Washington Teacher Salaries

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

Washington reports 290 public school districts in the NCES Common Core of Data FY2022 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, with an estimated average teacher salary of $97,375. That places the state in the upper third of US teacher-pay rankings — #12 of 51, meaningfully above the national F-33 estimate of $82,292 (+18.3%). The state's public schools serve 1,073,873 students across these districts.

Among enrolling districts, pay varies widely: Prescott School District reports the highest estimated average salary at $146,515, while Goldendale School District sits at the lower end at $31,527 — a spread of $114,988 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 #12 national rank signals where Washington sits in the competition for teachers against neighboring states; teacher shortage areas typically correlate with lower pay rank. Figures below are per-district estimates derived from the F-33 instructional salary expenditure field (Z33) divided by estimated teacher FTE — a district-level aggregate, not individual salary records.