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School district · Kansas · LEAID 2008730

Liberal

Liberal sits in the lowest third of Kansas districts on estimated teacher pay at $57,323 (above only 46% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Liberal come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$57,323
Est. avg teacher salary

Near benchmark

$14,891
Per-pupil spending
4,659
Students enrolled
46th
Pct. in KS
$57,323

Liberal sits in the lowest third of Kansas districts on estimated teacher pay at $57,323 (above only 46% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $57,323, below the national average of $70,245, serving 4,659 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Lower-third pay in state: Liberal sits in the lowest third of Kansas districts on estimated teacher pay at $57,323 (above only 46% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
  • 46th percentile for Kansas
  • 31st percentile nationally
  • 33% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Kansas ranks #37 of 49 on the salary estimate and #30 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Liberal ranks #135 of 249 Kansas districts by estimated teacher salary and #200 of 249 by per-pupil spending. Rock Creek pay #1 at $111,971 is not Moundridge spending #1 at $44,656 per pupil
  • +1.0% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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Instructional payroll mix vs Kansas median

Among 286 Kansas districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Liberal's instructional payroll puts 78.4% into regular program , 14.2 points below the state median of 92.6%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.

Program Liberal KS median Gap
Regular program 78.4% 92.6% -14.2 pp
Special education 8.9% 0.0% +8.9 pp
Vocational programs 4.4% 4.6% -0.3 pp
Other programs 8.4% 0.1% +8.3 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 286 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 2008730 · FY2023.

LEAID 2008730 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Liberal F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-INLINE Near state avg RANK-ST-LOW P46 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P31 national PPE-MID $15K/pupil ENR-MID 4,659 students INSTR-LOW 33% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Pratt FY-2023-MID FY2023 book

FY2023: $57,323 estimated average teacher salary · P46 in Kansas · P31 nationally · 33% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Auburn (+$862est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Liberal

Salary neighbourhood · Liberal

Liberal 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 Liberal

Liberal's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$57,323 31st percentile higher than 31% 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. Liberal $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

Liberal in Kansas's lower-third pay band

Same 249 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Liberal ranks #135 of 249 Kansas districts by estimated teacher salary and #200 of 249 by per-pupil spending. Rock Creek pay #1 at $111,971 is not Moundridge spending #1 at $44,656 per pupil

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

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Liberal is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Moundridge leads spending at $44,656 per pupil; Rock Creek leads pay.

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

What stands out about Liberal

  • Estimated teacher pay here moved +1.0% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing Kansas's statewide +15.7% by 14.6 points, a growth rate faster than 9% of the 279 Kansas districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$57,323.442

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Kansas price level
89.9 / 100

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

National-price equivalent
$63,758

+11% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Liberal

What the Numbers Say About Liberal

Liberal is a small-to-mid-sized school district in Kansas, serving 4,659 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $14,891. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $57,323, placing the district in the moderately funded tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 2008730 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Kansas statewide average of $58,516, teacher pay in Liberal runs slightly below the state benchmark, a 2.0% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (18.4% differential). Among enrolling districts in Kansas, it pays more than 46% of them. Kansas itself ranks #37 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Liberal reports $69.4M in total expenditure against $86.4M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 33% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $15.2M, special-education teacher pay is $1.7M.

How does Liberal compare?

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

Liberal $57,323
Wichita $48,876
Kansas avg $58,516
National avg $70,245

Liberal pays +17.3% more than Wichita · per-pupil $14,891 vs $17,945

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 Kansas districts

On pay, Liberal sits closest to Pratt; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Leavenworth. 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. Pratt
  2. Parsons
  3. Augusta
  4. Independence
  5. Fort Scott
  6. Mulvane
  7. Auburn Washburn
  8. Maize
  9. Lawrence
  10. Circle
  11. Great Bend
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Leavenworth
  2. De Soto
  3. Wellington
  4. Ottawa
  5. Arkansas City
  6. Atchison Public Schools
  7. Garden City
  8. Haysville
  9. Eudora
  10. Independence
  11. Abilene

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts with similar lower pay

Two out-of-state peer sets for Liberal: closest on enrollment (4,659 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($57,323 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

$86.4M
Total Revenue
$69.4M
Total Expenditure
$23.1M
Instruction Salaries
33% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$15.2M
Regular Program
$1.7M
Special Education
$0.8M
Vocational
$1.6M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Liberal: 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.

Kansas Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized Kansas districts belongs to Rock Creek at $111,971. Liberal places 98 of 152 comparably sized districts, squarely in the middle band the state average actually represents. Kentucky and West Virginia are the states closest to Kansas 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 Kansas districts →

Other Kansas Districts

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

Valley Center Pub Sch
$62,559
3,195 students
Newton
$60,188
3,187 students
Basehor-Linwood
$68,175
3,041 students
Goddard
$55,221
6,310 students
Arkansas City
$78,278
2,887 students
Great Bend
$58,819
2,756 students

This is a sample of 6 from 248 Kansas districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

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

The average teacher salary in Liberal is $57,323 (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 Liberal teacher pay compare to the Kansas average?

Liberal pays 2.0% less than the Kansas state average of $58,516. The district's average is $57,323.

How does Liberal teacher pay compare to the national average?

Liberal pays 18.4% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $57,323.

What is the per-pupil spending in Liberal?

Liberal spends approximately $14,891 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Liberal's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 33% of Liberal's total expenditure of $69.4M (NCES FY2023).

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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. Liberal'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.