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School district · Oklahoma · LEAID 4029380

Tahlequah

Tahlequah sits in the lowest third of Oklahoma districts on estimated teacher pay at $45,664 (above only 18% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Tahlequah come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$45,664
Est. avg teacher salary

Below benchmark

$14,192
Per-pupil spending
3,607
Students enrolled
18th
Pct. in OK
$45,664

Tahlequah sits in the lowest third of Oklahoma districts on estimated teacher pay at $45,664 (above only 18% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $45,664, below the national average of $70,245, serving 3,607 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Lower-third pay in state: Tahlequah sits in the lowest third of Oklahoma districts on estimated teacher pay at $45,664 (above only 18% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
  • 18th percentile for Oklahoma
  • 5th percentile nationally
  • 28% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Oklahoma ranks #48 of 49 on the salary estimate and #25 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Tahlequah ranks #337 of 413 Oklahoma districts by estimated teacher salary and #145 of 413 by per-pupil spending. Varnum pay #1 at $65,364 is not Frontier spending #1 at $34,520 per pupil
  • +13.4% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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Instructional payroll mix vs Oklahoma median

Among 507 Oklahoma districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Tahlequah's instructional payroll puts 13.9% into special education , 5.5 points above the state median of 8.4%. That heavier special-education share usually means more of the teacher-salary pool is tied to IEP-driven staffing than at a typical Oklahoma peer.

Program Tahlequah OK median Gap
Regular program 71.8% 76.8% -5.0 pp
Special education 13.9% 8.4% +5.5 pp
Vocational programs 2.8% 3.6% -0.9 pp
Other programs 11.5% 9.6% +1.9 pp

Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 507 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 4029380 · FY2023.

LEAID 4029380 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Tahlequah F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-BELOW -6% vs state RANK-ST-LOW P18 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P5 national PPE-MID $14K/pupil ENR-MID 3,607 students INSTR-LOW 28% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Dewey FY-2023-MID FY2023 book

FY2023: $45,664 estimated average teacher salary · P18 in Oklahoma · P5 nationally · 28% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Claremore ($926est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Tahlequah

Salary neighbourhood · Tahlequah

Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah

Tahlequah's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$45,664 5th percentile higher than 5% 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%). This entry sits in this band. $50,000–$60,000: 2,382 US districts (22%). Above this entry. $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. Tahlequah $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

Tahlequah in Oklahoma's lower-third pay band

Same 413 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Tahlequah ranks #337 of 413 Oklahoma districts by estimated teacher salary and #145 of 413 by per-pupil spending. Varnum pay #1 at $65,364 is not Frontier spending #1 at $34,520 per pupil

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

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Tahlequah is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Frontier leads spending at $34,520 per pupil; Varnum leads pay.

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

What stands out about Tahlequah

  • It ranks in the bottom 10% nationally for estimated teacher pay, above only 5% of districts.
  • Estimated teacher pay here rose +13.4% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing Oklahoma's statewide +6.4% by 7.0 points, a growth rate faster than 72% of the 503 Oklahoma districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$45,664.101

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Oklahoma price level
88.7 / 100

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

National-price equivalent
$51,493

+13% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Tahlequah

What the Numbers Say About Tahlequah

Tahlequah is a small-to-mid-sized school district in Oklahoma, serving 3,607 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $14,192. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $45,664, placing the district in the moderately funded tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 4029380 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Oklahoma statewide average of $48,569, teacher pay in Tahlequah runs materially below the state benchmark, a 6.0% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (35.0% differential). Among enrolling districts in Oklahoma, it pays more than 18% of them. Oklahoma itself ranks #48 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Tahlequah reports $51.2M in total expenditure against $50.8M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 28% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $7.7M, special-education teacher pay is $1.5M.

How does Tahlequah compare?

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

Tahlequah $45,664
Tulsa $52,596
Oklahoma avg $48,569
National avg $70,245

Tahlequah pays -13.2% less than Tulsa · per-pupil $14,192 vs $14,252

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 Oklahoma districts

On pay, Tahlequah sits closest to Dewey; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Muskogee. 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. Dewey
  2. Roland
  3. Adair
  4. Anadarko
  5. Mannford
  6. Harrah
  7. Jones
  8. Wagoner
  9. Marietta
  10. Verdigris
  11. Oologah-talala
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Muskogee
  2. Westville
  3. Holdenville
  4. Locust Grove
  5. Oologah-talala
  6. Checotah
  7. Lindsay
  8. Catoosa
  9. Alva
  10. Mcalester
  11. Stilwell

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts with similar lower pay

Two out-of-state peer sets for Tahlequah: closest on enrollment (3,607 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($45,664 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

$50.8M
Total Revenue
$51.2M
Total Expenditure
$14.3M
Instruction Salaries
28% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$7.7M
Regular Program
$1.5M
Special Education
$0.3M
Vocational
$1.2M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Tahlequah: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 75% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 25% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.

Oklahoma Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized Oklahoma districts belongs to Mangum at $64,076. Placed 185 of 219, Tahlequah is in the lower quarter, where a state-average comparison flatters the district rather than describing it. Louisiana and Iowa are the states closest to Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma districts →

Other Oklahoma Districts

The bar behind each salary shows its magnitude within this Oklahoma sample (including Tahlequah). Hover or focus a value for the exact comparison.

Fort Gibson
$46,337
1,795 students
Byng
$42,801
1,784 students
Madill
$47,016
1,760 students
Bethany
$50,810
1,747 students
Oologah-talala
$46,081
1,740 students
Coweta
$48,708
3,568 students

This is a sample of 6 from 412 Oklahoma districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tahlequah
What is the average teacher salary in Tahlequah?

The average teacher salary in Tahlequah is $45,664 (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 Tahlequah teacher pay compare to the Oklahoma average?

Tahlequah pays 6.0% less than the Oklahoma state average of $48,569. The district's average is $45,664.

How does Tahlequah teacher pay compare to the national average?

Tahlequah pays 35.0% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $45,664.

What is the per-pupil spending in Tahlequah?

Tahlequah spends approximately $14,192 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Tahlequah's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 28% of Tahlequah's total expenditure of $51.2M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Tahlequah
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. Tahlequah'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.