Skip Navigation
IES    
NCES
National Center for
Education Statistics
Menu
Contact
Tools
ED.gov
Newsflash
Search NCES
Annual Reports and Information Staff (Annual Reports)

  • Preprimary, Elementary,
    and Secondary Education

  • Postsecondary
    Education

  • Population Characteristics
    and Economic Outcomes

  • International
    Comparisons

  • School Crime
    and Safety

  • Education Across
    America

  • Spotlight

Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary Education

Characteristics of Public and Private School Principals

Last Updated: November 2023
|
Download PDF
Download PDF
Females made up a higher percentage of elementary and secondary school principals in 2020–21 than in 2011–12, for both public schools (56 vs. 52 percent) and private schools (63 vs. 55 percent). Lower percentages of public and private school principals had 20 or more years of experience in 2020–21 compared with a decade ago.
The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) collects information about principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools across the United States. This indicator examines the demographics, experience and educational attainment, and salaries of these principals.

Select a subgroup characteristic from the drop-down menu below to view relevant text and figures.

Control of Institution
+
All available findings Educational attainment Grade level/Student level Race/ethnicity Salary Sex or gender Time series Years of school experience
Figure 1. Percentage of female principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools: School years 2011–12, 2015–16, and 2020–21
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

— Not available.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data in this figure represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are based on a head count of full-time and part-time principals rather than on the number of full-time-equivalent principals. Principals were asked whether they were male or female. The questionnaire did not use either the term “gender” or “sex.”

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Principal Data File” and “Private School Principal Data File,” 2011–12; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal Data File,” 2015–16 and 2020–21; and NTPS, “Private School Principal Data File,” 2020–21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 212.08.

In 2020–21, the majority of public and private school principals were female.1 Females made up a higher percentage of elementary and secondary school principals in 2020–21 than in 2011–12, for both public schools (56 vs. 52 percent) and private schools (63 vs. 55 percent). In 2020–21, a higher percentage of private school principals than of public school principals were female (63 vs. 56 percent). [Time series ] [Sex or gender]
Figure 2. Percentage distribution of principals and student enrollment in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity: School year 2020–21
Select another option:
Public schools Private schools1
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

† Not applicable.

#Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data in this figure represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are based on a head count of full-time and part-time principals rather than on the number of full-time-equivalent principals. The public school student data are from the 2020–21 Common Core of Data (CCD), and the private school student data are from the 2019–20 Private School Universe Survey (PSS). The principal data are from the 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). For more information on which CCD and PSS schools are eligible to participate in the NTPS, please see https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2022/2022111.pdf. Because the data are from different sources and years, readers should interpret the comparisons with caution. For public schools, enrollment data for students not reported by race/ethnicity were prorated based on the known racial/ethnic composition of a state by grade to match state totals. For private schools, race/ethnicity was not collected for prekindergarten students and percentage distribution is based on the students for whom race/ethnicity was reported. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal Data File,” 2020–21; and “Private School Principal Data File,” 2020–21; Common Core of Data (CCD), “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education,” 2020–21 Preliminary; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), 2019–20. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, tables 203.50 and 212.08; Digest of Education Statistics 2021, 205.30.

In 2020–21, of all public school principals,
  • 77 percent were White;
  • 10 percent were Black;
  • 9 percent were Hispanic; and
  • 1 percent or less each were of Two or more races, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander.
The percentage of public school principals who were White was lower in 2020–21 than in 2011–12 (77 vs. 80 percent), while the percentages who were Hispanic and Pacific Islander were higher in 2020–21 (9 and 0.3 percent, respectively) than in 2011–12 (7 and less than 0.1 percent, respectively). There were no measurable differences between 2011–12 and 2020–21 in the percentages of public school principals who were of other racial/ethnic groups. [Time series ] [Race/ethnicity ]
In 2020–21, of all private school principals,
  • 83 percent were White;
  • 6 percent were Hispanic;
  • 6 percent were Black;
  • 2 percent were Asian; and
  • 1 percent each were of Two or more races and American Indian/Alaska Native. 2
Changes over time in the racial/ethnic composition of the population of private school principals were similar to those observed for public school principals. For instance, the percentage of White private school principals was lower in 2020–21 than in 2011–12 (83 vs. 87 percent), while the percentage of Hispanic private school principals was higher in 2020–21 than in 2011–12 (6 vs. 3 percent). The percentage of private school principals who were of Two or more races was also higher in 2020–21 than in 2011–12 (1 percent vs. less than 1 percent). [Time series ] [Race/ethnicity ]
The distribution of principals by race/ethnicity differed between public and private schools. Higher percentages of public school principals were Hispanic or Black, while higher percentages of private school principals were White or Asian. This pattern was also true of public and private school students—higher percentages of public than private school students were Hispanic (28 vs. 12 percent) and Black (15 vs. 9 percent), while higher percentages of private than public school students were White (66 vs. 46 percent) and Asian (7 vs. 5 percent). Looking at the racial/ethnic composition of the principal population and of the student population, in both public and private schools as a whole, the proportion of principals who were White was higher than the proportion of students who were White, whereas the proportions of principals in other racial/ethnic groups were generally lower than the proportions of students in those groups.3,4 [Race/ethnicity ]
Principal Experience and Educational Attainment
Figure 3. Percentage distribution of principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by years of experience as a principal: School years 2011–12, 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2020–21
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Stacked Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

— Not available.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data in this figure represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are based on a head count of full-time and part-time principals rather than on the number of full-time-equivalent principals. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Principal Data File” and “Private School Principal Data File,” 2011–12; National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal Data File,” 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2020–21; and NTPS, “Private School Principal Data File,” 2017–18 and 2020–21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 212.08.

In 2020–21, of all public school principals,
  • 35 percent had 3 or fewer years of experience as a principal;
  • 38 percent had 4 to 9 years of experience;
  • 24 percent had 10 to 19 years of experience; and
  • 4 percent had 20 or more years of experience.
A lower percentage of public school principals in 2020–21 than in 2011–12 had 20 or more years of experience (4 vs. 5 percent). There were no measurable differences between 2011–12 and 2020–21 in the percentages of public school principals who had fewer years of experience. [Time series ] [Years of school experience]
Overall, private school principals were less experienced in 2020–21 than in 2011–12. Specifically,
  • a higher percentage had 3 or fewer years of experience (35 vs. 28 percent); and
  • a lower percentage had 20 or more years of experience (13 vs. 19 percent).
In 2020–21, the percentages of private school principals with 4 to 9 (28 percent) or 10 to 19 (23 percent) years of experience were not measurably different from 2011–12. [Time series ] [Years of school experience]
In general, private school principals had more years of experience than public school principals. In 2020–21, a higher percentage of private school principals than of public school principals had 20 or more years of experience (13 vs. 4 percent). Conversely, a higher percentage public school principals than of private school principals had 4 to 9 years of experience (38 vs. 28 percent). [Years of school experience]
Figure 4. Percentage distribution of principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by school level and highest level of educational attainment: School year 2020–21
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Stacked Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

1 Combined/other schools are included in the total but omitted from the figure as a separate category.

2 Private elementary and middle school principals are combined for reporting purposes.

3 Education specialist degrees or certificates are generally awarded for 1 year of work beyond the master's degree level. Includes certificate of advanced graduate studies.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data in this figure represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are based on a head count of full-time and part-time principals rather than on the number of full-time-equivalent principals. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal Data File,” 2020–21; and NTPS, “Private School Principal Data File,” 2020-21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 212.10.

Overall, public school principals had higher levels of educational attainment5 than did private school principals in 2020–21. While the percentage who held a doctor’s or first professional degree was not measurably different between public (11 percent) and private (9 percent) school principals, higher percentages of public school principals than of private school principals held a master’s degree (62 vs. 52 percent) or education specialist degree6 (25 vs. 11 percent) as their highest level of educational attainment. Conversely, a lower percentage of public than of private school principals held a bachelor’s or lower degree (2 vs. 28 percent) as their highest level of educational attainment. For each degree level, there were no measurable differences between 2011–12 and 2020–21 in the percentage of public and private school principals who held the degree as their highest level of educational attainment. [Time series ] [Educational attainment]
In 2020–21, among private school principals, secondary/high school principals had higher levels of educational attainment than elementary/middle school principals.7 Specifically, higher percentages of private secondary/high school principals than of elementary/middle school principals held a doctor’s or first professional degree (13 vs. 6 percent), education specialist degree (16 vs. 10 percent), or a master’s degree (60 vs. 53 percent) as their highest level of educational attainment. Conversely, a lower percentage of private secondary/high school principals than of private elementary/middle school principals held a bachelor’s or lower degree as their highest level of educational attainment (10 vs. 30 percent). Among public school principals, there were fewer measurable differences. The only measurable differences were that higher percentages of public elementary and secondary/high school principals (2 percent each) than of public middle school principals (1 percent) held a bachelor’s degree or lower level of education as their highest level of educational attainment. [Grade level/Student level] [Educational attainment]
Figure 5. Principals’ average annual salaries at elementary and secondary public and private schools, by school level and sex: School year 2020–21
Select another option:
Public schools Private schools
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

1 Combined/other schools are included in the total but omitted from the figure as a separate category.

2 Private elementary and middle school principals are combined for reporting purposes.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data in this figure represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Average annual salaries are reported in constant 2021–22 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. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal Data File,” 2020-21; and NTPS, “Private School Principal Data File,” 2020-21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 212.10.

In 2020–21, the average annual salary of public school principals was higher than that of private school principals ($113,500 vs. $84,300). At public schools, the average annual salary for principals was 1 percent higher in 2021–20 than in 2011–12 ($113,500 vs. $112,200, in constant 2021–22 dollars).8 At private schools, the average annual salary for principals was 12 percent higher in 2020–21 than in 2011–12 ($84,300 vs. $75,500, in constant 2021–22 dollars). [Time series ] [Salary]
In 2020–21, the average salaries of both public and private school principals varied by school level9 and principals’ sex. Among public school principals, the average annual salary was highest for secondary/high school principals ($118,800), followed by middle school principals ($116,500) and elementary school principals ($111,300). The average annual salary of female public school principals was lower than that of male public school principals ($111,900 vs. $115,500). Among private school principals, the average salary for secondary/high school principals was higher than that of elementary/middle school principals ($118,600 vs. $77,500). The average annual salary of female private school principals was lower than that of male private school principals ($78,700 vs. $94,200). [Sex or gender] [Grade level/Student level] [Salary]

1 Principals were asked whether they were male or female. The questionnaire did not use either the term “gender” or “sex.”

2 The percentage of private school principals who were Pacific Islander was omitted, as the estimate did not meet reporting standards.

3 The latest principal data available for private schools were for 2020–21, whereas the latest student enrollment data available for private schools were for 2019–20. Due to the misalignment in data years, readers should interpret the private school discussion with caution. In particular, readers should keep in mind that unknown changes to private school enrollments during the pandemic may have affected the overall racial/ethnic distribution of students in private schools, if the data had been available for 2020–21.

4 The public school student data are from the 2020–21 Common Core of Data (CCD), and the private school student data are from the 2019–20 Private School Universe Survey (PSS). The principal data are from the 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). For more information on which CCD and PSS schools are eligible to participate in the NTPS, please see https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2022/2022111.pdf. Because the data are from different sources and years, readers should interpret the comparisons with caution.

5 Level of educational attainment refers to the highest degree earned.

6 Education specialist degrees or certificates are generally awarded for 1 year of work beyond the master’s degree level. This includes certificates of advanced graduate studies.

7 Private elementary and middle school principals are combined for reporting purposes. Some data in this paragraph have been revised from previously published figures, due to corrections made to the school level variable in NTPS.

8 For ease of comparison, all annual salaries in this indicator are reported in constant 2021–22 dollars, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), adjusted to a school-year basis.

9 Some data in this paragraph have been revised from previously published figures, due to corrections made to the school level variable in NTPS.

Supplemental Information

CLOSE
CLOSE
Table icon
Table 203.50 (Digest 2022): Enrollment and percentage distribution of enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity and region: Selected years, fall 1995 through fall 2031;
Table icon
Table 212.08 (Digest 2022): Number and percentage distribution of principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by selected characteristics: Selected years, 1993-94 through 2020-21;
Table icon
Table 212.10 (Digest 2022): Highest degree, average years of experience, and salaries of principals in public and private elementary and secondary schools, by selected characteristics: Selected years, 2007-08 through 2020-21;
Table icon
Table 214.10 (Digest 2022): Number of public school districts and public and private elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2021-22;
Table icon
Table 205.30 (Digest 2021): Percentage distribution of students enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools, by school orientation and selected characteristics: Selected years, fall 2009 through fall 2019;
Table icon
Table 6 (2011–12 SASS web table): Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years as a principal at current school, and percentage distribution of private school principals, by reported years of experience as a principal at current school and affiliation: 2011–12;
Table icon
Table A6 (2020–21 NTPS First Look): Principals’ years of experience: Average total years of experience as a school principal, average years as a principal at current school, and percentage distribution of school principals, by reported years of experience as a principal at current school, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2020–21
CLOSE
Combined/other school Elementary school Middle school Public school or institution Secondary/high school
CLOSE
PDF icon
PDF icon
PDF icon
CLOSE

Suggested Citation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Characteristics of Public and Private School Principals. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cls.
IES    
NCES
National Center for
Education Statistics
Explore the Institute of Education Sciences