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PlainTeacher Guide - Rankings

Highest-Paying School Districts for Teachers

According to NCES CCD F-33 finance data for FY2022, these are the school districts that pay teachers the most, with estimated average salaries for thousands of districts nationwide.

$179,503

Palo Alto Unified reports the highest estimated average teacher salary among the 50 districts ranked here, at $179,503 (NCES CCD F-33, FY2022) - a plain-English ranking of the highest-paying US school districts by estimated teacher pay.

  • #1 of 50 ranked districts

Top 10 highest-paying districts

Estimated average teacher salary, enrolling districts (200+ students)

Est. avg salary

What this shows The highest estimated salaries cluster in wealthy Northeast and West Coast suburbs with strong local tax bases.

Source NCES CCD F-33, FY2022 As of FY2022
# District State Est. Avg Salary Enrollment
1 Palo Alto Unified California $179,503 10,463
2 East Quogue Union Free School District New York $179,290 359
3 Saint Helena Unified California $177,070 1,144
4 Middle Country Central School District New York $176,162 9,345
5 Port Chester-rye Union Free School District New York $175,456 4,532
6 Calistoga Joint Unified California $174,990 828
7 Perth Amboy Public School District New Jersey $174,762 10,184
8 Kern County Office of Education California $174,464 2,067
9 Scarsdale Union Free School District New York $174,071 4,605
10 Mercer County Special Services School District New Jersey $173,607 479
11 Rockville Centre Union Free School District New York $173,505 3,453
12 Bellmore Union Free School District New York $173,404 1,040
13 Copiague Union Free School District New York $172,972 4,695
14 Amityville Union Free School District New York $172,928 2,969
15 Westbury Union Free School District New York $172,703 4,793
16 Bedford Central School District New York $172,610 3,714
17 Cold Spring Harbor Central School District New York $172,426 1,627
18 Pocantico Hills Central School District New York $172,225 300
19 New Rochelle City School District New York $172,026 9,925
20 Menlo Park City Elementary California $171,916 2,708
21 Half Hollow Hills Central School District New York $171,915 7,301
22 Montecito Union Elementary California $171,827 375
23 Lawrence Union Free School District New York $171,034 2,259
24 Mount Vernon School District New York $171,017 6,996
25 Multnomah ESD Oregon $170,443 336
26 Center Moriches Union Free School District New York $170,251 1,501
27 Ellenville Central School District New York $169,974 1,467
28 Lyndonville Central School District New York $169,184 622
29 Babylon Union Free School District New York $169,096 1,516
30 Ossining Union Free School District New York $168,804 4,968
31 Cooperative Educational Services Connecticut $168,800 469
32 Locust Valley Central School District New York $168,292 1,889
33 Longwood Central School District New York $167,442 8,829
34 Commack Union Free School District New York $167,366 5,572
35 Blind Brook-rye Union Free School District New York $166,960 1,276
36 Northeast Metro 916 Minnesota $166,887 863
37 El Dorado County Office of Education California $166,818 756
38 Mountain View Elementary California $166,817 5,330
39 Pearl River Union Free School District New York $166,788 2,291
40 Haverstraw-stony Point CSD (North Rockland) New York $166,639 7,644
41 Merrick Union Free School District New York $166,519 1,544
42 Chula Vista Elementary California $166,218 22,179
43 North Shore Central School District New York $165,804 2,521
44 Brookhaven-comsewogue Union Free School District New York $165,277 3,487
45 Carmel Central School District New York $165,073 3,797
46 Central Islip Union Free School District New York $164,811 7,490
47 Solana Beach Elementary California $164,689 2,818
48 Manhasset Union Free School District New York $164,380 3,013
49 Eastern Connecticut Regional Educational Service Center (EAS Connecticut $164,231 287
50 Syosset Central School District New York $163,872 6,743

Why Are These Districts at the Top?

The highest-paying districts tend to cluster in three geographic regions: the New York metro area (Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut suburbs), the San Francisco Bay Area, and parts of New Jersey. Several factors drive high salaries in these areas:

  • High cost of living: Housing costs force districts to offer higher salaries to attract and retain teachers.
  • Strong local tax bases: Wealthy suburban districts benefit from high property values, generating more local education funding.
  • Strong union contracts: Northeastern states have historically strong teachers unions that negotiate for higher pay.
  • Small class sizes: Higher per-pupil spending often funds more staff relative to students.

Methodology

Salary estimates use the F-33 variable Z33 (total instructional salary expenditures) divided by estimated teacher FTE (enrollment divided by 15, a national average student-teacher ratio). These are estimates, not reported individual or average salaries. Districts with fewer than 200 students are excluded to avoid distortion from specialized service centers.

FAQ

Which states have the highest-paying school districts?

New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut consistently have the highest-paying districts, particularly in wealthy suburban areas like Long Island, Westchester County, and Fairfield County.

Why do some small districts pay so much?

Small, wealthy suburban districts often have high property tax bases, strong local funding, and high cost-of-living adjustments. They compete for teachers in expensive housing markets and often have lower student-teacher ratios.

Data source: NCES CCD F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, FY2022 (released June 2024). View source data at NCES.ed.gov

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

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Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher Editorial

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. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of FY2022.