School district · South Dakota · LEAID 4659820
Rapid City Area School District 51-4
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (12,743 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Rapid City Area School District 51-4 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $50,834
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $12,952
- Per-pupil spending
- 12,743
- Students enrolled
- 55th
- Pct. in SD
Near benchmark
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (12,743 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $50,834, below the national average of $70,245, serving 12,743 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Large enrollment scale: Rapid City Area School District 51-4 is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable South Dakota districts (12,743 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
- 55th percentile for South Dakota
- 16th percentile nationally
- 31% 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.
- Rapid City Area School District 51-4 ranks #54 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #100 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
- -0.1% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
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Instructional payroll mix vs South Dakota median
Among 148 South Dakota districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Rapid City Area School District 51-4's instructional payroll puts 0.0% into other programs , 5.1 points below the state median of 5.1%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.
| Program | Rapid City | SD median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 84.6% | 79.9% | +4.7 pp |
| Special education | 11.6% | 9.7% | +1.9 pp |
| Vocational programs | 3.8% | 5.1% | -1.3 pp |
| Other programs | 0.0% | 5.1% | -5.1 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 4659820 · FY2023.
LEAID 4659820 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Rapid City F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $50,834 estimated average teacher salary · P55 in South Dakota · P16 nationally · 31% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Meade ($33est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Rapid City
Salary neighbourhood · Rapid City
Rapid City 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).
- Hot · low pole
Hot · low pole
$44,848 est. salary
- Canton · near
Canton · near
$50,310 est. salary
- Meade · near
Meade · near
$50,801 est. salary
- Rapid · this district
Rapid · this district
$50,834 est. salary
- Dell · near
Dell · near
$51,120 est. salary
- Douglas · top pay
Douglas · top pay
$61,738 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Rapid City
Rapid City Area School District 51-4's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$50,834 16th percentile higher than 16% 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
Rapid City 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
- Rapid City Area School District 51-4
Rapid City Area School District 51-4
$50,834 est. avg salary
What this shows Rapid City Area School District 51-4 ranks #54 of 121 South Dakota districts by estimated teacher salary and #100 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
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 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
- Rapid City Area School District 51-4 $12,952
Rapid City Area School District 51-4
$12,952 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 Rapid City Area School District 51-4
- Estimated teacher pay here moved -0.1% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing South Dakota's statewide +10.1% by 10.2 points, a growth rate faster than 24% of the 146 South Dakota districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
- This is a contracting district: 13,821 students in FY2019 down to 12,743 in FY2023, a 7.8% decline. Enrolment drives most state funding formulas, so the finance figures below describe a budget under downward pressure rather than a steady state.
This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests
- Nominal district estimate
- $50,833.643
- South Dakota price level
- 88.1 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $57,668
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 Rapid City Area School District 51-4
What the Numbers Say About Rapid City Area School District 51-4
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 is a mid-sized school district in South Dakota, serving 12,743 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $12,952. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $50,834, placing the district in the lower-spending tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4659820 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 Rapid City Area School District 51-4 runs roughly in line with the state benchmark, a 0.8% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (27.6% differential). Among enrolling districts in South Dakota, it pays more than 55% 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, Rapid City Area School District 51-4 reports $165.0M in total expenditure against $181.5M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 31% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $34.8M, special-education teacher pay is $4.8M.
How does Rapid City Area School District 51-4 compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the South Dakota average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 pays -6.1% less than Sioux Falls School District 49-5 · per-pupil $12,952 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
Watertown School District 14-4 is Rapid City Area School District 51-4's nearest match on both pay and per-pupil investment, which is uncommon: the two signals point at different districts for roughly 98% of districts. 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.
Similar estimated teacher pay
Similar per-pupil investment
- Watertown School District 14-4$13,165 per pupil+1.7% versus this district · $53,596 estimated salary
- Brandon Valley School District 49-2$12,702 per pupil-1.9% versus this district · $60,093 estimated salary
- Sioux Falls School District 49-5$13,239 per pupil+2.2% versus this district · $54,143 estimated salary
Out-of-state districts near Rapid City Area School District 51-4's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for Rapid City Area School District 51-4: closest on enrollment (12,743 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($50,834 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 3 programs in Rapid City Area School District 51-4: the regular program, special education and vocational programs. It reports no separate figure for other programs. Together they are 81% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 19% 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. Rapid City Area School District 51-4 places 35 of 49 comparably sized districts, squarely in the middle band the state average actually represents. 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
Large-district sample from 120 South Dakota peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.
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 Rapid City Area School District 51-4
What is the average teacher salary in Rapid City Area School District 51-4?
The average teacher salary in Rapid City Area School District 51-4 is $50,834 (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 Rapid City Area School District 51-4 teacher pay compare to the South Dakota average?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 pays 0.8% more than the South Dakota state average of $50,422. The district's average is $50,834.
How does Rapid City Area School District 51-4 teacher pay compare to the national average?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 pays 27.6% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $50,834.
What is the per-pupil spending in Rapid City Area School District 51-4?
Rapid City Area School District 51-4 spends approximately $12,952 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Rapid City Area School District 51-4's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 31% of Rapid City Area School District 51-4's total expenditure of $165.0M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Rapid City Area School District 51-4
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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