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School district · South Dakota · LEAID 4603720

Arlington School District 38-1

Arlington School District 38-1 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (303 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Arlington School District 38-1 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$56,190
Est. avg teacher salary

Above benchmark

$19,396
Per-pupil spending
303
Students enrolled
91st
Pct. in SD
$56,190

Arlington School District 38-1 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (303 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $56,190, below the national average of $70,245, serving 303 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Smaller enrollment scale: Arlington School District 38-1 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (303 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
  • 91st percentile for South Dakota
  • 28th percentile nationally
  • 27% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • South Dakota ranks #46 of 49 on the salary estimate and #42 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Arlington School District 38-1 ranks #11 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #30 of 121 by per-pupil spending. Eagle Butte School District 20-1 leads both cuts in this pool; pay rank is still not spending rank
  • +4.9% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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Instructional payroll mix vs South Dakota median

Among 148 South Dakota districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Arlington School District 38-1's instructional payroll puts 10.6% into other programs , 5.5 points above the state median of 5.1%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.

Program Arlington School SD median Gap
Regular program 77.0% 79.9% -3.0 pp
Special education 7.1% 9.7% -2.7 pp
Vocational programs 5.4% 5.1% +0.3 pp
Other programs 10.6% 5.1% +5.5 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 148 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 4603720 · FY2023.

LEAID 4603720 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Arlington School F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-HIGH +11% vs state RANK-ST-TOP P91 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P28 national PPE-MID $19K/pupil ENR-TINY 303 students INSTR-LOW 27% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Wagner FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $56,190 estimated average teacher salary · P91 in South Dakota · P28 nationally · 27% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Harrisburg (+$100est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Arlington School

Salary neighbourhood · Arlington School

Arlington School already leads most of its in-state peer set; the chart plots it against the top and bottom pay poles for context (NCES F-33 FY2023, not a full state reprint).

est. salary
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey As of FY2023
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Arlington School

Arlington School District 38-1's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$56,190 28th percentile higher than 28% of 10,684 US districts

Show national distribution $30,000–$40,000: 155 US districts (1%). Below this entry. $40,000–$50,000: 1,360 US districts (13%). Below this entry. $50,000–$60,000: 2,382 US districts (22%). This entry sits in this band. $60,000–$70,000: 2,402 US districts (22%). Above this entry. $70,000–$80,000: 1,633 US districts (15%). Above this entry. $80,000–$90,000: 1,097 US districts (10%). Above this entry. $90,000–$100,000: 662 US districts (6%). Above this entry. $100,000–$110,000: 371 US districts (3%). Above this entry. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). Above this entry. $120,000–$130,000: 156 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $130,000–$140,000: 112 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $140,000–$150,000: 57 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $150,000–$160,000: 25 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $160,000–$170,000: 13 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $170,000–$180,000: 10 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $180,000–$190,000: 0 US districts (0%). Above this entry. This district $30,000 $190,000 every reliable-salary US district, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $10K-wide band; taller bars hold more US districts. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 · FY2023

Arlington School in South Dakota's upper-third pay band

Same 121 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Arlington School District 38-1 ranks #11 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #30 of 121 by per-pupil spending. Eagle Butte School District 20-1 leads both cuts in this pool; pay rank is still not spending rank

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Arlington School District 38-1 is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Eagle Butte School District 20-1 leads spending at $46,309 per pupil; Eagle Butte School District 20-1 leads pay.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

What stands out about Arlington School District 38-1

  • Estimated teacher pay here moved +4.9% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing South Dakota's statewide +10.1% by 5.2 points, a growth rate faster than 35% of the 146 South Dakota districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • Enrolment grew 11.0% here, from 273 students in FY2019 to 303 in FY2023, against a national picture where far more districts shrank than grew over the same period. Growth of this kind typically arrives before the funding that follows it, so per-pupil figures often dip while a district absorbs it.
  • It is a very small district (303 students), where the enrollment-based salary estimate is more sensitive to staffing mix.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$56,190.061

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

South Dakota price level
88.1 / 100

BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.

National-price equivalent
$63,744

+13% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in South Dakota run below the national average, so this salary has roughly the buying power of the national-price equivalent above. A district in a costlier state can advertise a larger nominal salary and still leave a teacher with less.

Regional price parity: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2023 all-items RPP by state. The adjustment applies a statewide index to a district figure, so it captures how South Dakota compares nationally, not how this district compares with others in its own state. Compare every state on this basis.

How this salary figure is calculated
Full NCES reading for Arlington School District 38-1

What the Numbers Say About Arlington School District 38-1

Arlington School District 38-1 is a small school district in South Dakota, serving 303 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $19,396. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $56,190, placing the district in the moderately funded tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4603720 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the South Dakota statewide average of $50,422, teacher pay in Arlington School District 38-1 runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 11.4% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (20.0% differential). Among enrolling districts in South Dakota, it pays more than 91% of them. South Dakota itself ranks #46 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Arlington School District 38-1 reports $5.9M in total expenditure against $5.4M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 27% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $1.0M, special-education teacher pay is $0.1M.

How does Arlington School District 38-1 compare?

Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the South Dakota average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.

Arlington School District 38-1 $56,190
Sioux Falls School District 49-5 $54,143
South Dakota avg $50,422
National avg $70,245

Arlington School District 38-1 pays +3.8% more than Sioux Falls School District 49-5 · per-pupil $19,396 vs $13,239

Derived from NCES F-33 teacher salary expenditure (Z35-Z38) and CCD Staff Universe teacher FTE (FY2023); a small minority use the documented fallback. Unreliable service entities are excluded.

Data-derived comparison paths

Find comparable South Dakota districts

On pay, Arlington School District 38-1 sits closest to Wagner Community School District 11-4; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Wessington Springs School District 36-2. These are not simply nearby districts: each group is selected from the same NCES FY2023 dataset using a matching salary or per-pupil-investment signal and a comparable enrollment range.

Closest on estimated pay
  1. Wagner Community School District 11-4
  2. Chester Area School District 39-1
  3. Milbank School District 25-4
  4. Lemmon School District 52-4
  5. Andes Central School District 11-1
  6. Madison Central School District 39-2
  7. Dupree School District 64-2
  8. Groton Area School District 06-6
  9. Baltic School District 49-1
  10. Lennox School District 41-4
  11. Beresford School District 61-2
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Wessington Springs School District 36-2
  2. Avon School District 04-1
  3. Kimball School District 07-2
  4. Harding County School District 31-1
  5. Leola School District 44-2
  6. White River School District 47-1
  7. Gregory School District 26-4
  8. Milbank School District 25-4
  9. Bennett County School District 03-1
  10. Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1
  11. Platte - Geddes School District 11-5

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Arlington School District 38-1's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Arlington School District 38-1: closest on enrollment (303 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($56,190 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood.

Similar enrollment

Nearest other districts by NCES student count (floored at ≥200).

Similar estimated salary

Nearest other districts by F-33-derived average teacher salary, distinct from the enrollment row.

Enrollment and salaries from NCES CCD F-33; estimated teacher pay can diverge widely at the same student count because of state funding, cost of living, and local bargaining.

Revenue & Expenditure

$5.4M
Total Revenue
$5.9M
Total Expenditure
$1.6M
Instruction Salaries
27% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$1.0M
Regular Program
$0.1M
Special Education
$0.1M
Vocational
$0.1M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Arlington School District 38-1: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 82% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 18% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.

South Dakota Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized South Dakota districts belongs to Douglas School District 51-1 at $61,738. Arlington School District 38-1 sits in the upper quarter of that field at 9 of 50, nearer the ceiling than the floor. North Dakota and Oklahoma are the states closest to South Dakota on BEA's price parity, which makes them the fair comparison; against a costlier state this salary goes further than its number suggests.

View all South Dakota districts →

Other South Dakota Districts

Smaller-district sample from 120 South Dakota peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Plankinton School District 01-1
$39,430
288 students
Woonsocket School District 55-4
$47,073
285 students
Lemmon School District 52-4
$54,542
283 students
Ethan School District 17-1
$52,218
283 students
Willow Lake School District 12-3
$51,518
323 students
Wall School District 51-5
$48,871
283 students

This is a sample of 6 from 120 South Dakota districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

Frequently Asked Questions about Arlington School District 38-1
What is the average teacher salary in Arlington School District 38-1?

The average teacher salary in Arlington School District 38-1 is $56,190 (NCES CCD FY2023), from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by the district's reported teacher headcount (NCES CCD Staff Universe Survey).

How does Arlington School District 38-1 teacher pay compare to the South Dakota average?

Arlington School District 38-1 pays 11.4% more than the South Dakota state average of $50,422. The district's average is $56,190.

How does Arlington School District 38-1 teacher pay compare to the national average?

Arlington School District 38-1 pays 20.0% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $56,190.

What is the per-pupil spending in Arlington School District 38-1?

Arlington School District 38-1 spends approximately $19,396 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Arlington School District 38-1's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 27% of Arlington School District 38-1's total expenditure of $5.9M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Arlington School District 38-1
Disclaimer & data sources

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher

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Editorial standards & source notes

According to the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, PlainTeacher's figures are computed directly, no number is typed in by an editor. Arlington School District 38-1's salary and finance figures are computed directly from its FY2023 F-33 submission, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of FY2023.