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School district · South Dakota · LEAID 4609300

Harding County School District 31-1

Harding County School District 31-1 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (224 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Harding County School District 31-1 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$49,058
Est. avg teacher salary

Near benchmark

$20,063
Per-pupil spending
224
Students enrolled
37th
Pct. in SD
$49,058

Harding County School District 31-1 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (224 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $49,058, below the national average of $70,245, serving 224 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Smaller enrollment scale: Harding County School District 31-1 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (224 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
  • 37th percentile for South Dakota
  • 12th percentile nationally
  • 30% 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.
  • Harding County School District 31-1 ranks #76 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #28 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
  • -3.1% 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, Harding County School District 31-1's instructional payroll puts 4.8% into special education , 4.9 points below the state median of 9.7%. Special-education salary is a thinner slice of instructional pay here than at the median South Dakota district, not a judgment of need, only of how F-33 codes the payroll.

Program Harding County SD median Gap
Regular program 79.3% 79.9% -0.6 pp
Special education 4.8% 9.7% -4.9 pp
Vocational programs 6.2% 5.1% +1.1 pp
Other programs 9.7% 5.1% +4.6 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 4609300 · FY2023.

LEAID 4609300 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Harding County F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-INLINE Near state avg RANK-ST-LOW P37 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P12 national PPE-MID $20K/pupil ENR-TINY 224 students INSTR-LOW 30% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Hanson FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $49,058 estimated average teacher salary · P37 in South Dakota · P12 nationally · 30% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Custer ($82est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Harding County

Salary neighbourhood · Harding County

Harding 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 Harding County

Harding County School District 31-1's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$49,058 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. This district $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

Harding County 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 Harding County School District 31-1 ranks #76 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #28 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

Harding County School District 31-1 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 Harding County School District 31-1

  • Estimated teacher pay here moved -3.1% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing South Dakota's statewide +10.1% by 13.2 points, a growth rate faster than 18% of the 146 South Dakota districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • Enrolment grew 12.0% here, from 200 students in FY2019 to 224 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.
  • It is a very small district (224 students), where the enrollment-based salary estimate is more sensitive to staffing mix.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$49,058.337

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
$55,654

+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 Harding County School District 31-1

What the Numbers Say About Harding County School District 31-1

Harding County School District 31-1 is a small school district in South Dakota, serving 224 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $20,063. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $49,058, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4609300 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 Harding County School District 31-1 runs slightly below the state benchmark, a 2.7% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (30.2% differential). Among enrolling districts in South Dakota, it pays more than 37% 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, Harding County School District 31-1 reports $4.5M in total expenditure against $5.3M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 30% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $0.8M, special-education teacher pay is $0.1M.

How does Harding County School District 31-1 compare?

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

Harding County School District 31-1 $49,058
Sioux Falls School District 49-5 $54,143
South Dakota avg $50,422
National avg $70,245

Harding County School District 31-1 pays -9.4% less than Sioux Falls School District 49-5 · per-pupil $20,063 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, Harding County School District 31-1 sits closest to Hanson School District 30-1; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is White River School District 47-1. 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. Hanson School District 30-1
  2. Centerville School District 60-1
  3. Wall School District 51-5
  4. De Smet School District 38-2
  5. Menno School District 33-2
  6. White River School District 47-1
  7. Freeman School District 33-1
  8. Estelline School District 28-2
  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. White River School District 47-1
  2. Gregory School District 26-4
  3. Kimball School District 07-2
  4. Bennett County School District 03-1
  5. Lead-Deadwood School District 40-1
  6. Arlington School District 38-1
  7. Platte - Geddes School District 11-5
  8. Wessington Springs School District 36-2
  9. Andes Central School District 11-1
  10. Avon School District 04-1
  11. Leola School District 44-2

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Harding County School District 31-1's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Harding County School District 31-1: closest on enrollment (224 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($49,058 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

$5.3M
Total Revenue
$4.5M
Total Expenditure
$1.3M
Instruction Salaries
30% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$0.8M
Regular Program
$0.1M
Special Education
$0.1M
Vocational
$0.1M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Harding County School District 31-1: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 80% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 20% 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 50, Harding County School District 31-1 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

Smaller-district sample from 120 South Dakota peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Kimball School District 07-2
$52,746
357 students
Wolsey Wessington School District 02-6
$49,840
359 students
Eagle Butte School District 20-1
$61,852
362 students
Avon School District 04-1
$50,257
224 students
Highmore-Harrold 34-2
$47,865
222 students
Wilmot School District 54-7
$37,639
222 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 Harding County School District 31-1
What is the average teacher salary in Harding County School District 31-1?

The average teacher salary in Harding County School District 31-1 is $49,058 (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 Harding County School District 31-1 teacher pay compare to the South Dakota average?

Harding County School District 31-1 pays 2.7% less than the South Dakota state average of $50,422. The district's average is $49,058.

How does Harding County School District 31-1 teacher pay compare to the national average?

Harding County School District 31-1 pays 30.2% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $49,058.

What is the per-pupil spending in Harding County School District 31-1?

Harding County School District 31-1 spends approximately $20,063 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Harding County School District 31-1's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 30% of Harding County School District 31-1's total expenditure of $4.5M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Harding County School District 31-1
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. Harding County School District 31-1'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.