Survey: Droves of California Teachers Plan to Quit in Next Decade

More than four in ten teachers in California say they plan to quit their jobs in the next ten years, according to a new poll.

Between 40 percent and 49 percent of California teachers, with an estimate of 45 percent, say they plan to retired in the next decade, Director of the Education Week Research Center Holly Kurtz told Fox News Digital. Kurtz said teachers in California tend to be older than teachers in other states, according to federal data. Teachers in California are an average age of 45.5, compared to 42.9 in other states.

“This means that age likely is a major reason why CA teachers are more likely to say they plan to retire in the next decade than teachers in other states,” Kurtz told the outlet. 

Across the U.S., 36 percent of teachers say they plan to retire in the next ten years. Kurtz told EdSource, “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.” 

The survey additionally found that approximately half of all teachers in the nation say they intend to work in another field outside of education at some point. Nearly 6,000 K-12 public school teachers across the U.S. responded to the survey for EdWeek’s 2026 installment of its State of Teaching Report, totaling nearly 10,000 teachers in three years, per the report.

The outlet asked the California Department of Education for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.

The report found that California teachers have slightly higher morale than teachers in other states, however, more are planning to leave their jobs in the next ten years.

A January report from the California Teachers Association found that while a majority of teachers report job satisfaction, 40 percent are considering leaving the field, and 45 percent cite financial issues as impacting their decisions. The survey found that 54 percent of educators “know coworkers who left careers in education because of financial strain.”

“Educators are actively organizing to increase and defend school funding across the state, ensuring school districts prioritize spending on student learning conditions, and working toward a permanent extension of Prop. 55 and the up to $15 billion dollars it generates for our schools annually,” the CTA report reads, according to the outlet. 

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.