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School district · South Dakota · LEAID 4616950

Custer School District 16-1

Custer School District 16-1 sits in the lowest third of South Dakota districts on estimated teacher pay at $48,976 (above only 36% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Custer School District 16-1 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$48,976
Est. avg teacher salary

Near benchmark

$15,921
Per-pupil spending
911
Students enrolled
36th
Pct. in SD
$48,976

Custer School District 16-1 sits in the lowest third of South Dakota districts on estimated teacher pay at $48,976 (above only 36% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $48,976, below the national average of $70,245, serving 911 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Lower-third pay in state: Custer School District 16-1 sits in the lowest third of South Dakota districts on estimated teacher pay at $48,976 (above only 36% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
  • 36th percentile for South Dakota
  • 12th percentile nationally
  • 34% 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.
  • Custer School District 16-1 ranks #78 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #53 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
  • +27.9% 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, Custer School District 16-1's instructional payroll puts 15.0% into special education , 5.3 points above the state median of 9.7%. That heavier special-education share usually means more of the teacher-salary pool is tied to IEP-driven staffing than at a typical South Dakota peer.

Program Custer School SD median Gap
Regular program 75.1% 79.9% -4.9 pp
Special education 15.0% 9.7% +5.3 pp
Vocational programs 3.9% 5.1% -1.2 pp
Other programs 5.9% 5.1% +0.8 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 4616950 · FY2023.

LEAID 4616950 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Custer School F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-INLINE Near state avg RANK-ST-LOW P36 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P12 national PPE-MID $16K/pupil ENR-SMALL 911 students INSTR-LOW 34% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Centerville FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $48,976 estimated average teacher salary · P36 in South Dakota · P12 nationally · 34% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Vermillion (+$389est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Custer School

Salary neighbourhood · Custer School

Custer School 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 Custer School

Custer School District 16-1's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$48,976 12th percentile higher than 12% 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%). This entry sits in this band. $50,000–$60,000: 2,382 US districts (22%). Above this entry. $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. Custer School District 16-1 $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

Custer School in South Dakota's lower-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 Custer School District 16-1 ranks #78 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #53 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

Custer School District 16-1 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 Custer School District 16-1

  • Estimated teacher pay here rose +27.9% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing South Dakota's statewide +10.1% by 17.9 points, a growth rate faster than 95% of the 146 South Dakota districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$48,975.911

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
$55,560

+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 Custer School District 16-1

What the Numbers Say About Custer School District 16-1

Custer School District 16-1 is a small school district in South Dakota, serving 911 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $15,921. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $48,976, placing the district in the moderately funded tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4616950 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 Custer School District 16-1 runs slightly below the state benchmark, a 2.9% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (30.3% differential). Among enrolling districts in South Dakota, it pays more than 36% 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, Custer School District 16-1 reports $14.5M in total expenditure against $16.7M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 34% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $2.9M, special-education teacher pay is $0.6M.

How does Custer School District 16-1 compare?

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

Custer School District 16-1 $48,976
Sioux Falls School District 49-5 $54,143
South Dakota avg $50,422
National avg $70,245

Custer School District 16-1 pays -9.5% less than Sioux Falls School District 49-5 · per-pupil $15,921 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, Custer School District 16-1 sits closest to Centerville School District 60-1; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Menno School District 33-2. 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. Centerville School District 60-1
  2. Hanson School District 30-1
  3. Wall School District 51-5
  4. De Smet School District 38-2
  5. White River School District 47-1
  6. Estelline School District 28-2
  7. Vermillion School District 13-1
  8. Menno School District 33-2
  9. Hamlin School District 28-3
  10. Gayville-Volin School District 63-1
  11. Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Menno School District 33-2
  2. Hot Springs School District 23-2
  3. Canistota School District 43-1
  4. Estelline School District 28-2
  5. Wall School District 51-5
  6. Waverly School District 14-5
  7. Lemmon School District 52-4
  8. Iroquois School District 02-3
  9. Warner School District 06-5
  10. Faulkton Area Schools 24-4
  11. Hitchcock Tulare School District 56-6

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts with similar lower pay

Two out-of-state peer sets for Custer School District 16-1: closest on enrollment (911 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($48,976 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

$16.7M
Total Revenue
$14.5M
Total Expenditure
$4.9M
Instruction Salaries
34% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$2.9M
Regular Program
$0.6M
Special Education
$0.1M
Vocational
$0.2M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Custer School District 16-1: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 77% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 23% 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. Placed 40 of 49, Custer School District 16-1 is in the lower quarter, where a state-average comparison flatters the district rather than describing it. 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

The bar behind each salary shows its magnitude within this South Dakota sample (including Custer School). Hover or focus a value for the exact comparison.

Webster Area 18-5
$46,537
551 students
Deuel School District 19-4
$50,793
544 students
Platte - Geddes School District 11-5
$51,535
512 students
Hill City School District 51-2
$52,711
493 students
Belle Fourche School District 09-1
$48,147
1,329 students
Parker School District 60-4
$49,986
491 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 Custer School District 16-1
What is the average teacher salary in Custer School District 16-1?

The average teacher salary in Custer School District 16-1 is $48,976 (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 Custer School District 16-1 teacher pay compare to the South Dakota average?

Custer School District 16-1 pays 2.9% less than the South Dakota state average of $50,422. The district's average is $48,976.

How does Custer School District 16-1 teacher pay compare to the national average?

Custer School District 16-1 pays 30.3% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $48,976.

What is the per-pupil spending in Custer School District 16-1?

Custer School District 16-1 spends approximately $15,921 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Custer School District 16-1's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 34% of Custer School District 16-1's total expenditure of $14.5M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Custer School District 16-1
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. Custer School District 16-1'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.