About PlainTeacher

Our Mission

PlainTeacher exists because teachers, parents, researchers, and policymakers deserve transparent access to school district finance data without needing to navigate complex federal datasets. The National Center for Education Statistics collects detailed expenditure data from every public school district in the United States, but the raw F-33 files are dense, technical, and formatted for analysts rather than everyday users.

We believe that school district finance data belongs to the communities those districts serve. When a teacher is considering a move to a new district, when parents are evaluating schools, or when policymakers are comparing funding levels, they should be able to access this information in a clear, searchable format. PlainTeacher makes estimated teacher salary data, per-pupil spending, and district finance metrics available for 13149 districts at no cost, with full transparency about our methodology and limitations.

Our approach is deliberately honest about what the data can and cannot tell you. Teacher salaries cannot be directly extracted from F-33 data, only estimated. We explain exactly how we estimate them, what assumptions we make, and where those assumptions break down. We would rather show an honest estimate with clear caveats than a precise-looking number with hidden assumptions.

Data Source

Finance data comes from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey. Teacher headcount comes from the companion CCD Staff Universe Survey. Both are collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the U.S. Department of Education.

The F-33 survey collects detailed revenue and expenditure data from every public school district (LEA) in the United States. PlainTeacher uses the FY2023 release (covering the 2022-23 school year), released by NCES as provisional v1a in September 2025.

How We Calculate Estimated Salaries

The F-33 survey reports teacher salary expenditure in four program buckets (Z35 regular, Z36 special, Z37 vocational, Z38 other) but no individual salary records. PlainTeacher joins their total to each district's reported teacher FTE from the CCD Staff Universe Survey:

Numerator and denominator both cover teachers only. The survey's wider instructional-salary total (Z33) also pays aides, paraprofessionals and substitutes, so dividing it by a teacher headcount overstates pay; PlainTeacher did exactly that until 9 August 2026 and recomputed every figure on the teacher-only basis then. The results are still district-level means from finance filings rather than a survey of contracts, so they are best used as a consistent relative measure for comparing districts and states against one another, not as an exact classroom-teacher paycheck.

Important Limitations

• These are estimates, not reported salaries. Individual teacher salary data is not available in this dataset.
• How cleanly a state separates teacher pay from other instructional payroll varies by filing practice, so cross-state comparisons carry some reporting noise; Alaska, Illinois and Utah file no teacher-salary breakout at all and are not ranked.
• A small minority use a fallback denominator. Where NCES has no district-level teacher FTE, the site uses enrollment divided by 15 and labels that basis on the district page.
• Specialized service districts may serve students they do not directly enroll; unreliable salary ratios are excluded from rankings and comparisons.
• Data quality varies. Smaller or specialized districts may have incomplete, imputed, or zero values.

For accurate, individual-level salary data, consult your state's public employee salary database or teachers union contracts. Many states publish detailed salary schedules that account for experience, education level, and additional certifications. PlainTeacher's figures provide a starting point for cross-district comparison, while individual pay depends on the current schedule, experience, credentials, assignment, and contract terms.

We encourage users to treat PlainTeacher data as a compass, not a GPS. It tells you the general direction, which districts spend more on instruction, how your area compares to the state average, and where the funding comes from, but cannot predict your specific salary in a specific district. For that level of precision, review the district's published salary schedule and collective bargaining agreement.

Coverage

• 13149 school districts across all 50 states and the District of Columbia
• Only districts classified as government entities (excluding most charter-only agencies and non-government LEAs)
• Minimum enrollment of 25 students to exclude non-operational entities
• FY2023 data (2022-23 school year)

Last Updated

Database built from FY2023 NCES data. Last updated: August 11, 2026.

Data Currency

PlainTeacher currently displays data from the FY2023 NCES CCD F-33 release, covering the 2022-23 school year. NCES publishes updated F-33 data annually, typically 18-24 months after the fiscal year ends. We update PlainTeacher within 30 days of each new release. The F-33 survey has been conducted annually since fiscal year 1995, providing one of the longest continuous records of school district finance in the world.

Like all federal education datasets, there is an inherent time lag between the school year, data collection, quality assurance, and public release. The FY2023 data reflects spending during the 2022-23 school year, which means current salary levels may differ. Districts that have recently negotiated new contracts, received additional state funding, or experienced enrollment changes may have substantially different figures today.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or feedback? Email us at hello@plainteacher.com or use our contact form.

We welcome:

• Questions about data sources or methodology
• Reports of districts with unusually high or low estimates
• Suggestions for additional data or features
• Media and research inquiries

PlainTeacher is an independent publisher, a data intelligence company that builds free, public-interest data portals.