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School district · Montana · LEAID 3003420

Belt Elem

Belt Elem is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable Montana districts (271 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Belt Elem come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$53,264
Est. avg teacher salary

Below benchmark

$12,476
Per-pupil spending
271
Students enrolled
34th
Pct. in MT
$53,264

Belt Elem is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable Montana districts (271 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $53,264, below the national average of $70,245, serving 271 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Smaller enrollment scale: Belt Elem is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable Montana districts (271 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
  • 34th percentile for Montana
  • 22nd percentile nationally
  • 35% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Montana ranks #36 of 49 on the salary estimate and #43 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Belt Elem ranks #93 of 140 Montana districts by estimated teacher salary and #108 of 140 by per-pupil spending. Helena H S pay #1 at $104,507 is not Lolo Elem spending #1 at $49,777 per pupil
  • +23.3% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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Instructional payroll mix vs Montana median

Among 317 Montana districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Belt Elem's instructional payroll puts 96.5% into regular program , 6.5 points above the state median of 90.0%. Regular-program teachers claim more of the instructional salary pool here than at the median Montana district.

Program Belt Elem MT median Gap
Regular program 96.5% 90.0% +6.5 pp
Special education 3.5% 6.7% -3.2 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 317 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 3003420 · FY2023.

LEAID 3003420 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Belt Elem F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-BELOW -10% vs state RANK-ST-LOW P34 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P22 national PPE-LOW $12K/pupil ENR-TINY 271 students INSTR-MID 35% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Lolo FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $53,264 estimated average teacher salary · P34 in Montana · P22 nationally · 35% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: East ($957est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Belt Elem

Salary neighbourhood · Belt Elem

Belt Elem sits mid-pack among in-state peers; the chart brackets it between the top and bottom pay poles (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 Belt Elem

Belt Elem's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$53,264 22nd percentile higher than 22% 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. Belt Elem $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

Belt Elem in Montana's lower-third pay band

Same 140 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Belt Elem ranks #93 of 140 Montana districts by estimated teacher salary and #108 of 140 by per-pupil spending. Helena H S pay #1 at $104,507 is not Lolo Elem spending #1 at $49,777 per pupil

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

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Belt Elem is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Lolo Elem leads spending at $49,777 per pupil; Helena H S leads pay.

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

What stands out about Belt Elem

  • Estimated teacher pay here rose +23.3% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing Montana's statewide +12.5% by 10.7 points, a growth rate faster than 80% of the 277 Montana districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • Enrolment grew 19.9% here, from 226 students in FY2019 to 271 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 (271 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
$53,263.851

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Montana price level
91.0 / 100

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

National-price equivalent
$58,523

+10% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Montana 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 Montana 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 Belt Elem

What the Numbers Say About Belt Elem

Belt Elem is a small school district in Montana, serving 271 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $12,476. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $53,264, placing the district in the lower-spending tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 3003420 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Montana statewide average of $59,058, teacher pay in Belt Elem runs materially below the state benchmark, a 9.8% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (24.2% differential). Among enrolling districts in Montana, it pays more than 34% of them. Montana itself ranks #36 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Belt Elem reports $3.4M in total expenditure against $3.3M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 35% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $0.9M, special-education teacher pay is $0.0M.

How does Belt Elem compare?

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

Belt Elem $53,264
Billings Elem $74,295
Montana avg $59,058
National avg $70,245

Belt Elem pays -28.3% less than Billings Elem · per-pupil $12,476 vs $12,841

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 Montana districts

On pay, Belt Elem sits closest to Lolo Elem; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Belgrade H S. 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. Lolo Elem
  2. Somers Elem
  3. Townsend K-12 Schools
  4. Superior K-12 Schools
  5. Custer County H S
  6. St Ignatius K-12 Schools
  7. Scobey K-12 Schools
  8. Whitehall Elem
  9. Red Lodge Elem
  10. Ronan H S
  11. Three Forks Elem
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Belgrade H S
  2. Cascade Elem
  3. Choteau Elem
  4. Roundup Elem
  5. Cayuse Prairie Elem
  6. Sidney Elem
  7. Red Lodge Elem
  8. Shepherd Elem
  9. Laurel H S
  10. Deer Lodge Elem
  11. Manhattan School

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Belt Elem's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Belt Elem: closest on enrollment (271 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($53,264 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

$3.3M
Total Revenue
$3.4M
Total Expenditure
$1.2M
Instruction Salaries
35% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$0.9M
Regular Program
$0.0M
Special Education

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 2 programs in Belt Elem: the regular program and special education. It reports no separate figure for vocational programs and other programs. Together they are 81% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 19% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.

Montana Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized Montana districts belongs to Helena H S at $104,507. Placed 54 of 65, Belt Elem is in the lower quarter, where a state-average comparison flatters the district rather than describing it. New Mexico and Missouri are the states closest to Montana 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 Montana districts →

Other Montana Districts

Smaller-district sample from 139 Montana peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Canyon Creek Elem
$41,699
234 students
Chinook Elem
$51,606
228 students
Cut Bank H S
$58,274
227 students
Wolf Point H S
$43,068
225 students
Big Timber Elem
$67,200
318 students
Smith Valley Elem
$50,349
224 students

This is a sample of 6 from 139 Montana districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

Frequently Asked Questions about Belt Elem
What is the average teacher salary in Belt Elem?

The average teacher salary in Belt Elem is $53,264 (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 Belt Elem teacher pay compare to the Montana average?

Belt Elem pays 9.8% less than the Montana state average of $59,058. The district's average is $53,264.

How does Belt Elem teacher pay compare to the national average?

Belt Elem pays 24.2% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $53,264.

What is the per-pupil spending in Belt Elem?

Belt Elem spends approximately $12,476 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Belt Elem's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 35% of Belt Elem's total expenditure of $3.4M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Belt Elem
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. Belt Elem'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.