diff --git a/esphome/components/select/select.cpp b/esphome/components/select/select.cpp
index 7c3dab15ad..17c6c811dd 100644
--- a/esphome/components/select/select.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/select/select.cpp
@@ -27,10 +27,6 @@ void Select::publish_state(size_t index) {
   const char *option = this->option_at(index);
   this->set_has_state(true);
   this->active_index_ = index;
-#pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated-declarations"
-  this->state = option;  // Update deprecated member for backward compatibility
-#pragma GCC diagnostic pop
   ESP_LOGV(TAG, "'%s' >> %s (%zu)", this->get_name().c_str(), option, index);
   this->state_callback_.call(index);
 #if defined(USE_SELECT) && defined(USE_CONTROLLER_REGISTRY)
diff --git a/esphome/components/select/select.h b/esphome/components/select/select.h
index 465283d92a..34d9248523 100644
--- a/esphome/components/select/select.h
+++ b/esphome/components/select/select.h
@@ -30,15 +30,8 @@ class Select : public EntityBase {
  public:
   SelectTraits traits;
 
-#pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated-declarations"
-  /// @deprecated Use current_option() instead. This member will be removed in ESPHome 2026.7.0.
-  ESPDEPRECATED("Use current_option() instead of .state. Will be removed in 2026.7.0", "2026.1.0")
-  std::string state{};
-
   Select() = default;
   ~Select() = default;
-#pragma GCC diagnostic pop
 
   void publish_state(const std::string &state);
   void publish_state(const char *state);
diff --git a/tests/integration/fixtures/multi_device_preferences.yaml b/tests/integration/fixtures/multi_device_preferences.yaml
index 634d7157b2..01e4394559 100644
--- a/tests/integration/fixtures/multi_device_preferences.yaml
+++ b/tests/integration/fixtures/multi_device_preferences.yaml
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ select:
     set_action:
       - lambda: |-
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Device A Mode set to %s", x.c_str());
-          id(mode_device_a).state = x;
+          id(mode_device_a).publish_state(x);
 
   - platform: template
     name: Mode
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ select:
     set_action:
       - lambda: |-
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Device B Mode set to %s", x.c_str());
-          id(mode_device_b).state = x;
+          id(mode_device_b).publish_state(x);
 
   - platform: template
     name: Mode
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ select:
     set_action:
       - lambda: |-
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Main Mode set to %s", x.c_str());
-          id(mode_main).state = x;
+          id(mode_main).publish_state(x);
 
 # Button to trigger preference logging test
 button:
@@ -153,9 +153,9 @@ button:
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Device A Setpoint: %.1f", id(setpoint_device_a).state);
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Device B Setpoint: %.1f", id(setpoint_device_b).state);
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Main Setpoint: %.1f", id(setpoint_main).state);
-          ESP_LOGI("test", "Device A Mode: %s", id(mode_device_a).state.c_str());
-          ESP_LOGI("test", "Device B Mode: %s", id(mode_device_b).state.c_str());
-          ESP_LOGI("test", "Main Mode: %s", id(mode_main).state.c_str());
+          ESP_LOGI("test", "Device A Mode: %s", id(mode_device_a).current_option().c_str());
+          ESP_LOGI("test", "Device B Mode: %s", id(mode_device_b).current_option().c_str());
+          ESP_LOGI("test", "Main Mode: %s", id(mode_main).current_option().c_str());
           // Log preference hashes for entities that actually store preferences
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Device A Switch Pref Hash: %u", id(light_device_a).get_preference_hash());
           ESP_LOGI("test", "Device B Switch Pref Hash: %u", id(light_device_b).get_preference_hash());