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Digest of Education Statistics
2006 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 82. Principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by selected characteristics: 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04
Characteristic 1993–941  1999–20001  2003–041  Percentage distribution of principals,
by highest degree earned, 2003–04
Average years of experience Average annual salary
of principals in current dollars
Average annual salary of principals
in constant 2005–06 dollars2 
Bachelor's
or less
Master's Education specialist3  Doctor's
and first-professional
As a principal, 1993–94 As a principal, 2003–04 Teaching experience, 2003–04 1993–94 2003–04 1993–94 2003–04
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Public schools                                                                  
Total 79,620   (235) 83,790   (327) 87,620 (307) 1.9 (0.24) 59.2 (0.71) 30.3 (0.69) 8.6 (0.43) 8.7   (0.10) 7.8 (0.10) 13.5 (0.11) $54,860   (127) $75,500 (186) $74,660   (172) $80,730 (198)
Sex                                                                  
Males 52,110   (613) 47,130   (604) 45,930 (707) 1.6 (0.25) 62.9 (1.04) 27.8 (0.93) 7.7 (0.51) 10.3   (0.16) 9.1 (0.16) 12.2 (0.13) 54,920   (160) 75,630 (290) 74,750   (218) 80,870 (310)
Females 27,500   (542) 36,660   (598) 41,690 (708) 2.2 (0.41) 55.1 (1.23) 33.1 (1.13) 9.7 (0.70) 5.6   (0.12) 6.3 (0.13) 14.9 (0.16) 54,740   (276) 75,360 (334) 74,490   (375) 80,580 (357)
                                                                   
Race/ethnicity                                                                  
White 67,080   (540) 68,930   (579) 72,200 (509) 1.8 (0.28) 58.8 (0.74) 30.8 (0.78) 8.6 (0.45) 9.0   (0.12) 8.0 (0.12) 13.5 (0.12) 54,470   (138) 75,080 (221) 74,120   (188) 80,280 (237)
Black 8,020   (351) 9,240   (321) 9,250 (377) 2.0 (0.53) 56.2 (2.32) 30.9 (1.94) 10.9 (1.68) 7.1   (0.21) 6.9 (0.33) 14.3 (0.40) 57,670   (454) 77,360 (665) 78,480   (619) 82,720 (711)
Hispanic 3,270   (258) 4,330   (300) 4,680 (355) 1.5 (0.61) 69.2 (3.85) 24.1 (3.68) 5.2 (1.35) 6.3   (0.37) 6.1 (0.43) 11.9 (0.55) 55,860   (798) 79,450 (1,369) 76,030   (1,086) 84,960 (1,464)
Asian 620 4  (109) 630 4  (124) 460 (87) 6.8 (2.16) 70.0 (10.11) 20.3 (10.38) 3.0 (1.23) 6.0 4  (0.60) 6.8 (1.17) 13.6 (1.29) 59,450 4  (1,425) 82,640 (1,672) 80,900 4  (1,940) 88,370 (1,788)
American Indian/Alaska Native 630   (67) 660   (60) 600 (80) 4.5 (2.07) 64.4 (5.17) 24.7 (4.67) 6.5 (2.26) 12.6   (0.67) 6.9 (0.63) 12.6 (0.94) 51,120   (1,734) 62,010 (2,127) 69,570   (2,360) 66,310 (2,275)
Pacific Islander   (†)   (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†) (†) (†)   (†) (†)   (†) (†)
More than one race   (†)   (†) 350 (82) 3.2 (2.30) 48.5 (11.64) 35.6 (10.26) 12.7 (5.94)   (†) 5.6 (1.12) 13.2 (0.98)   (†) 75,800 (3,767)   (†) 81,050 (4,028)
                                                                   
Age                                                                  
Under 40 5,940   (273) 8,440   (302) 12,840 (477) 3.5 (0.84) 67.3 (1.98) 26.4 (1.81) 2.9 (0.40) 2.8   (0.13) 2.4 (0.10) 7.6 (0.14) 46,540   (473) 68,820 (544) 63,340   (644) 73,590 (582)
40 to 44 14,570   (496) 10,510   (317) 9,540 (449) 2.4 (0.68) 66.4 (1.85) 26.7 (1.73) 4.5 (0.62) 5.0   (0.12) 4.5 (0.18) 11.0 (0.21) 52,040   (386) 72,310 (662) 70,820   (525) 77,320 (708)
45 to 49 25,430   (429) 19,600   (535) 16,120 (526) 2.2 (0.72) 60.0 (1.81) 29.9 (1.59) 7.9 (0.85) 7.1   (0.13) 6.1 (0.16) 13.4 (0.20) 55,420   (261) 73,280 (527) 75,430   (355) 78,360 (564)
50 to 54 18,870   (539) 27,120   (606) 24,170 (669) 1.3 (0.29) 56.8 (1.47) 31.8 (1.16) 10.1 (1.06) 10.3   (0.18) 8.7 (0.19) 15.2 (0.21) 56,560   (364) 77,050 (437) 76,970   (496) 82,390 (467)
55 or over 14,820   (441) 18,130   (500) 24,960 (679) 1.3 (0.36) 53.9 (1.63) 32.5 (1.60) 12.3 (0.97) 15.1   (0.35) 11.9 (0.23) 15.9 (0.27) 57,830   (495) 80,090 (476) 78,700   (674) 85,640 (509)
                                                                   
Type of school                                                                  
Elementary 53,680   (294) 60,110   (253) 61,480 (361) 1.2 (0.22) 59.9 (0.98) 30.5 (0.99) 8.5 (0.57) 8.9   (0.14) 7.9 (0.13) 13.7 (0.13) 54,160   (168) 75,400 (225) 73,710   (229) 80,630 (240)
Secondary 18,260   (161) 20,450   (197) 19,700 (272) 2.9 (0.70) 56.4 (1.30) 30.7 (1.21) 10.0 (0.56) 8.0   (0.12) 7.5 (0.19) 13.1 (0.19) 56,600   (167) 79,370 (442) 77,030   (227) 84,870 (472)
Combined 2,750   (143) 3,230   (146) 6,450 (263) 5.6 (1.05) 60.9 (2.07) 27.9 (1.96) 5.6 (0.86) 7.5   (0.29) 7.4 (0.36) 12.7 (0.35) 52,820   (511) 64,660 (615) 71,890   (695) 69,140 (658)
                                                                   
Location of school                                                                  
City5    (†)   (†) 22,690 (425) 1.7 (0.36) 55.1 (1.70) 31.7 (1.39) 11.4 (1.11)   (†) 7.3 (0.17) 13.9 (0.23)   (†) 80,200 (376)   (†) 85,760 (403)
Suburban6    (†)   (†) 25,600 (506) 1.0 (0.27) 59.1 (1.30) 28.3 (1.35) 11.5 (0.96)   (†) 7.9 (0.23) 13.3 (0.20)   (†) 85,380 (473)   (†) 91,300 (505)
Town7    (†)   (†) 13,700 (424) 2.1 (0.77) 62.1 (1.86) 30.7 (1.69) 5.1 (0.64)   (†) 8.1 (0.28) 13.0 (0.27)   (†) 68,940 (503)   (†) 73,720 (538)
Rural8    (†)   (†) 25,640 (492) 2.8 (0.54) 61.2 (1.32) 30.9 (1.25) 5.1 (0.49)   (†) 7.9 (0.22) 13.6 (0.18)   (†) 64,990 (351)   (†) 69,500 (376)
Private schools                                                                  
Total 25,020   (198) 26,230   (259) 27,690 (677) 33.1 (1.27) 49.5 (1.20) 10.7 (0.61) 6.7 (0.63) 8.8   (0.20) 10.0 (0.24) 14.1 (0.25) $32,070   (363) $50,180 (611) $43,650   (495) $53,660 (718)
Sex                                                                  
Males 11,610   (301) 11,900   (308) 12,110 (552) 29.1 (1.74) 50.6 (1.72) 10.5 (0.95) 9.8 (1.13) 9.0   (0.26) 11.0 (0.35) 13.3 (0.35) 35,600   (565) 55,400 (1,003) 48,440   (768) 59,240 (1,179)
Females 13,410   (283) 14,330   (307) 15,580 (491) 36.2 (1.83) 48.8 (1.80) 10.8 (0.83) 4.3 (0.75) 8.6   (0.27) 9.2 (0.28) 14.7 (0.36) 29,190   (608) 46,260 (843) 39,720   (827) 49,470 (991)
                                                                   
Race/ethnicity                                                                  
White 23,130   (270) 23,320   (309) 24,850 (715) 32.3 (1.33) 50.2 (1.26) 11.1 (0.65) 6.4 (0.64) 8.7   (0.22) 10.3 (0.24) 14.4 (0.26) 31,970   (401) 50,590 (603) 43,510   (545) 54,100 (709)
Black 1,060   (124) 1,570   (164) 1,440 (155) 39.6 (6.00) 43.3 (6.40) 7.3 (3.50) 9.7 (4.10) 8.3   (1.04) 7.1 (1.08) 11.9 (1.35) 34,380   (2,476) 44,310 (3,461) 46,790   (3,370) 47,380 (4,069)
Hispanic 520   (91) 830   (135) 820 (116) 33.5 (6.35) 53.0 (6.98) 6.7 (3.27) 6.8 (4.10) 10.1   (1.43) 6.6 (1.29) 10.9 (1.50) 31,350   (1,958) 48,010 (3,940) 42,660   (2,664) 51,340 (4,631)
                                                                   
Age                                                                  
Under 40 4,790   (302) 3,750   (223) 4,420 (267) 54.2 (3.41) 39.7 (3.36) 4.9 (1.13) 1.2 (0.59) 3.5   (0.22) 2.9 (0.20) 6.3 (0.37) 26,310   (869) 40,930 (1,582) 35,800   (1,183) 48,110 (1,860)
40 to 44 4,400   (217) 3,450   (212) 3,040 (250) 45.3 (4.75) 43.9 (4.21) 7.2 (2.45) 3.7 (1.59) 5.3   (0.24) 5.4 (0.38) 10.6 (0.57) 30,490   (928) 43,630 (1,719) 41,490   (1,263) 51,280 (2,021)
45 to 49 5,140   (216) 5,210   (261) 4,020 (250) 32.7 (3.49) 50.4 (3.22) 8.7 (1.39) 8.3 (2.16) 8.3   (0.27) 7.6 (0.28) 12.9 (0.51) 34,640   (736) 51,660 (1,467) 47,140   (1,002) 60,720 (1,724)
50 to 54 4,120   (228) 5,840   (291) 5,820 (337) 27.1 (2.46) 53.0 (2.42) 12.3 (1.57) 7.6 (1.23) 9.6   (0.34) 10.1 (0.35) 14.7 (0.49) 37,730   (999) 52,420 (1,568) 51,340   (1,359) 61,620 (1,843)
55 or over 6,550   (244) 7,980   (276) 10,390 (425) 24.1 (1.64) 53.1 (1.81) 14.0 (1.11) 8.7 (1.21) 14.8   (0.40) 15.2 (0.40) 18.6 (0.44) 31,780   (757) 54,000 (1,109) 43,250   (1,030) 63,470 (1,303)
                                                                   
Type of school                                                                  
Elementary 13,350   (158) 15,810   (245) 16,750 (327) 33.4 (1.64) 50.0 (1.57) 12.0 (0.81) 4.6 (0.66) 9.4   (0.27) 9.9 (0.30) 14.3 (0.34) 28,780   (444) 47,250 (673) 39,170   (605) 55,540 (791)
Secondary 2,300   (244) 2,630   (133) 2,510 (364) 13.3 (3.27) 62.9 (4.33) 13.0 (2.76) 10.9 (2.56) 7.8   (0.36) 9.3 (0.77) 15.6 (0.68) 43,680   (784) 65,010 (2,593) 59,450   (1,067) 76,420 (3,048)
Combined 6,770   (115) 7,800   (265) 8,430 (281) 38.4 (2.36) 44.7 (2.35) 7.3 (0.93) 9.6 (1.10) 8.0   (0.34) 10.3 (0.39) 13.4 (0.47) 33,630   (1,110) 51,580 (1,516) 45,770   (1,511) 60,630 (1,782)
—Not available.
† Not applicable.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Total differs from data appearing in other tables because of varying survey processing procedures and time period coverages.
2 Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. Excludes principals reporting a salary of $0.
3 Education specialist degrees or certificates are generally awarded for 1 year's work beyond the master's level. Includes certifi­cate of advanced studies.
4 Data includes Pacific Islander.
5 A city consists of a territory inside an urbanized area and inside a principal city.
6 A suburb is a territory outside a principal city and inside an urbanized area. An urbanized area includes a central place and densely populated surrounding area with at least 50,000 people.
7 A town is a territory within an urban cluster. An urban cluster is a central place with a densely populated adjacent territory including at least 2,500 people.
8 A rural area is a Census-defined rural territory that is outside of an urbanized area and urban clusters.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and survey item nonresponse. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Principal Questionnaire" and "Private School Principal Questionnaire," 1993–94, 1999–2000, and 2003–04. (This table was prepared June 2006.)

2006 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest