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State profile · NCES F-33 FY2023

Teacher Salary in District of Columbia

District of Columbia sits in the highest third of reporting jurisdictions at $124,986 (#1 of 49). According to the NCES Common Core of Data finance survey, estimated teacher pay and per-pupil spending are available for every public school district in District of Columbia.

$124,986
Est. state avg salary

Well above benchmark

+77.9%
vs national
#1
National rank
1
Districts

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$124,986/year (est.)

District of Columbia sits in the highest third of reporting jurisdictions at $124,986 (#1 of 49). Estimated average teacher salary is $124,986, meaningfully above the national average of $70,245, ranking #1 of 49, across 1 public school districts with reliable data (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Upper-third estimated pay: District of Columbia sits in the highest third of reporting jurisdictions at $124,986 (#1 of 49).
  • top decile nationally (#1 of 49)
  • District of Columbia ranks #1 of 49 on the salary estimate and #49 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • $0 spread between its highest- and lowest-paying districts
  • +77.9% vs the national average
  • #1 of 49 purchasing-power-adjusted (BEA RPP 110.7)

District of Columbia sits in the top decile for estimated pay

Across 1 reliable-salary districts, the average estimate is $124,986: #1 of 49 jurisdictions with a reliable district estimate, and 77.9% above the national benchmark of $70,245.

The rank compares the same F-33-derived district measure nationwide. It does not include benefits, experience steps, taxes, or local living costs; use it as a relative state placement rather than an exact paycheck.

District of Columbia purchasing-power check on upper-third pay

District of Columbia's nominal average teacher salary ranks #1 of the 49 states and territories that report teacher salaries. Adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's 2023 Regional Price Parity (110.7, US = 100, a relative state-level price-level index, not a district or metro cost-of-living figure), the estimate becomes $112,892, ranking #1 of 49 , unchanged from the nominal rank. This purchasing-power view is not published by NEA's teacher-pay rankings or the aggregator sites; it comes from combining our own F-33-derived salary estimate with BEA's public RPP series. See the full 51-state release for methodology and download. BEA Regional Price Parities · NCES CCD F-33

District of Columbia in the teacher-salary distribution

FY2023 estimated state averages from the same NCES-derived ranking

$124,986 Top 2% higher than 98% of 49 reporting states and territories

Show national distribution $0–$5,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $5,000–$10,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $10,000–$15,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $15,000–$20,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $20,000–$25,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$30,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $30,000–$35,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $35,000–$40,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $40,000–$45,000: 1 reporting states and territories (2%). Below this entry. $45,000–$50,000: 2 reporting states and territories (4%). Below this entry. $50,000–$55,000: 6 reporting states and territories (12%). Below this entry. $55,000–$60,000: 5 reporting states and territories (10%). Below this entry. $60,000–$65,000: 9 reporting states and territories (18%). Below this entry. $65,000–$70,000: 7 reporting states and territories (14%). Below this entry. $70,000–$75,000: 2 reporting states and territories (4%). Below this entry. $75,000–$80,000: 4 reporting states and territories (8%). Below this entry. $80,000–$85,000: 5 reporting states and territories (10%). Below this entry. $85,000–$90,000: 5 reporting states and territories (10%). Below this entry. $90,000–$95,000: 1 reporting states and territories (2%). Below this entry. $95,000–$100,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $100,000–$105,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $105,000–$110,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $110,000–$115,000: 1 reporting states and territories (2%). Below this entry. $115,000–$120,000: 0 reporting states and territories (0%). Below this entry. $120,000–$125,000: 1 reporting states and territories (2%). This entry sits in this band. District of Columbia $0 $125,000 reporting state salary estimates, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $5K-wide band; taller bars hold more reporting states and territories. 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; state estimates derived from reported instructional-salary expenditure and teacher FTE · FY2023

Districts by Estimated Teacher Salary

District Est. Avg Salary Enrollment Per-Pupil Exp
District of Columbia Public Schools $124,986 49,687 $39,111

Specialized non-enrolling agencies (career/technical centers, county offices, service co-ops) are excluded from the salary ranking, their enrollment-based estimates are not reliable.

Nationwide peers near District of Columbia's smaller K-12 scale

Two nationwide peer sets for District of Columbia: closest on estimated average teacher salary ($124,986 here) and closest on total student enrollment (49,687 here). Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not geographic containment.

Similar estimated salary

Nearest other states by unweighted district-mean teacher pay (F-33 derived, ≥5 districts with reliable estimates).

Compare Nearby-Ranked States

California
$110,546
Rank #2
Delaware
$92,029
Rank #3
New York
$89,760
Rank #4

Data: NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey + Staff Universe Survey, FY2023. Salary figures divide instructional expenditure (variable Z33) by each district's reported teacher FTE, or an estimated FTE for the small minority with no reported figure. Not individual salary data. Read our methodology.

District of Columbia teacher salary FAQ

What is the average teacher salary in District of Columbia?

Across 1 District of Columbia public school districts with reliable data, the average teacher salary is $124,986 (NCES CCD F-33 reported teacher salaries divided by CCD Staff Universe Survey teacher headcounts, FY2023). It is a district-level mean derived from finance filings, so it will not match a contract-salary survey exactly, read it as a relative comparison.

Which District of Columbia school district pays teachers the most?

District of Columbia Public Schools reports the highest average teacher salary in District of Columbia at $124,986.

How does District of Columbia teacher pay compare to the national average?

District of Columbia's average of $124,986 is meaningfully above the national average of $70,245 (+77.9%), ranking #1 of the 49 jurisdictions with a reliable district estimate.

How many school districts are in District of Columbia?

District of Columbia has 1 public school districts in the NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, together serving 49,687 students.

How much do teachers make in District of Columbia?

District-average teacher pay in District of Columbia runs from $124,986 in District of Columbia Public Schools to $124,986 in District of Columbia Public Schools, with 1 of 1 reliable-data districts at $100,000 or above. Where a teacher lands depends far more on which district employs them than on the statewide figure. These are district-wide averages from NCES CCD F-33 (FY2023), not individual salaries or pay-scale steps.

Can teachers earn $100,000 in District of Columbia?

1 of 1 District of Columbia districts with reliable data report an estimated average teacher salary of $100,000 or more, led by District of Columbia Public Schools at $124,986. This is a district-wide average, not an individual salary, step, or years-of-experience figure.

How does District of Columbia rank after adjusting for cost of living?

Within the separate enrollment-weighted state comparison, BEA's 2023 Regional Price Parity (110.7, US=100) adjusts District of Columbia's nominal estimate of $124,986 from #1 to $112,892 and #1. The headline uses an unweighted district mean, so this does not replace it. Neither measure is take-home pay, taxes, or district/metro cost of living.

Explore District of Columbia

Disclaimer & data sources

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