School district · Washington · LEAID 5307710
Seattle School District No. 1
Seattle School District No. 1 is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable Washington districts (51,238 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Seattle School District No. 1 come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $111,621
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $27,288
- Per-pupil spending
- 51,238
- Students enrolled
- 94th
- Pct. in WA
Well above benchmark
Seattle School District No. 1 is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable Washington districts (51,238 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $111,621, above the national average of $70,245, serving 51,238 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Large enrollment scale: Seattle School District No. 1 is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable Washington districts (51,238 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
- 94th percentile for Washington
- 95th percentile nationally
- 31% of spending reaches instructional salaries
- Washington ranks #6 of 49 on the salary estimate and #12 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- Seattle School District No. 1 ranks #13 of 229 Washington districts by estimated teacher salary and #13 of 229 by per-pupil spending. Lopez School District pay #1 at $132,000 is not Oakville School District spending #1 at $35,103 per pupil
- +26.2% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
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Instructional payroll mix vs Washington median
Among 289 Washington districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Seattle School District No. 1's instructional payroll puts 69.4% into regular program , 8.1 points below the state median of 77.4%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.
| Program | Seattle School | WA median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 69.4% | 77.4% | -8.1 pp |
| Special education | 15.9% | 9.4% | +6.5 pp |
| Vocational programs | 2.9% | 6.3% | -3.4 pp |
| Other programs | 11.7% | 6.9% | +4.9 pp |
Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 289 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 5307710 · FY2023.
LEAID 5307710 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Seattle School F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $111,621 estimated average teacher salary · P94 in Washington · P95 nationally · 31% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Tahoma (+$570est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Seattle School
Salary neighbourhood · Seattle School
Seattle School 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).
- Spokane · low pole
Spokane · low pole
$85,897 est. salary
- Northshore · near
Northshore · near
$110,559 est. salary
- Tacoma · near
Tacoma · near
$110,691 est. salary
- Seattle
Seattle · this district
$111,621 est. salary
- Tahoma · near
Tahoma · near
$112,191 est. salary
- Everett · top pay
Everett · top pay
$123,009 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Seattle School
Seattle School District No. 1's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$111,621 Top 5% higher than 95% 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
Seattle School in Washington's upper-third pay band
Same 229 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)
- Lopez School District
Lopez School District
$132,000 est. avg salary
- Seattle School District No. 1
Seattle School District No. 1
$111,621 est. avg salary
- Oakville School District
Oakville School District
$57,620 est. avg salary
What this shows Seattle School District No. 1 ranks #13 of 229 Washington districts by estimated teacher salary and #13 of 229 by per-pupil spending. Lopez School District pay #1 at $132,000 is not Oakville School District spending #1 at $35,103 per pupil
The same districts by per-pupil spending
Seattle School District No. 1 is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar
- Oakville School District
Oakville School District
$35,103 per pupil
- Lopez School District
Lopez School District
$32,662 per pupil
- Seattle School District No. 1
Seattle School District No. 1
$27,288 per pupil
What this shows Oakville School District leads spending at $35,103 per pupil; Lopez School District leads pay.
What stands out about Seattle School District No. 1
- It ranks in the top 10% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 95% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
- Estimated teacher pay here rose +26.2% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing Washington's statewide +21.1% by 5.1 points, a growth rate faster than 75% of the 263 Washington districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
- Enrolment fell from 55,271 to 51,238 students (7.3% 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 51,238 students, it is the 80th-largest school district by enrollment among the 13,149 US districts reporting enrollment data.
- Its total annual revenue of $1.40B puts it among just 47 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 $27,288 is among the highest in the nation.
Scale composition for Seattle School District No. 1
Seattle School District No. 1 enrolls 51,238 students (0.11% 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 $1.40B, putting it among 47 districts at this budget scale or larger.
Reported teacher FTE is 3,166, about 16.2 students per teacher (mega-cohort median 16.0; denser staffing than 41 of the 87 mega-districts with a usable FTE count, rank 46th 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 Seattle School District No. 1 among other large systems, not against a 1,000-student district whose FTE is a handful of classrooms.
Instructional salaries take 31% of total expenditure on a $1.40B 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manatee · Florida | 51,234 | $53,957 | $814M |
| Omaha Public Schools · Nebraska | 51,754 | $74,787 | $932M |
| Rutherford County · Tennessee | 50,707 | $66,377 | $598M |
| Corona-Norco Unified · California | 50,682 | $129,563 | $1.10B |
| Jefferson Parish · Louisiana | 50,628 | $66,324 | $900M |
Washington prices absorb part of this salary
- Nominal district estimate
- $111,620.524
- Washington price level
- 108.4 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $102,999
The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.
BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.
-8% versus the nominal figure.
Prices in Washington run above the national average, so this salary has roughly the buying power of the national-price equivalent above. Comparing it with a district in a cheaper state without this adjustment overstates its relative value.
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 Washington 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 Seattle School District No. 1
What the Numbers Say About Seattle School District No. 1
Seattle School District No. 1 is a large urban school district in Washington, serving 51,238 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $27,288. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $111,621, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 5307710 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.
Relative to the Washington statewide average of $88,556, teacher pay in Seattle School District No. 1 runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 26.0% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (58.9% differential). Among enrolling districts in Washington, it pays more than 94% of them. Washington itself ranks #6 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.
On the budget side, Seattle School District No. 1 reports $1398.2M in total expenditure against $1397.8M 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 $245.2M, special-education teacher pay is $56.3M.
How does Seattle School District No. 1 compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the Washington average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Seattle School District No. 1 pays +1.0% more than Lake Washington School District · per-pupil $27,288 vs $19,927
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 Washington districts
On pay, Seattle School District No. 1 sits closest to Tacoma School District; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Bellevue School District. 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
Out-of-state districts near Seattle School District No. 1's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for Seattle School District No. 1: closest on enrollment (51,238 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($111,621 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 Seattle School District No. 1: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 82% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 18% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.
Washington Teacher Pay Overview
The highest average among comparably sized Washington districts belongs to Everett School District at $123,009. Seattle School District No. 1 sits in the upper quarter of that field at 12 of 191, nearer the ceiling than the floor. Because Washington prices run above the national average, this salary is worth less than the same number elsewhere; New York and New Jersey are the states it can be compared with directly on BEA's price parity.
View all Washington districts →Other Washington Districts
Large-district sample from 228 Washington peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.
This is a sample of 6 from 228 Washington districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Seattle School District No. 1
What is the average teacher salary in Seattle School District No. 1?
The average teacher salary in Seattle School District No. 1 is $111,621 (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 Seattle School District No. 1 teacher pay compare to the Washington average?
Seattle School District No. 1 pays 26.0% more than the Washington state average of $88,556. The district's average is $111,621.
How does Seattle School District No. 1 teacher pay compare to the national average?
Seattle School District No. 1 pays 58.9% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $111,621.
What is the per-pupil spending in Seattle School District No. 1?
Seattle School District No. 1 spends approximately $27,288 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Seattle School District No. 1's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 31% of Seattle School District No. 1's total expenditure of $1398.2M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Seattle School District No. 1
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 |