School district · South Dakota · LEAID 4651750
Northwestern Area School District 56-7
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (336 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Northwestern Area School District 56-7 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $46,459
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $31,610
- Per-pupil spending
- 336
- Students enrolled
- 17th
- Pct. in SD
Below benchmark
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (336 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $46,459, below the national average of $70,245, serving 336 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Smaller enrollment scale: Northwestern Area School District 56-7 is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (336 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
- 17th percentile for South Dakota
- 7th percentile nationally
- 13% 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.
- Northwestern Area School District 56-7 ranks #100 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #9 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
- -4.1% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
Keep this district in your shortlist
Save it in this browser, then return when PlainTeacher adds a newer public-data release. No account or personal details required.
Instructional payroll mix vs South Dakota median
Among 148 South Dakota districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Northwestern Area School District 56-7's instructional payroll puts 9.4% into vocational programs , 4.3 points above the state median of 5.1%. That heavier vocational share usually means career/technical programs claim more of the teacher-salary pool than at a typical South Dakota peer.
| Program | Northwestern Area | SD median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 79.6% | 79.9% | -0.3 pp |
| Special education | 7.4% | 9.7% | -2.3 pp |
| Vocational programs | 9.4% | 5.1% | +4.3 pp |
| Other programs | 3.5% | 5.1% | -1.6 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 4651750 · FY2023.
LEAID 4651750 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Northwestern Area F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $46,459 estimated average teacher salary · P17 in South Dakota · P7 nationally · 13% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Chamberlain (+$598est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Northwestern Area
Salary neighbourhood · Northwestern Area
Northwestern Area 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).
- Hot · low pole
Hot · low pole
$44,848 est. salary
- Flandreau · near
Flandreau · near
$45,690 est. salary
- Northwestern
Northwestern · this district
$46,459 est. salary
- Chamberlain · near
Chamberlain · near
$47,057 est. salary
- Douglas · top pay
Douglas · top pay
$61,738 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Northwestern Area
Northwestern Area School District 56-7's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$46,459 7th percentile higher than 7% 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
Northwestern Area 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)
- Eagle Butte School District 20-1
Eagle Butte School District 20-1
$61,852 est. avg salary
- Northwestern Area School District 56-7
Northwestern Area School District 56-7
$46,459 est. avg salary
What this shows Northwestern Area School District 56-7 ranks #100 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #9 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
The same districts by per-pupil spending
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar
- Eagle Butte School District 20-1
Eagle Butte School District 20-1
$46,309 per pupil
- Northwestern Area School District 56-7
Northwestern Area School District 56-7
$31,610 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.
What stands out about Northwestern Area School District 56-7
- It ranks in the bottom 10% nationally for estimated teacher pay, above only 7% of districts.
- Estimated teacher pay here moved -4.1% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing South Dakota's statewide +10.1% by 14.2 points, a growth rate faster than 16% of the 146 South Dakota districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
- Enrolment grew 20.0% here, from 280 students in FY2019 to 336 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 (336 students), where the enrollment-based salary estimate is more sensitive to staffing mix.
- Its per-pupil spending of $31,610 is among the highest in the nation.
This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests
- Nominal district estimate
- $46,459.271
- South Dakota price level
- 88.1 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $52,705
The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.
BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.
+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 Northwestern Area School District 56-7
What the Numbers Say About Northwestern Area School District 56-7
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 is a small school district in South Dakota, serving 336 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $31,610. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $46,459, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4651750 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 Northwestern Area School District 56-7 runs materially below the state benchmark, a 7.9% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (33.9% differential). Among enrolling districts in South Dakota, it pays more than 17% 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, Northwestern Area School District 56-7 reports $10.6M in total expenditure against $4.6M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 13% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $0.9M, special-education teacher pay is $0.1M.
How does Northwestern Area School District 56-7 compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the South Dakota average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 pays -14.2% less than Sioux Falls School District 49-5 · per-pupil $31,610 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, Northwestern Area School District 56-7 sits closest to Bennett County School District 03-1; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is McLaughlin School District 15-2. 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.
- Bennett County School District 03-1
- Webster Area 18-5
- Waverly School District 14-5
- Scotland School District 04-3
- Clark School District 12-2
- Haakon School District 27-1
- Alcester-Hudson School District 61-1
- Chamberlain School District 07-1
- Woonsocket School District 55-4
- Castlewood School District 28-1
- New Underwood School District 51-3
Similar estimated teacher pay
Similar per-pupil investment
- McLaughlin School District 15-2$31,939 per pupil+1.0% versus this district · $53,218 estimated salary
- Chamberlain School District 07-1$30,870 per pupil-2.3% versus this district · $47,057 estimated salary
- Kadoka Area School District 35-2$35,143 per pupil+11.2% versus this district · $48,163 estimated salary
Out-of-state districts near Northwestern Area School District 56-7's smaller enrollment
Two out-of-state peer sets for Northwestern Area School District 56-7: closest on enrollment (336 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($46,459 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 Northwestern Area School District 56-7: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 83% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 17% 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 46 of 50, Northwestern Area School District 56-7 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.
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 Northwestern Area School District 56-7
What is the average teacher salary in Northwestern Area School District 56-7?
The average teacher salary in Northwestern Area School District 56-7 is $46,459 (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 Northwestern Area School District 56-7 teacher pay compare to the South Dakota average?
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 pays 7.9% less than the South Dakota state average of $50,422. The district's average is $46,459.
How does Northwestern Area School District 56-7 teacher pay compare to the national average?
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 pays 33.9% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $46,459.
What is the per-pupil spending in Northwestern Area School District 56-7?
Northwestern Area School District 56-7 spends approximately $31,610 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Northwestern Area School District 56-7's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 13% of Northwestern Area School District 56-7's total expenditure of $10.6M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Northwestern Area School District 56-7
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
| Publisher | PlainTeacher |
| Sources | Public official public datasets |