Teacher Salary in Iowa

What does the NCES F-33 data show for Iowa?

Iowa reports 327 public school districts in the NCES Common Core of Data FY2022 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, with an average teacher salary of $77,910. That places the state in the middle third of US teacher-pay rankings - #26 of 51, below the national average of $85,759 (-9.2%). The state's public schools serve 503,735 students across these districts. Most district figures divide total instructional spending by the district's REPORTED teacher headcount (NCES CCD Staff Universe Survey); a small number of large consolidated districts that report staffing only at a sub-district level fall back to an estimated ratio instead, since total instructional spending also includes aides and assistants, both figures run somewhat above survey-reported classroom-teacher-only salaries, treat this as a relative cross-district comparison, not an exact paycheck, and see our methodology for the formula, its data source per district, and its limits.

Among enrolling districts, pay varies widely: East Sac County Comm School District reports the highest estimated average salary at $96,760, while Springville Comm School District sits at the lower end at $52,650 - a spread of $44,109 between top and bottom reporting districts. Licensing rules, state aid formulas, collective bargaining density, and local tax bases all drive this intra-state variation. Urban and suburban districts with larger tax bases typically lead, while rural districts often lag despite lower cost of living.

Teacher compensation here reflects both state policy choices, the statutory minimum salary schedule, pension funding levels, licensure reciprocity, and the funding formula that determines how much state aid each district receives per pupil. A #26 national rank signals where Iowa sits in the competition for teachers against neighboring states; teacher shortage areas typically correlate with lower pay rank. Figures below are per-district averages derived from the F-33 instructional salary expenditure field (Z33) divided by each district's reported teacher FTE (or an estimated FTE for the small minority with no reported figure), a district-level aggregate, not individual salary records.