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School district · Montana · LEAID 3000655

East Helena K-12

East Helena K-12 spends $11,155 per pupil, in the lowest third among comparable Montana districts with a reliable figure. Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for East Helena K-12 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$52,307
Est. avg teacher salary

Below benchmark

$11,155
Per-pupil spending
1,952
Students enrolled
31st
Pct. in MT
$52,307

East Helena K-12 spends $11,155 per pupil, in the lowest third among comparable Montana districts with a reliable figure. Estimated average teacher salary is $52,307, below the national average of $70,245, serving 1,952 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Lower per-pupil spending: East Helena K-12 spends $11,155 per pupil, in the lowest third among comparable Montana districts with a reliable figure.
  • 31st percentile for Montana
  • 20th percentile nationally
  • 37% 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.
  • East Helena K-12 ranks #96 of 140 Montana districts by estimated teacher salary and #131 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
  • -4.1% estimated-basis panel FY2020→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, East Helena K-12's instructional payroll puts 5.0% into vocational programs , 5.0 points above the state median of 0.0%. That heavier vocational share usually means career/technical programs claim more of the teacher-salary pool than at a typical Montana peer.

Program East Helena MT median Gap
Regular program 90.4% 90.0% +0.4 pp
Special education 4.7% 6.7% -2.1 pp
Vocational programs 5.0% 0.0% +5.0 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 3000655 · FY2023.

LEAID 3000655 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

East Helena F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-LOW -11% vs state RANK-ST-LOW P31 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P20 national PPE-LOW $11K/pupil ENR-SMALL 1,952 students INSTR-MID 37% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Somers FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $52,307 estimated average teacher salary · P31 in Montana · P20 nationally · 37% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Glasgow ($1,127est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for East Helena

Salary neighbourhood · East Helena

East Helena trails 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 East Helena

East Helena K-12's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$52,307 20th percentile higher than 20% 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. East Helena K-12 $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

East Helena 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 East Helena K-12 ranks #96 of 140 Montana districts by estimated teacher salary and #131 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

East Helena K-12 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 East Helena K-12

  • Enrolment grew 40.7% here, from 1,387 students in FY2020 to 1,952 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.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$52,307.291

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
$57,472

+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 East Helena K-12

What the Numbers Say About East Helena K-12

East Helena K-12 is a small school district in Montana, serving 1,952 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $11,155. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $52,307, placing the district in the lower-spending tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 3000655 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Montana statewide average of $59,058, teacher pay in East Helena K-12 runs materially below the state benchmark, a 11.4% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (25.5% differential). Among enrolling districts in Montana, it pays more than 31% 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, East Helena K-12 reports $21.8M in total expenditure against $24.3M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 37% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $5.4M, special-education teacher pay is $0.3M.

How does East Helena K-12 compare?

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

East Helena K-12 $52,307
Billings Elem $74,295
Montana avg $59,058
National avg $70,245

East Helena K-12 pays -29.6% less than Billings Elem · per-pupil $11,155 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, East Helena K-12 sits closest to Somers Elem; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Corvallis K-12 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.

Closest on estimated pay
  1. Somers Elem
  2. Malta K-12 Schools
  3. Lolo Elem
  4. Glasgow K-12 Schools
  5. Frenchtown K-12 Schools
  6. Townsend K-12 Schools
  7. Custer County H S
  8. Shepherd Elem
  9. Elder Grove Elem
  10. Three Forks Elem
  11. Hardin H S
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Corvallis K-12 Schools
  2. Target Range Elem
  3. Bigfork Elem
  4. Bozeman Elem
  5. Elder Grove Elem
  6. Dillon Elem
  7. Monforton Elem
  8. Frenchtown K-12 Schools
  9. West Valley Elem
  10. Stevensville Elem
  11. Somers Elem

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts with similar lower pay

Two out-of-state peer sets for East Helena K-12: closest on enrollment (1,952 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($52,307 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

$24.3M
Total Revenue
$21.8M
Total Expenditure
$8.1M
Instruction Salaries
37% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$5.4M
Regular Program
$0.3M
Special Education
$0.3M
Vocational

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 3 programs in East Helena K-12: the regular program, special education and vocational programs. It reports no separate figure for other programs. Together they are 74% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 26% 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 55 of 64, East Helena K-12 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

The bar behind each salary shows its magnitude within this Montana sample (including East Helena). Hover or focus a value for the exact comparison.

Target Range Elem
$62,787
574 students
Browning H S
$49,653
563 students
Shepherd Elem
$50,579
562 students
Somers Elem
$52,956
555 students
Lockwood K-12
$56,644
1,718 students
Hamilton K-12 Schools
$59,851
1,666 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 East Helena K-12
What is the average teacher salary in East Helena K-12?

The average teacher salary in East Helena K-12 is $52,307 (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 East Helena K-12 teacher pay compare to the Montana average?

East Helena K-12 pays 11.4% less than the Montana state average of $59,058. The district's average is $52,307.

How does East Helena K-12 teacher pay compare to the national average?

East Helena K-12 pays 25.5% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $52,307.

What is the per-pupil spending in East Helena K-12?

East Helena K-12 spends approximately $11,155 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of East Helena K-12's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 37% of East Helena K-12's total expenditure of $21.8M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for East Helena K-12
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. East Helena K-12'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.