School district · Georgia · LEAID 1300120
Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools spends $24,567 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable Georgia districts with a reliable figure. Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Atlanta Public Schools come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $72,107
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $24,567
- Per-pupil spending
- 50,325
- Students enrolled
- 95th
- Pct. in GA
Well above benchmark
Atlanta Public Schools spends $24,567 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable Georgia districts with a reliable figure. Estimated average teacher salary is $72,107, near the national average of $70,245, serving 50,325 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- High per-pupil spending: Atlanta Public Schools spends $24,567 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable Georgia districts with a reliable figure.
- 95th percentile for Georgia
- 63rd percentile nationally
- 26% of spending reaches instructional salaries
- Georgia ranks #35 of 49 on the salary estimate and #4 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- Atlanta Public Schools ranks #9 of 179 Georgia districts by estimated teacher salary and #8 of 179 by per-pupil spending. Cobb County pay #1 at $81,518 is not Taylor County spending #1 at $38,272 per pupil
- +18.7% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
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Instructional payroll mix vs Georgia median
Among 180 Georgia districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Atlanta Public Schools's instructional payroll puts 18.9% into special education , 2.4 points above the state median of 16.5%. That heavier special-education share usually means more of the teacher-salary pool is tied to IEP-driven staffing than at a typical Georgia peer.
| Program | Atlanta Public | GA median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 71.5% | 73.6% | -2.0 pp |
| Special education | 18.9% | 16.5% | +2.4 pp |
| Vocational programs | 2.3% | 4.4% | -2.0 pp |
| Other programs | 7.2% | 5.1% | +2.1 pp |
Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 180 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 1300120 · FY2023.
LEAID 1300120 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Atlanta Public F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $72,107 estimated average teacher salary · P95 in Georgia · P63 nationally · 26% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Paulding (+$95est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Atlanta Public
Salary neighbourhood · Atlanta Public
Atlanta Public 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).
- Richmond · low pole
Richmond · low pole
$52,647 est. salary
- Houston · near
Houston · near
$70,349 est. salary
- Gwinnett · near
Gwinnett · near
$70,765 est. salary
- Atlanta
Atlanta · this district
$72,107 est. salary
- Paulding · near
Paulding · near
$72,201 est. salary
- Cobb · top pay
Cobb · top pay
$81,518 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Atlanta Public
Atlanta Public Schools's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$72,107 Top 37% higher than 63% of 10,684 US districts
Show national distribution
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
Atlanta Public in Georgia's upper-third pay band
Same 179 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)
- Cobb County
Cobb County
$81,518 est. avg salary
- Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools
$72,107 est. avg salary
- Taylor County
Taylor County
$60,600 est. avg salary
What this shows Atlanta Public Schools ranks #9 of 179 Georgia districts by estimated teacher salary and #8 of 179 by per-pupil spending. Cobb County pay #1 at $81,518 is not Taylor County spending #1 at $38,272 per pupil
The same districts by per-pupil spending
Atlanta Public Schools is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar
- Taylor County
Taylor County
$38,272 per pupil
- Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools
$24,567 per pupil
- Cobb County
Cobb County
$16,624 per pupil
What this shows Taylor County leads spending at $38,272 per pupil; Cobb County leads pay.
What stands out about Atlanta Public Schools
- With 50,325 students, it is the 86th-largest school district by enrollment among the 13,149 US districts reporting enrollment data.
- Its total annual revenue of $1.35B puts it among just 48 US districts operating a budget of this size or larger, out of the 13,149 districts in the NCES CCD F-33 survey, a scale that brings dedicated budget offices, multi-year capital planning, and district-wide procurement contracts that a small district's single-person business office cannot replicate.
Scale composition for Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools enrolls 50,325 students (0.11% of the 46,412,683 students across 13,149 US districts that report enrollment in the NCES CCD F-33 survey). Only 88 districts clear the 50,000-student threshold used here - sparse districts in the 500-5,000 band cannot show a national-share read of this kind because their headcount is too small for the percentage to mean anything. Total annual revenue is $1.35B, putting it among 48 districts at this budget scale or larger.
Reported teacher FTE is 3,980, about 12.6 students per teacher (mega-cohort median 16.0; denser staffing than 85 of the 87 mega-districts with a usable FTE count, rank 2nd densest) . At this enrollment the ratio is an aggregate across many campuses, so a single-school class-size story is the wrong read - use it to place Atlanta Public Schools among other large systems, not against a 1,000-student district whose FTE is a handful of classrooms.
Instructional salaries take 26% of total expenditure on a $1.24B budget . Large systems carry central offices, transportation, and facilities lines that dilute the classroom share relative to a small district whose budget is almost entirely payroll - comparing that percentage across the enrollment cliff without this scale note misreads both ends.
Nearest mega-district peers by enrollment (same 50k+ cohort):
| District | Enrollment | Est. avg salary | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henrico County Public Schools · Virginia | 50,389 | $66,690 | $804M |
| St. Johns · Florida | 50,151 | $65,553 | $665M |
| El Paso ISD · Texas | 50,031 | $58,700 | $734M |
| Jefferson Parish · Louisiana | 50,628 | $66,324 | $900M |
| Corona-Norco Unified · California | 50,682 | $129,563 | $1.10B |
This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests
- Nominal district estimate
- $72,106.837
- Georgia price level
- 96.5 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $74,727
The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.
BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.
+4% versus the nominal figure.
Prices in Georgia 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 Georgia 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 Atlanta Public Schools
What the Numbers Say About Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools is a large urban school district in Georgia, serving 50,325 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $24,567. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $72,107, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 1300120 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.
Relative to the Georgia statewide average of $61,790, teacher pay in Atlanta Public Schools runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 16.7% gap, and near the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (2.7% differential). Among enrolling districts in Georgia, it pays more than 95% of them. Georgia itself ranks #35 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.
On the budget side, Atlanta Public Schools reports $1236.3M in total expenditure against $1354.3M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 26% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $205.3M, special-education teacher pay is $54.3M.
How does Atlanta Public Schools compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the Georgia average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Atlanta Public Schools pays +1.9% more than Gwinnett County · per-pupil $24,567 vs $15,296
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 Georgia districts
On pay, Atlanta Public Schools sits closest to Paulding County; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Dougherty County. 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.
Similar estimated teacher pay
Similar per-pupil investment
Out-of-state districts near Atlanta Public Schools's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for Atlanta Public Schools: closest on enrollment (50,325 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($72,107 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
Instructional Salary by Program
The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Atlanta Public Schools: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 89% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 11% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.
Georgia Teacher Pay Overview
The highest average among comparably sized Georgia districts belongs to Cobb County at $81,518. Atlanta Public Schools sits in the upper quarter of that field at 9 of 172, nearer the ceiling than the floor. Texas and Vermont are the states closest to Georgia 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 Georgia districts →Other Georgia Districts
Large-district sample from 178 Georgia peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.
This is a sample of 6 from 178 Georgia districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Atlanta Public Schools
What is the average teacher salary in Atlanta Public Schools?
The average teacher salary in Atlanta Public Schools is $72,107 (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 Atlanta Public Schools teacher pay compare to the Georgia average?
Atlanta Public Schools pays 16.7% more than the Georgia state average of $61,790. The district's average is $72,107.
How does Atlanta Public Schools teacher pay compare to the national average?
Atlanta Public Schools pays 2.7% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $72,107.
What is the per-pupil spending in Atlanta Public Schools?
Atlanta Public Schools spends approximately $24,567 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Atlanta Public Schools's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 26% of Atlanta Public Schools's total expenditure of $1236.3M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Atlanta Public Schools
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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| Sources | Public official public datasets |