PlainTeacher

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Teacher Salary Comparison Tool

According to the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023), you can compare estimated average teacher salaries, enrollment, and per-pupil spending between any two US school districts, side by side.

13,149
Districts searchable
$70,245
National avg (est.)
2-way
Side-by-side compare
Est. avg salary

Teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by reported teacher FTE, with a documented fallback where needed.

Per-pupil spending

Total expenditure divided by enrollment, a measure of district investment.

Enrollment

Total students, which contextualizes the salary estimate and budget scale.

How This Tool Works

Enter the names of two US school districts to compare their average teacher salaries, sourced from two NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) surveys for Fiscal Year 2023.

  • Salary: the F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey's teacher salary expenditure (items Z35-Z38) divided by the CCD Staff Universe Survey's reported teacher headcount, falling back to an enrollment-based estimate only for the small minority of districts with no reported headcount.
  • Comparison: average salary, enrollment, per-pupil expenditure, and the percentage difference between the two districts, all district-level aggregates, not individual teacher salaries.
  • Reliability: specialized non-enrolling agencies (career/technical centers, county offices) have their salary figure flagged as unreliable. See our methodology for details.

Salary comparison FAQ

How do I compare two school districts’ teacher salaries?

Enter two US district names in the boxes above. PlainTeacher looks up each district’s average teacher salary and shows them side by side, along with enrollment, per-pupil spending, and the percentage difference.

What salary figure does the comparison show?

The average teacher salary: reported teacher salary spending (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by the district's reported teacher headcount (NCES CCD Staff Universe Survey), or an estimated headcount (enrollment ÷ 15) for the small minority of districts with no reported figure. It is a district-level mean from finance filings rather than a survey of contracts, so treat it as a relative comparison, not an exact paycheck.

Can I compare districts in different states?

Yes. The tool compares any two of the 13,000+ US public school districts in the dataset, regardless of state. Cross-state comparisons use the same methodology and source data for every district.

Where does the comparison data come from?

The NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, Fiscal Year 2023, a mandatory federal survey of every public school district. See our methodology for the exact formula.

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. Every comparison is computed live from each district's 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.