 2024 Learning Policy Institute state of teacher shortage report, 49 states employed an estimated 365,044 school staff who were not fully certified for their teaching assignments.
• According to an EdWorking Paper study of the teaching profession over the last half century, K-12 teachers who said they were enthusiastic about their job plummeted from over 60% in 2010 to a mere 20% by 2020.
• The 2025 Teacher Morale Index for public school teachers ranged from a high of plus 47 in Georgia and 43 in Arizona, the most contented states, to a low of minus 14 in New Hampshire, 13 in Oregon, and 10 in Massachusetts, the most disheartened.

Sources: NCES, Learning Policy Institute, EdWorking Papers, Teacher Morale Index. 

Replacement cost 

• According to a RAND survey, a 7% quit rate in 2023-2024 disrupts school budgets for hiring and training.
• According to an EdWorkingPaper’s report, the number of people undertaking teacher-training courses dropped 33% in the decade between 2011 and 2021. 
• According to the Learning Policy institute, the financial costs of the separation, recruiting, hiring and training activities associated with teacher turnover in 2025 is $11,860 for districts with less than 10,000 students; $16,450 for districts with 10,000 to 50,000 students, and $24,930 for large districts (more than 50,000 students).

Sources: RAND, Edworking Papers, New York School Board Association.

What do studies outside the U.S. say? Do they tell the same story?

Burnout isn’t limited to the U.S.—data from different countries shows a remarkably similar pattern. From the UK to China, Australia to Morocco, teachers report alarming levels of stress, emotional exhaustion, and mental health struggles.

• In a 2025 NEU survey of 14,000 teachers in the UK, 62% reported that stress affects them more than 60% of the time, while 75% said they frequently find themselves ‘unable’ to switch off from work-related thoughts and tasks when at home. 
• A 2024 Frontier survey of 780 high school teachers across three Canadian provinces shows that the prevalence of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of accomplishment among teachers was 76%, 23%, and 30%, respectively.
• In a 2023 Black Dog Institute survey of over 4,000 teachers in Australia, 52% of teachers reported moderate to extremely severe symptoms of depression, 46% reported symptoms of anxiety, while 70% complained of having unmanageable workloads. 
• According to a 2022 PubMed Central survey of 3,199 primary school teachers from 15 cities across China, 66.6% of primary school teachers experience burnout.
• In a 2021 European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice survey of teachers in Europe, 24% and 22% of teachers reported that their job has a negative impact on their mental and physical health, respectively. However, in Belgium and Portugal, more than 50% of teachers consider that their job negatively affects their mental and physical health. Mental health is also a concern for one out of three teachers in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, and Latvia.
• In a 2021 PAMJ survey involving 258 high school teachers in Morocco, 43% of the participants reported emotional exhaustion, 46% reported depersonalization, and 47% reported reduced personal accomplishment. 

Sources: National Education Union (NEU),  Frontier, Black Dog Institute, PubMed Central, European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice,Pan African Med Journal (PAMJ.

Is there hope? Can we fight burnout and further reduce the teachers’ quitting rate?

Burnout is real, but so is resilience. Despite the pressure, many educators still find purpose and satisfaction in their work. Let’s see how the data points to signs of hope, such as declining turnover and rising job satisfaction.

• A 2025 EdChoice/Morning Consult poll of 1,032 public and private school teachers suggests that 67% of teachers feel a sense of purpose and are hopeful when thinking about the future.
• The same reports show that 54% of K-12 teachers say they’d recommend teaching as a career, an upswing from the 48% recorded in 2024. 
• A 2024 RAND survey showed K-12 teachers’ turnover rate dropped from 10% in 2020-21 to 7% in 2023-2024, which suggests teachers’ resilience as conditions improve.
• In a Pew survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers, 30% of elementary school teachers and 36% of high school teachers claim to be very satisfied with their job and are less likely to leave. 
• In a 2023 Healthy Mind Network survey involving 1,003 faculty and instructors, 67% of faculty said they were satisfied with their job, while 89% felt competent, despite a 64% burnout rate in 2022-2023, showing resilience through purpose.
• In an EdWeek analysis, the Teacher Morale Index of public school teachers for the 2024-25 school year registered an upswing, a plus 18 on a scale from minus 100 to plus 100, a significant rise from last year’s minus 13.

Sources: EdChoice, RAND, Pew Research, HMN, EdWeek.

Best Practices: Statistical evidence on reducing burnout

Teacher burnout is a crisis. 34% of faculty and 60% of K-12 educators are feeling the heat, with 7-10% leaving annually, costing schools stability and students quality education. But here’s the good news: solutions exist. 

From mental health support programs to a more inclusive environment, professional development, and better compensation, data shows institutions can turn the tide. Here are some key stats and recommendations on how school leaders can beat burnout in their institutions. 

Mental health support

• A 2024 RAND survey shows that three-quarters of teachers reported access to at least one type of well-being or mental health support, but only slightly more than half of teachers indicated that these supports were adequate. Improved access to counseling could lead to lower levels of stress.
• In the same RAND survey, 45% of teachers overall—and 66% of new teachers— in the 2024-2025 school year said managing student behavior was the most stressful part of their job. Provide staff support to assist students in their own mental wellness. 
• According to a 2023 Healthy Mind Network survey, 81% of faculty called for more mental health resources in 2022-23, suggesting wellness programs are underutilized but needed.

Sources: RAND, HMN. 

Working conditions 

• According to a 3023 CUPA-HR survey across 529 institutions, 31% of higher ed employees believe most of their duties can be performed remotely. Provide more flexible work arrangements.
• In a 2024 RAND survey of 1,500 participants, K-12 Teachers reported working nine hours per week more than similar working adults, and only 41% of them are satisfied with the total number of hours they work per week. Increase hiring and edtech investments that enable educators to manage workload and share expertise.
• In a 2024 Pew Research of 2,000+ participants, 54% of K-12 teachers say it’s very difficult for them to balance work and their personal lives because of the excessive hours they put in. Smaller learning communities with positive school climate cut stress levels and punitive discipline. 

Sources: CUPA-HR, RAND, Pew Research. 

Professional development

• According to a 2024 Pew survey, between the 2012-2013 and 2020-2021 school years, the number of people who completed teacher prep programs dropped from about 190,000 to 160,000. Teachers who receive mentoring are twice as likely to feel confident and stay in the classroom as those without mentoring. 
• In the NCES 2024-2025 survey, 64% of public schools reported that a lack of qualified candidates applying for open teaching positions was a challenge. Invest more in robust and sustained funding for high-retention pathways into teaching. 

Sources: Pew Research, NCES. 

Compensation

• According to a National Education Association survey of 1,427 participants, 37% of pre–K-12 teachers have a moderate or serious problem making a living wage. Increase educators’ net compensation through tax credits, housing subsidies, and salary incentives.
• In a 2024 RAND teacher well-being survey, K-12 teachers who said their base pay was adequate reported earning about $80,000 on average—$16,000 more than teachers who said their base pay was inadequate. Fair pay and recognition retain talent. 

Sources: NEA, RAND. 

To sum up, the statistics paint a clear picture …

Teacher burnout is a systemic crisis requiring urgent attention. With a minimum of 406,964 positions in the United States unfilled or filled by teachers not fully certified for their assignments (1 in 8 of all teaching positions within the U.S.), the sustainability of the education system is at risk.

However, the data also points to effective interventions. Supportive administration, positive work cultures, appropriate technology to enhance student learning experience, and better compensation all show promise in reducing burnout rates.

What this means for school administrators, education leaders, and policymakers is that it’s time to:

✔ Boost mental health support, as 81% of faculty demand.
✔ Invest in EdTech like Wooclap for flexible, engaging teaching, as 44% of higher ed employees demand.
✔ Address workload concerns through policy changes and appropriate staffing, as 54% of K-12 tutors find it difficult to achieve work/life balance.