School district · Pennsylvania · LEAID 4218990
Philadelphia City SD
Philadelphia City SD is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable Pennsylvania districts (114,779 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Philadelphia City SD come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $74,421
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $38,060
- Per-pupil spending
- 114,779
- Students enrolled
- 29th
- Pct. in PA
Below benchmark
Philadelphia City SD is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable Pennsylvania districts (114,779 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $74,421, above the national average of $70,245, serving 114,779 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Large enrollment scale: Philadelphia City SD is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable Pennsylvania districts (114,779 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
- 29th percentile for Pennsylvania
- 67th percentile nationally
- 14% of spending reaches instructional salaries
- Pennsylvania ranks #11 of 49 on the salary estimate and #6 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- Philadelphia City SD ranks #358 of 505 Pennsylvania districts by estimated teacher salary and #9 of 505 by per-pupil spending. Farrell Area SD pay #1 at $144,913 is not Wilkinsburg Borough SD spending #1 at $61,501 per pupil
- +29.4% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
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How the salary estimate is built
FY2023 teacher salary expenditure
$606,059,000 ÷ 8143.70 reported teacher FTE = $74,421
- Regular program $575,009,000 · 94.9%
- Special education $7,870,000 · 1.3%
- Vocational programs $3,062,000 · 0.5%
- Other programs $20,118,000 · 3.3%
These NCES F-33 program totals make up the numerator of the district-level average; they do not describe an individual teacher's pay or contract.
Instructional payroll mix vs Pennsylvania median
Among 520 Pennsylvania districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Philadelphia City SD's instructional payroll puts 94.9% into regular program , 19.8 points above the state median of 75.1%. Regular-program teachers claim more of the instructional salary pool here than at the median Pennsylvania district.
| Program | Philadelphia City | PA median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 94.9% | 75.1% | +19.8 pp |
| Special education | 1.3% | 18.8% | -17.5 pp |
| Vocational programs | 0.5% | 1.3% | -0.8 pp |
| Other programs | 3.3% | 3.7% | -0.4 pp |
Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 520 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 4218990 · FY2023.
LEAID 4218990 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Philadelphia City F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $74,421 estimated average teacher salary · P29 in Pennsylvania · P67 nationally · 14% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Erie (+$1,349est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Philadelphia City
Salary neighbourhood · Philadelphia City
Philadelphia City 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).
- Altoona · low pole
Altoona · low pole
$70,745 est. salary
- Philadelphia
Philadelphia · this district
$74,421 est. salary
- Erie · near
Erie · near
$75,769 est. salary
- Reading · near
Reading · near
$75,880 est. salary
- Cumberland · near
Cumberland · near
$76,048 est. salary
- Lower · top pay
Lower · top pay
$130,841 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Philadelphia City
Philadelphia City SD's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$74,421 Top 33% higher than 67% 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
Philadelphia City in Pennsylvania's lower-third pay band
Same 505 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)
- Farrell Area SD
Farrell Area SD
$144,913 est. avg salary
- Wilkinsburg Borough SD
Wilkinsburg Borough SD
$84,393 est. avg salary
- Philadelphia City SD
Philadelphia City SD
$74,421 est. avg salary
What this shows Philadelphia City SD ranks #358 of 505 Pennsylvania districts by estimated teacher salary and #9 of 505 by per-pupil spending. Farrell Area SD pay #1 at $144,913 is not Wilkinsburg Borough SD spending #1 at $61,501 per pupil
The same districts by per-pupil spending
Philadelphia City SD is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar
- Wilkinsburg Borough SD
Wilkinsburg Borough SD
$61,501 per pupil
- Farrell Area SD
Farrell Area SD
$50,170 per pupil
- Philadelphia City SD
Philadelphia City SD
$38,060 per pupil
What this shows Wilkinsburg Borough SD leads spending at $61,501 per pupil; Farrell Area SD leads pay.
What stands out about Philadelphia City SD
- Estimated teacher pay here rose +29.4% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing Pennsylvania's statewide +14.1% by 15.3 points, a growth rate faster than 97% of the 469 Pennsylvania districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
- Enrolment fell from 128,647 to 114,779 students (10.8% down) across FY2019–FY2023 while the instructional salary pool per teacher went up. Districts on that path are usually holding staffing steady against a falling roll, which lifts the per-teacher figure without anyone getting a raise, so read this page's salary estimate alongside the enrolment line rather than on its own.
- With 114,779 students, it is the 21st-largest school district by enrollment among the 13,149 US districts reporting enrollment data.
- A district of this scale typically enrolls more students than several entire states' worth of smaller districts combined, which is part of why the per-pupil and per-teacher figures here should be read as an aggregate across many schools rather than a single-campus estimate.
- Its total annual revenue of $4.53B puts it among just 5 US districts operating a budget of this size or larger, out of the 13,149 districts in the NCES CCD F-33 survey, a scale that brings dedicated budget offices, multi-year capital planning, and district-wide procurement contracts that a small district's single-person business office cannot replicate.
- Its per-pupil spending of $38,060 is among the highest in the nation.
Scale composition for Philadelphia City SD
Philadelphia City SD enrolls 114,779 students (0.25% of the 46,412,683 students across 13,149 US districts that report enrollment in the NCES CCD F-33 survey). Only 88 districts clear the 50,000-student threshold used here - sparse districts in the 500-5,000 band cannot show a national-share read of this kind because their headcount is too small for the percentage to mean anything. Total annual revenue is $4.53B, putting it among 5 districts at this budget scale or larger.
Reported teacher FTE is 8,144, about 14.1 students per teacher (mega-cohort median 16.0; denser staffing than 79 of the 87 mega-districts with a usable FTE count, rank 8th densest) . At this enrollment the ratio is an aggregate across many campuses, so a single-school class-size story is the wrong read - use it to place Philadelphia City SD among other large systems, not against a 1,000-student district whose FTE is a handful of classrooms.
Instructional salaries take 14% of total expenditure on a $4.37B budget . Large systems carry central offices, transportation, and facilities lines that dilute the classroom share relative to a small district whose budget is almost entirely payroll - comparing that percentage across the enrollment cliff without this scale note misreads both ends.
Nearest mega-district peers by enrollment (same 50k+ cohort):
| District | Enrollment | Est. avg salary | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk · Florida | 114,483 | $55,504 | $1.46B |
| Cypress-fairbanks ISD · Texas | 118,010 | $63,808 | $1.64B |
| Baltimore County Public Schools · Maryland | 111,082 | $93,213 | $2.45B |
| Memphis-Shelby County Schools · Tennessee | 109,797 | $58,671 | $1.74B |
| Cobb County · Georgia | 106,703 | $81,518 | $1.84B |
Pennsylvania sits close to national prices
- Nominal district estimate
- $74,420.595
- Pennsylvania price level
- 97.4 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $76,407
The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.
BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.
+3% versus the nominal figure.
Prices in Pennsylvania sit close to the national average, so the nominal and national-price figures tell nearly the same story here. That is not true in the most and least expensive states.
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 Pennsylvania 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 Philadelphia City SD
What the Numbers Say About Philadelphia City SD
Philadelphia City SD is a large urban school district in Pennsylvania, serving 114,779 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $38,060. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $74,421, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4218990 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.
Relative to the Pennsylvania statewide average of $82,070, teacher pay in Philadelphia City SD runs materially below the state benchmark, a 9.3% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (5.9% differential). Among enrolling districts in Pennsylvania, it pays more than 29% of them. Pennsylvania itself ranks #11 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.
On the budget side, Philadelphia City SD reports $4368.4M in total expenditure against $4533.9M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 14% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $575.0M, special-education teacher pay is $7.9M.
How does Philadelphia City SD compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the Pennsylvania average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Philadelphia City SD pays -18.0% less than Pittsburgh SD · per-pupil $38,060 vs $39,357
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.
Out-of-state districts near Philadelphia City SD's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for Philadelphia City SD: closest on enrollment (114,779 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($74,421 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 Philadelphia City SD: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 100% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 0% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.
Pennsylvania Teacher Pay Overview
The highest average among comparably sized Pennsylvania districts belongs to Farrell Area SD at $144,913. Philadelphia City SD places 349 of 485 comparably sized districts, squarely in the middle band the state average actually represents. On BEA's price parity Pennsylvania sits near the national average, so its salaries need less adjustment than most; Vermont and Texas are its nearest price peers.
View all Pennsylvania districts →Other Pennsylvania Districts
Large-district sample from 505 Pennsylvania peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.
This is a sample of 6 from 505 Pennsylvania districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Philadelphia City SD
What is the average teacher salary in Philadelphia City SD?
The average teacher salary in Philadelphia City SD is $74,421 (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 Philadelphia City SD teacher pay compare to the Pennsylvania average?
Philadelphia City SD pays 9.3% less than the Pennsylvania state average of $82,070. The district's average is $74,421.
How does Philadelphia City SD teacher pay compare to the national average?
Philadelphia City SD pays 5.9% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $74,421.
What is the per-pupil spending in Philadelphia City SD?
Philadelphia City SD spends approximately $38,060 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Philadelphia City SD's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 14% of Philadelphia City SD's total expenditure of $4368.4M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Philadelphia City SD
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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| Sources | Public official public datasets |