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School district · Massachusetts · LEAID 2502790

Boston

Boston sits in the highest third of Massachusetts districts on estimated teacher pay at $121,260 (above 100% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Boston come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$121,260
Est. avg teacher salary

Well above benchmark

$45,516
Per-pupil spending
46,001
Students enrolled
100th
Pct. in MA
$121,260

Boston sits in the highest third of Massachusetts districts on estimated teacher pay at $121,260 (above 100% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $121,260, above the national average of $70,245, serving 46,001 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Upper-third pay in state: Boston sits in the highest third of Massachusetts districts on estimated teacher pay at $121,260 (above 100% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
  • 100th percentile for Massachusetts
  • 97th percentile nationally
  • 31% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Massachusetts ranks #9 of 49 on the salary estimate and #17 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Boston ranks #1 of 288 Massachusetts districts by estimated teacher salary and #5 of 288 by per-pupil spending. Boston pay #1 at $121,260 is not Watertown spending #1 at $60,947 per pupil

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Instructional payroll mix vs Massachusetts median

Among 318 Massachusetts districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Boston's instructional payroll puts 24.2% into special education , 5.4 points above the state median of 18.8%. That heavier special-education share usually means more of the teacher-salary pool is tied to IEP-driven staffing than at a typical Massachusetts peer.

Program Boston MA median Gap
Regular program 75.0% 79.6% -4.6 pp
Special education 24.2% 18.8% +5.4 pp
Vocational programs 0.9% 0.0% +0.9 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 318 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 2502790 · FY2023.

LEAID 2502790 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Boston F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-HIGH +43% vs state RANK-ST-TOP P100 in state RANK-NAT-TOP P97 national PPE-HIGH $46K/pupil ENR-LARGE 46.0K students INSTR-LOW 31% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Worcester FY-2023-HEAVY FY2023 book

FY2023: $121,260 estimated average teacher salary · P100 in Massachusetts · P97 nationally · 31% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Brookline ($11,278est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Boston

Salary neighbourhood · Boston

Boston 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 Boston

Boston's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$121,260 Top 3% higher than 97% 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%). Below this entry. $60,000–$70,000: 2,402 US districts (22%). Below this entry. $70,000–$80,000: 1,633 US districts (15%). Below this entry. $80,000–$90,000: 1,097 US districts (10%). Below this entry. $90,000–$100,000: 662 US districts (6%). Below this entry. $100,000–$110,000: 371 US districts (3%). Below this entry. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). Below this entry. $120,000–$130,000: 156 US districts (1%). This entry sits in this band. $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. Boston $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

Boston in Massachusetts's upper-third pay band

Same 288 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Boston ranks #1 of 288 Massachusetts districts by estimated teacher salary and #5 of 288 by per-pupil spending. Boston pay #1 at $121,260 is not Watertown spending #1 at $60,947 per pupil

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

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Boston is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Watertown leads spending at $60,947 per pupil; Boston leads pay.

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

What stands out about Boston

  • It ranks in the top 5% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 97% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
  • Its per-pupil spending of $45,516 is among the highest in the nation.

Massachusetts prices absorb part of this salary

Nominal district estimate
$121,260.104

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Massachusetts price level
107.7 / 100

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

National-price equivalent
$112,617

-7% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Massachusetts run above the national average, so this salary has roughly the buying power of the national-price equivalent above. Comparing it with a district in a cheaper state without this adjustment overstates its relative value.

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 Massachusetts 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 Boston

What the Numbers Say About Boston

Boston is a mid-sized school district in Massachusetts, serving 46,001 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $45,516. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $121,260, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 2502790 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Massachusetts statewide average of $84,560, teacher pay in Boston runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 43.4% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (72.6% differential). It pays the most of any enrolling district in Massachusetts. Massachusetts itself ranks #9 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Boston reports $2093.8M in total expenditure against $1749.2M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 31% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $392.0M, special-education teacher pay is $126.3M.

How does Boston compare?

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

Boston $121,260
Worcester $101,262
Massachusetts avg $84,560
National avg $70,245

Boston pays +19.7% more than Worcester · per-pupil $45,516 vs $30,635

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 Massachusetts districts

On pay, Boston sits closest to Worcester; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Springfield. 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. Worcester
  2. Brockton
  3. Newton
  4. Lowell
  5. Lynn
  6. New Bedford
  7. Springfield
  8. Lawrence
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Springfield
  2. Worcester
  3. Lowell
  4. Lawrence
  5. Newton
  6. Brockton
  7. Lynn
  8. New Bedford

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Boston's enrollment scale

Two out-of-state peer sets for Boston: closest on enrollment (46,001 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($121,260 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

$1749.2M
Total Revenue
$2093.8M
Total Expenditure
$639.1M
Instruction Salaries
31% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$392.0M
Regular Program
$126.3M
Special Education
$4.5M
Vocational

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 3 programs in Boston: the regular program, special education and vocational programs. It reports no separate figure for other programs. 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.

Massachusetts Teacher Pay Overview

No comparably sized Massachusetts district reports a higher average than Boston, so this page is the state's ceiling rather than a point on the way to it. Only the state ceiling itself: among the 272 districts of comparable size, Boston is paid at the very top of the state, and the state average sits well below it. Because Massachusetts prices run above the national average, this salary is worth less than the same number elsewhere; New York and Washington are the states it can be compared with directly on BEA's price parity.

View all Massachusetts districts →

Other Massachusetts Districts

Large-district sample from 289 Massachusetts peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.

Lawrence
$70,160
12,867 students
New Bedford
$72,236
12,522 students
Newton
$98,569
11,882 students
Fall River
$71,969
10,447 students
Quincy
$84,662
9,649 students
Framingham
$97,025
9,274 students

This is a sample of 6 from 289 Massachusetts districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

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

The average teacher salary in Boston is $121,260 (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 Boston teacher pay compare to the Massachusetts average?

Boston pays 43.4% more than the Massachusetts state average of $84,560. The district's average is $121,260.

How does Boston teacher pay compare to the national average?

Boston pays 72.6% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $121,260.

What is the per-pupil spending in Boston?

Boston spends approximately $45,516 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Boston's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 31% of Boston's total expenditure of $2093.8M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Boston
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. Boston'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.