School district · Tennessee · LEAID 4703180
Davidson County
Davidson County spends $20,412 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable Tennessee districts with a reliable figure. Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Davidson County come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $69,520
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $20,412
- Per-pupil spending
- 80,651
- Students enrolled
- 94th
- Pct. in TN
Well above benchmark
Davidson County spends $20,412 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable Tennessee districts with a reliable figure. Estimated average teacher salary is $69,520, near the national average of $70,245, serving 80,651 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- High per-pupil spending: Davidson County spends $20,412 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable Tennessee districts with a reliable figure.
- 94th percentile for Tennessee
- 58th percentile nationally
- 25% of spending reaches instructional salaries
- Tennessee ranks #38 of 49 on the salary estimate and #13 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- Davidson County ranks #8 of 139 Tennessee districts by estimated teacher salary and #2 of 139 by per-pupil spending. Achievement School District pay #1 at $82,057 is not Franklin SSD spending #1 at $24,604 per pupil
- +11.8% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
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Instructional payroll mix vs Tennessee median
Among 141 Tennessee districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Davidson County's instructional payroll puts 16.9% into special education , 6.8 points above the state median of 10.0%. That heavier special-education share usually means more of the teacher-salary pool is tied to IEP-driven staffing than at a typical Tennessee peer.
| Program | Davidson County | TN median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 81.1% | 84.1% | -3.0 pp |
| Special education | 16.9% | 10.0% | +6.8 pp |
| Vocational programs | 1.7% | 5.0% | -3.3 pp |
Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 141 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 4703180 · FY2023.
LEAID 4703180 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Davidson County F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $69,520 estimated average teacher salary · P94 in Tennessee · P58 nationally · 25% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Bartlett ($1,086est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Davidson County
Salary neighbourhood · Davidson County
Davidson County 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).
- Union · low pole $32,029
Union · low pole
$32,029 est. salary
- Murfreesboro · near
Murfreesboro · near
$67,935 est. salary
- Bartlett · near
Bartlett · near
$68,433 est. salary
- Davidson
Davidson · this district
$69,520 est. salary
- Maryville · near
Maryville · near
$71,490 est. salary
- Achievement · top pay
Achievement · top pay
$82,057 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Davidson County
Davidson County's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$69,520 Top 42% higher than 58% 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
Davidson County in Tennessee's upper-third pay band
Same 139 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)
- Achievement School District
Achievement School District
$82,057 est. avg salary
- Franklin SSD
Franklin SSD
$74,294 est. avg salary
- Davidson County
Davidson County
$69,520 est. avg salary
What this shows Davidson County ranks #8 of 139 Tennessee districts by estimated teacher salary and #2 of 139 by per-pupil spending. Achievement School District pay #1 at $82,057 is not Franklin SSD spending #1 at $24,604 per pupil
The same districts by per-pupil spending
Davidson County is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar
- Franklin SSD
Franklin SSD
$24,604 per pupil
- Davidson County
Davidson County
$20,412 per pupil
- Achievement School District
Achievement School District
$14,678 per pupil
What this shows Franklin SSD leads spending at $24,604 per pupil; Achievement School District leads pay.
What stands out about Davidson County
- With 80,651 students, it is the 40th-largest school district by enrollment among the 13,149 US districts reporting enrollment data.
- A district of this scale typically enrolls more students than several entire states' worth of smaller districts combined, which is part of why the per-pupil and per-teacher figures here should be read as an aggregate across many schools rather than a single-campus estimate.
- Its total annual revenue of $1.86B puts it among just 27 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 Davidson County
Davidson County enrolls 80,651 students (0.17% 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 $1.86B, putting it among 27 districts at this budget scale or larger.
Reported teacher FTE is 4,975, about 16.2 students per teacher (mega-cohort median 16.0; denser staffing than 39 of the 87 mega-districts with a usable FTE count, rank 48th 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 Davidson County among other large systems, not against a 1,000-student district whose FTE is a handful of classrooms.
Instructional salaries take 25% of total expenditure on a $1.65B 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque Public Schools · New Mexico | 79,805 | $74,657 | $1.45B |
| Fort Bend ISD · Texas | 79,660 | $64,672 | $1.01B |
| Loudoun County Public Schools · Virginia | 81,678 | $86,520 | $1.73B |
| Greenville 01 · South Carolina | 77,978 | $66,760 | $1.26B |
| Pasco · Florida | 84,032 | $49,561 | $1.08B |
This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests
- Nominal district estimate
- $69,519.602
- Tennessee price level
- 92.1 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $75,488
The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.
BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.
+9% versus the nominal figure.
Prices in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Davidson County
What the Numbers Say About Davidson County
Davidson County is a large urban school district in Tennessee, serving 80,651 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $20,412. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $69,520, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4703180 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.
Relative to the Tennessee statewide average of $57,941, teacher pay in Davidson County runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 20.0% gap, and near the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (1.0% differential). Among enrolling districts in Tennessee, it pays more than 94% of them. Tennessee itself ranks #38 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.
On the budget side, Davidson County reports $1646.3M in total expenditure against $1859.6M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 25% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $280.4M, special-education teacher pay is $58.3M.
How does Davidson County compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the Tennessee average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Davidson County pays +18.5% more than Memphis-Shelby County Schools · per-pupil $20,412 vs $16,050
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 Tennessee districts
On pay, Davidson County sits closest to Rutherford County; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Memphis-Shelby County Schools. 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 Davidson County's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for Davidson County: closest on enrollment (80,651 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($69,520 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 Davidson 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 85% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 15% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.
Tennessee Teacher Pay Overview
The highest average among comparably sized Tennessee districts belongs to Achievement School District at $82,057. Davidson County sits in the upper quarter of that field at 8 of 137, nearer the ceiling than the floor. Indiana and Idaho are the states closest to Tennessee 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 Tennessee districts →Other Tennessee Districts
Large-district sample from 138 Tennessee peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.
This is a sample of 6 from 138 Tennessee districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Davidson County
What is the average teacher salary in Davidson County?
The average teacher salary in Davidson County is $69,520 (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 Davidson County teacher pay compare to the Tennessee average?
Davidson County pays 20.0% more than the Tennessee state average of $57,941. The district's average is $69,520.
How does Davidson County teacher pay compare to the national average?
Davidson County pays 1.0% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $69,520.
What is the per-pupil spending in Davidson County?
Davidson County spends approximately $20,412 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Davidson County's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 25% of Davidson County's total expenditure of $1646.3M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Davidson 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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| Sources | Public official public datasets |