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School district · New Mexico · LEAID 3502040

Penasco Independent Schools

Penasco Independent Schools sits in the highest third of New Mexico districts on estimated teacher pay at $148,037 (above 99% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Penasco Independent Schools come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$148,037
Est. avg teacher salary

Well above benchmark

$27,884
Per-pupil spending
284
Students enrolled
99th
Pct. in NM
$148,037

Penasco Independent Schools sits in the highest third of New Mexico districts on estimated teacher pay at $148,037 (above 99% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $148,037, above the national average of $70,245, serving 284 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Upper-third pay in state: Penasco Independent Schools sits in the highest third of New Mexico districts on estimated teacher pay at $148,037 (above 99% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
  • 99th percentile for New Mexico
  • 99th percentile nationally
  • 27% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • New Mexico ranks #20 of 49 on the salary estimate and #36 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Penasco Independent Schools ranks #1 of 70 New Mexico districts by estimated teacher salary and #10 of 70 by per-pupil spending. Penasco Independent Schools pay #1 at $148,037 is not Jal Public Schools spending #1 at $47,829 per pupil
  • +46.7% estimated-basis panel FY2020→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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LEAID 3502040 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Penasco Independent F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-HIGH +114% vs state RANK-ST-TOP P99 in state RANK-NAT-TOP P99 national PPE-HIGH $28K/pupil ENR-TINY 284 students INSTR-LOW 27% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Pecos FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $148,037 estimated average teacher salary · P99 in New Mexico · P99 nationally · 27% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Zuni ($64,996est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Penasco Independent

Salary neighbourhood · Penasco Independent

Penasco Independent 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).

est. salary
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey As of FY2023
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Penasco Independent

Penasco Independent Schools's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$148,037 Top 1% higher than 99% 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%). Below this entry. $60,000–$70,000: 2,402 US districts (22%). Below this entry. $70,000–$80,000: 1,633 US districts (15%). Below this entry. $80,000–$90,000: 1,097 US districts (10%). Below this entry. $90,000–$100,000: 662 US districts (6%). Below this entry. $100,000–$110,000: 371 US districts (3%). Below this entry. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). Below this entry. $120,000–$130,000: 156 US districts (1%). Below this entry. $130,000–$140,000: 112 US districts (1%). Below this entry. $140,000–$150,000: 57 US districts (1%). This entry sits in this band. $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. Penasco Independent Schools $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

Penasco Independent in New Mexico's upper-third pay band

Same 70 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Penasco Independent Schools ranks #1 of 70 New Mexico districts by estimated teacher salary and #10 of 70 by per-pupil spending. Penasco Independent Schools pay #1 at $148,037 is not Jal Public Schools spending #1 at $47,829 per pupil

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

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Penasco Independent Schools is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Jal Public Schools leads spending at $47,829 per pupil; Penasco Independent Schools leads pay.

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

What stands out about Penasco Independent Schools

  • It ranks in the top 5% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 99% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
  • This is a contracting district: 353 students in FY2020 down to 284 in FY2023, a 19.5% decline. Enrolment drives most state funding formulas, so the finance figures below describe a budget under downward pressure rather than a steady state.
  • It is a very small district (284 students), where the enrollment-based salary estimate is more sensitive to staffing mix.
  • Its per-pupil spending of $27,884 is among the highest in the nation.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$148,036.759

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

New Mexico price level
91.0 / 100

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

National-price equivalent
$162,712

+10% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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 Penasco Independent Schools

What the Numbers Say About Penasco Independent Schools

Penasco Independent Schools is a small school district in New Mexico, serving 284 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $27,884. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $148,037, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 3502040 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the New Mexico statewide average of $69,282, teacher pay in Penasco Independent Schools runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 113.7% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (110.7% differential). Among enrolling districts in New Mexico, it pays more than 99% of them. New Mexico itself ranks #20 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Penasco Independent Schools reports $7.9M in total expenditure against $8.8M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 27% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $1.3M, special-education teacher pay is $0.3M.

How does Penasco Independent Schools compare?

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

Penasco Independent Schools $148,037
Albuquerque Public Schools $74,657
New Mexico avg $69,282
National avg $70,245

Penasco Independent Schools pays +98.3% more than Albuquerque Public Schools · per-pupil $27,884 vs $17,560

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 New Mexico districts

On pay, Penasco Independent Schools sits closest to Pecos Independent Schools; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Eunice Municipal 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. Pecos Independent Schools
  2. Tatum Municipal Schools
  3. Zuni Public Schools
  4. Cobre Consolidated Schools
  5. Cuba Independent Schools
  6. Dora Municipal Schools
  7. Jal Public Schools
  8. Mountainair Public Schools
  9. Logan Municipal Schools
  10. Dulce Independent Schools
  11. Mora Independent Schools
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Eunice Municipal Schools
  2. Jemez Valley Public Schools
  3. Tatum Municipal Schools
  4. Zuni Public Schools
  5. Loving Municipal Schools
  6. Mora Independent Schools
  7. Fort Sumner Municipal Schools
  8. Dulce Independent Schools
  9. Chama Valley Indep. Schools
  10. Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools
  11. Lordsburg Municipal Schools

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Penasco Independent Schools's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Penasco Independent Schools: closest on enrollment (284 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($148,037 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

$8.8M
Total Revenue
$7.9M
Total Expenditure
$2.1M
Instruction Salaries
27% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$1.3M
Regular Program
$0.3M
Special Education
$0.1M
Vocational
$0.0M
Other Programs

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

New Mexico Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized New Mexico districts belongs to Pecos Independent Schools at $96,768. Only the state ceiling itself: among the 51 districts of comparable size, Penasco Independent Schools is paid at the very top of the state, and the state average sits well below it. Montana and Missouri are the states closest to New Mexico 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 New Mexico districts →

Other New Mexico Districts

Smaller-district sample from 69 New Mexico peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Jemez Valley Public Schools
$59,491
359 students
Chama Valley Indep. Schools
$55,319
363 students
Hagerman Municipal Schools
$50,386
368 students
Cloudcroft Municipal Schools
$65,687
379 students
Clayton Municipal Schools
$66,742
395 students
Cimarron Municipal Schools
$65,951
401 students

This is a sample of 6 from 69 New Mexico districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

Frequently Asked Questions about Penasco Independent Schools
What is the average teacher salary in Penasco Independent Schools?

The average teacher salary in Penasco Independent Schools is $148,037 (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 Penasco Independent Schools teacher pay compare to the New Mexico average?

Penasco Independent Schools pays 113.7% more than the New Mexico state average of $69,282. The district's average is $148,037.

How does Penasco Independent Schools teacher pay compare to the national average?

Penasco Independent Schools pays 110.7% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $148,037.

What is the per-pupil spending in Penasco Independent Schools?

Penasco Independent Schools spends approximately $27,884 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Penasco Independent Schools's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 27% of Penasco Independent Schools's total expenditure of $7.9M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Penasco Independent Schools
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. Penasco Independent Schools'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.