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School district · Kentucky · LEAID 2101020

Carter County

Carter County spends $13,368 per pupil, in the lowest third among comparable Kentucky districts with a reliable figure. Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Carter County come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$56,775
Est. avg teacher salary

Near benchmark

$13,368
Per-pupil spending
4,137
Students enrolled
51st
Pct. in KY
$56,775

Carter County spends $13,368 per pupil, in the lowest third among comparable Kentucky districts with a reliable figure. Estimated average teacher salary is $56,775, below the national average of $70,245, serving 4,137 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Lower per-pupil spending: Carter County spends $13,368 per pupil, in the lowest third among comparable Kentucky districts with a reliable figure.
  • 51st percentile for Kentucky
  • 30th percentile nationally
  • 31% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Kentucky ranks #40 of 49 on the salary estimate and #24 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Carter County ranks #84 of 171 Kentucky districts by estimated teacher salary and #166 of 171 by per-pupil spending. Jefferson County pay #1 at $73,395 is not Newport Independent spending #1 at $28,225 per pupil
  • +9.5% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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Instructional payroll mix vs Kentucky median

Among 171 Kentucky districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Carter County's instructional payroll puts 73.3% into regular program , 6.5 points below the state median of 79.8%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.

Program Carter County KY median Gap
Regular program 73.3% 79.8% -6.5 pp
Special education 21.0% 16.6% +4.4 pp
Vocational programs 3.6% 0.2% +3.4 pp
Other programs 2.1% 1.5% +0.6 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 171 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 2101020 · FY2023.

LEAID 2101020 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Carter County F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-INLINE Near state avg RANK-ST-MID P51 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P30 national PPE-LOW $13K/pupil ENR-MID 4,137 students INSTR-LOW 31% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Woodford FY-2023-MID FY2023 book

FY2023: $56,775 estimated average teacher salary · P51 in Kentucky · P30 nationally · 31% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Woodford (+$79est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Carter County

Salary neighbourhood · Carter County

Carter County 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 Carter County

Carter County's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$56,775 30th percentile higher than 30% 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. Carter County $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

Carter County in Kentucky's lower-third pay band

Same 171 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Carter County ranks #84 of 171 Kentucky districts by estimated teacher salary and #166 of 171 by per-pupil spending. Jefferson County pay #1 at $73,395 is not Newport Independent spending #1 at $28,225 per pupil

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

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Carter County is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Newport Independent leads spending at $28,225 per pupil; Jefferson County leads pay.

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

What stands out about Carter County

  • Estimated teacher pay here moved +9.5% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing Kentucky's statewide +13.0% by 3.4 points, a growth rate faster than 29% of the 160 Kentucky districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • Enrolment fell from 4,396 to 4,137 students (5.9% down) across FY2019–FY2023 while the instructional salary pool per teacher went up. Districts on that path are usually holding staffing steady against a falling roll, which lifts the per-teacher figure without anyone getting a raise, so read this page's salary estimate alongside the enrolment line rather than on its own.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$56,774.617

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Kentucky price level
89.9 / 100

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

National-price equivalent
$63,160

+11% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 Carter County

What the Numbers Say About Carter County

Carter County is a small-to-mid-sized school district in Kentucky, serving 4,137 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $13,368. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $56,775, placing the district in the lower-spending tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 2101020 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Kentucky statewide average of $56,482, teacher pay in Carter County runs roughly in line with the state benchmark, a 0.5% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (19.2% differential). Among enrolling districts in Kentucky, it pays more than 51% of them. Kentucky itself ranks #40 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Carter County reports $55.3M in total expenditure against $95.7M 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 $10.8M, special-education teacher pay is $3.1M.

How does Carter County compare?

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

Carter County $56,775
Jefferson County $73,395
Kentucky avg $56,482
National avg $70,245

Carter County pays -22.6% less than Jefferson County · per-pupil $13,368 vs $20,696

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 Kentucky districts

On pay, Carter County sits closest to Woodford County; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Ohio 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.

Closest on estimated pay
  1. Woodford County
  2. Hancock County
  3. Whitley County
  4. Pike County
  5. Campbellsville Independent
  6. Bowling Green Independent
  7. Adair County
  8. Russell Independent
  9. Knott County
  10. Grant County
  11. Barren County
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Ohio County
  2. Pendleton County
  3. Anderson County
  4. Allen County
  5. Elizabethtown Independent
  6. Crittenden County
  7. Madison County
  8. Spencer County
  9. Christian County
  10. Laurel County
  11. LaRue County

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Carter County's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Carter County: closest on enrollment (4,137 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($56,775 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

$95.7M
Total Revenue
$55.3M
Total Expenditure
$17.4M
Instruction Salaries
31% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$10.8M
Regular Program
$3.1M
Special Education
$0.5M
Vocational
$0.3M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Carter County: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 84% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 16% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.

Kentucky Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized Kentucky districts belongs to Jefferson County at $73,395. Carter County places 78 of 161 comparably sized districts, squarely in the middle band the state average actually represents. Kansas and West Virginia are the states closest to Kentucky 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 Kentucky districts →

Other Kentucky Districts

Smaller-district sample from 170 Kentucky peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Rockcastle County
$54,994
2,761 students
Breckinridge County
$60,686
2,748 students
Taylor County
$57,444
2,731 students
Mercer County
$60,522
2,721 students
McCreary County
$56,059
2,715 students
Bardstown Independent
$65,268
2,713 students

This is a sample of 6 from 170 Kentucky districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

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

The average teacher salary in Carter County is $56,775 (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 Carter County teacher pay compare to the Kentucky average?

Carter County pays 0.5% more than the Kentucky state average of $56,482. The district's average is $56,775.

How does Carter County teacher pay compare to the national average?

Carter County pays 19.2% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $56,775.

What is the per-pupil spending in Carter County?

Carter County spends approximately $13,368 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Carter County's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 31% of Carter County's total expenditure of $55.3M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Carter County
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. Carter County'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.