PlainTeacher

School district · New Mexico · LEAID 3502160

Questa Independent Schools

Questa Independent Schools is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable New Mexico districts (326 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Questa Independent Schools come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$58,000
Est. avg teacher salary

Well below benchmark

$23,577
Per-pupil spending
326
Students enrolled
6th
Pct. in NM
$58,000

Questa Independent Schools is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable New Mexico districts (326 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $58,000, below the national average of $70,245, serving 326 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Smaller enrollment scale: Questa Independent Schools is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable New Mexico districts (326 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
  • 6th percentile for New Mexico
  • 32nd percentile nationally
  • 32% 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.
  • Questa Independent Schools ranks #66 of 70 New Mexico districts by estimated teacher salary and #23 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
  • +14.0% estimated-basis panel FY2020→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.

View saved

Instructional payroll mix vs New Mexico median

Among 89 New Mexico districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Questa Independent Schools's instructional payroll puts 10.3% into other programs , 7.1 points above the state median of 3.3%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.

Program Questa Independent NM median Gap
Regular program 75.6% 74.0% +1.6 pp
Special education 14.1% 17.0% -3.0 pp
Vocational programs 0.0% 4.0% -4.0 pp
Other programs 10.3% 3.3% +7.1 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 89 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 3502160 · FY2023.

LEAID 3502160 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Questa Independent F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-LOW -16% vs state RANK-ST-LOW P6 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P32 national PPE-HIGH $24K/pupil ENR-TINY 326 students INSTR-LOW 32% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Magdalena FY-2023-LIGHT FY2023 book

FY2023: $58,000 estimated average teacher salary · P6 in New Mexico · P32 nationally · 32% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Deming (+$109est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Questa Independent

Salary neighbourhood · Questa Independent

Questa Independent 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).

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

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

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$58,000 32nd percentile higher than 32% 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. Questa 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

Questa Independent in New Mexico's lower-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 Questa Independent Schools ranks #66 of 70 New Mexico districts by estimated teacher salary and #23 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

Questa 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 Questa Independent Schools

  • Enrolment grew 18.1% here, from 276 students in FY2020 to 326 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 (326 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
$58,000

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
$63,750

+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 Questa Independent Schools

What the Numbers Say About Questa Independent Schools

Questa Independent Schools is a small school district in New Mexico, serving 326 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $23,577. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $58,000, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 3502160 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 Questa Independent Schools runs materially below the state benchmark, a 16.3% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (17.4% differential). Among enrolling districts in New Mexico, it pays more than 6% 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, Questa Independent Schools reports $7.7M in total expenditure against $8.4M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 32% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $1.5M, special-education teacher pay is $0.3M.

How does Questa 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.

Questa Independent Schools $58,000
Albuquerque Public Schools $74,657
New Mexico avg $69,282
National avg $70,245

Questa Independent Schools pays -22.3% less than Albuquerque Public Schools · per-pupil $23,577 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, Questa Independent Schools sits closest to Magdalena Municipal Schools; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Estancia 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. Magdalena Municipal Schools
  2. Jemez Valley Public Schools
  3. Hatch Valley Public Schools
  4. Chama Valley Indep. Schools
  5. Floyd Municipal Schools
  6. Dexter Consolidated Schools
  7. Texico Municipal Schools
  8. Capitan Municipal Schools
  9. Fort Sumner Municipal Schools
  10. Lordsburg Municipal Schools
  11. Raton Public Schools
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Estancia Municipal Schools
  2. Tularosa Municipal Schools
  3. Cobre Consolidated Schools
  4. Lordsburg Municipal Schools
  5. Cloudcroft Municipal Schools
  6. Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools
  7. Dexter Consolidated Schools
  8. Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools
  9. Chama Valley Indep. Schools
  10. Hatch Valley Public Schools
  11. Fort Sumner Municipal Schools

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

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

Two out-of-state peer sets for Questa Independent Schools: closest on enrollment (326 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($58,000 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

$8.4M
Total Revenue
$7.7M
Total Expenditure
$2.5M
Instruction Salaries
32% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$1.5M
Regular Program
$0.3M
Special Education
$0.2M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 3 programs in Questa Independent Schools: the regular program, special education and other programs. It reports no separate figure for vocational programs. 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. At the other end, Questa Independent Schools anchors the bottom of the 51-district field, so the gap between it and the state's ceiling is close to the full spread the state average is drawn from. 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.

Lordsburg Municipal Schools
$64,039
425 students
Dora Municipal Schools
$72,763
219 students
Mora Independent Schools
$69,417
433 students
Mountainair Public Schools
$71,856
210 students
Capitan Municipal Schools
$63,793
471 students
Pecos Independent Schools
$96,768
511 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 Questa Independent Schools
What is the average teacher salary in Questa Independent Schools?

The average teacher salary in Questa Independent Schools is $58,000 (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 Questa Independent Schools teacher pay compare to the New Mexico average?

Questa Independent Schools pays 16.3% less than the New Mexico state average of $69,282. The district's average is $58,000.

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

Questa Independent Schools pays 17.4% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $58,000.

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

Questa Independent Schools spends approximately $23,577 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

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

Instructional salaries account for 32% of Questa Independent Schools's total expenditure of $7.7M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Questa 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

Cite, share, embed & editorial notes

Share this district data

Download a sourced data card or share the canonical district profile.

X Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Email
Embed this widget

Copy this snippet to embed a live-linked card on your own site.

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. Questa 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.