Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 211.20. Average base salary for full-time teachers in public elementary and secondary schools, by highest degree earned and years of teaching experience: Selected years, 1990-91 through 2017-18
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Years of full-
and part-time teaching experience
Number of full-time teachers Base salary1 (current dollars) Base salary1 (constant 2020-21 dollars)2
Highest degree earned Highest degree earned
All teachers3 Bachelor's degree Master's degree Education specialist4 Doctor's degree All teachers3 Bachelor's degree Master's degree Education specialist4 Doctor's degree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1990-91
                                                                 
Total 2,336,750   (20,958) $31,330   (97) $27,740   (103) $34,960   (125) $37,230   (391) $40,070   (817) $61,570   (191) $54,500   (202) $68,690   (246) $73,160   (767) $78,730   (1,605)
1 year or less 80,770   (2,952) 21,640   (182) 21,170   (172) 25,330   (772)   (†)   (†) 42,510   (358) 41,600   (337) 49,780   (1,518)   (†) (†) (†)
2 years 80,330   (2,981) 21,990   (166) 21,590   (157) 24,650   (527)   (†)   (†) 43,220   (327) 42,420   (308) 48,440   (1,035)   (†) (†) (†)
3 years 77,380   (2,796) 22,770   (189) 22,170   (179) 25,980   (760)   (†)   (†) 44,740   (371) 43,570   (352) 51,050   (1,494)   (†) (†) (†)
4 years 75,400   (3,346) 23,690   (228) 23,090   (232) 25,570   (425) 30,280   (1,601)   (†) 46,560   (447) 45,370   (455) 50,240   (835) 59,510   (3,146)   (†)
5 years 77,130   (3,280) 24,710   (182) 23,840   (216) 26,530   (394) 29,280   (1,325)   (†) 48,560   (357) 46,850   (425) 52,130   (775) 57,540   (2,604)   (†)
6 to 9 years 299,950   (6,518) 26,180   (114) 24,650   (135) 28,570   (215) 29,810   (765) 30,060   (1,551) 51,440   (225) 48,440   (265) 56,150   (422) 58,580   (1,504) 59,080   (3,048)
10 to 14 years 406,650   (7,245) 29,120   (120) 26,980   (156) 31,240   (217) 32,940   (601) 35,430   (1,665) 57,220   (235) 53,010   (307) 61,390   (426) 64,730   (1,182) 69,620   (3,272)
15 to 19 years 459,540   (7,922) 33,350   (191) 30,580   (234) 35,110   (251) 37,460   (836) 39,890   (1,495) 65,540   (374) 60,080   (460) 69,000   (492) 73,610   (1,643) 78,380   (2,938)
20 to 24 years 404,020   (8,354) 36,750   (214) 33,750   (280) 38,330   (243) 39,190   (840) 43,500   (1,387) 72,210   (421) 66,320   (550) 75,330   (477) 77,000   (1,650) 85,490   (2,725)
25 to 29 years 233,620   (6,196) 38,070   (279) 34,960   (358) 39,730   (362) 42,320   (1,106) 43,070   (2,031) 74,820   (548) 68,700   (703) 78,070   (711) 83,170   (2,174) 84,640   (3,990)
30 to 34 years 106,160   (4,942) 38,430   (379) 34,840   (461) 40,510   (450) 41,460   (1,591)   (†) 75,520   (745) 68,470   (905) 79,600   (884) 81,470   (3,127)   (†)
35 years or more 35,790   (2,404) 39,180   (744) 34,650   (1,013) 41,430   (983) 48,740   (3,767)   (†) 76,990   (1,462) 68,090   (1,990) 81,410   (1,931) 95,770   (7,403)   (†)

1999-2000
                                                                 
Total 2,742,210   (20,301) $39,900   (118) $35,310   (116) $44,730   (174) $48,000   (438) $48,180   (1,418) $62,020   (184) $54,880   (180) $69,530   (270) $74,620   (682) $74,890   (2,204)
1 year or less 143,610   (4,949) 29,090   (179) 28,110   (160) 33,170   (543) 33,680   (1,012)   (†) 45,220   (279) 43,700   (248) 51,550   (844) 52,350   (1,573)   (†)
2 years 150,130   (5,012) 29,420   (186) 28,560   (178) 32,990   (423)   (†)   (†) 45,730   (290) 44,390   (277) 51,290   (657)   (†) (†) (†)
3 years 144,250   (4,943) 30,270   (150) 29,240   (190) 34,020   (298) 34,050   (1,629)   (†) 47,060   (233) 45,450   (296) 52,890   (463) 52,930   (2,532)   (†)
4 years 127,330   (5,613) 31,810   (249) 30,540   (213) 35,380   (735) 33,960   (1,089)   (†) 49,450   (387) 47,480   (331) 54,990   (1,142) 52,790   (1,693)   (†)
5 years 121,310   (4,583) 32,220   (272) 30,940   (273) 34,750   (412) 37,240   (2,225)   (†) 50,090   (422) 48,090   (424) 54,020   (641) 57,890   (3,459)   (†)
6 to 9 years 387,160   (8,145) 34,640   (154) 32,350   (173) 37,480   (227) 39,980   (753) 39,610   (2,802) 53,850   (239) 50,290   (269) 58,260   (353) 62,150   (1,171) 61,570   (4,355)
10 to 14 years 375,830   (6,514) 38,710   (254) 35,510   (364) 41,430   (330) 44,560   (1,022) 43,370   (2,096) 60,170   (394) 55,200   (566) 64,400   (513) 69,260   (1,588) 67,420   (3,257)
15 to 19 years 325,840   (7,677) 42,940   (222) 39,930   (334) 45,380   (341) 47,150   (942) 46,470   (1,481) 66,750   (345) 62,070   (519) 70,540   (531) 73,290   (1,464) 72,230   (2,302)
20 to 24 years 361,420   (7,306) 45,300   (252) 41,160   (290) 48,260   (392) 47,970   (874) 47,150   (1,410) 70,420   (391) 63,990   (451) 75,020   (610) 74,570   (1,359) 73,290   (2,192)
25 to 29 years 349,650   (7,057) 48,550   (267) 44,540   (320) 50,400   (390) 53,330   (743) 60,790   (2,519) 75,460   (416) 69,230   (497) 78,340   (607) 82,900   (1,155) 94,490   (3,915)
30 to 34 years 199,420   (5,990) 51,910   (375) 47,040   (601) 53,940   (435) 56,590   (1,381)   (†) 80,690   (583) 73,120   (935) 83,850   (676) 87,960   (2,147)   (†)
35 years or more 56,270   (3,030) 50,640   (635) 46,440   (1,234) 52,270   (878) 57,160   (2,395)   (†) 78,710   (987) 72,190   (1,919) 81,250   (1,365) 88,860   (3,722)   (†)

2007-08
                                                                 
Total 3,114,690   (41,111) $49,630   (203) $43,650   (220) $54,810   (281) $58,420   (722) $59,150   (1,620) $61,690   (252) $54,250   (274) $68,130   (349) $72,620   (897) $73,530   (2,014)
1 year or less 181,340   (10,618) 37,660   (296) 36,210   (301) 42,370   (855) 45,930   (3,571)   (†) 46,810   (368) 45,000   (375) 52,660   (1,062) 57,100   (4,439)   (†)
2 years 176,370   (10,008) 38,420   (365) 36,860   (372) 42,230   (792) 46,720   (4,534)   (†) 47,760   (453) 45,820   (462) 52,490   (984) 58,080   (5,636)   (†)
3 years 174,150   (8,827) 39,720   (344) 37,570   (366) 44,210   (627) 51,270   (4,903)   (†) 49,370   (428) 46,700   (455) 54,950   (779) 63,730   (6,094)   (†)
4 years 172,750   (7,679) 41,000   (413) 38,440   (416) 45,090   (640) 48,460   (2,574)   (†) 50,960   (513) 47,780   (517) 56,050   (796) 60,240   (3,199)   (†)
5 years 147,760   (7,678) 42,370   (515) 39,200   (449) 46,170   (883) 47,630   (3,308)   (†) 52,670   (640) 48,730   (558) 57,390   (1,098) 59,200   (4,112)   (†)
6 to 9 years 546,350   (12,759) 46,020   (265) 41,640   (372) 49,860   (500) 51,030   (1,128) 52,390   (2,491) 57,210   (329) 51,770   (463) 61,980   (621) 63,430   (1,402) 65,120   (3,096)
10 to 14 years 515,020   (14,623) 49,920   (369) 44,880   (443) 52,920   (544) 56,120   (1,259) 60,920   (4,249) 62,050   (458) 55,790   (551) 65,780   (677) 69,760   (1,565) 75,720   (5,282)
15 to 19 years 351,510   (13,286) 54,550   (465) 48,000   (549) 58,590   (684) 59,930   (1,397) 63,190   (3,501) 67,810   (579) 59,670   (683) 72,830   (850) 74,490   (1,736) 78,550   (4,352)
20 to 24 years 297,710   (12,318) 57,570   (591) 52,550   (811) 60,530   (739) 63,620   (1,960) 66,600   (6,196) 71,560   (735) 65,320   (1,008) 75,250   (919) 79,080   (2,437) 82,780   (7,702)
25 to 29 years 236,280   (9,186) 59,890   (676) 54,090   (822) 63,460   (1,025) 64,410   (2,199)   (†) 74,440   (840) 67,240   (1,022) 78,880   (1,274) 80,070   (2,734)   (†)
30 to 34 years 208,120   (9,566) 60,940   (656) 55,080   (1,007) 63,380   (848) 66,540   (2,552) 71,350   (4,668) 75,750   (816) 68,470   (1,251) 78,780   (1,055) 82,710   (3,172) 88,690   (5,802)
35 years or more 107,310   (6,873) 62,530   (1,002) 55,230   (1,467) 65,570   (1,488) 67,740   (2,872)   (†) 77,720   (1,245) 68,660   (1,823) 81,510   (1,850) 84,200   (3,570)   (†)

2011-12
                                                                 
Total 3,139,250   (38,342) $53,070   (213) $46,340   (225) $57,830   (352) $59,680   (642) $60,230   (1,775) $61,370   (247) $53,590   (260) $66,880   (407) $69,010   (742) $69,650   (2,052)
1 year or less 109,060   (6,116) 38,310   (483) 37,140   (496) 41,650   (1,134) 45,970   (4,231)   (†) 44,300   (559) 42,950   (573) 48,160   (1,312) 53,160   (4,892)   (†)
2 years 113,470   (5,654) 39,490   (348) 38,180   (399) 42,690   (695) 41,470   (2,831)   (†) 45,660   (403) 44,150   (461) 49,360   (803) 47,950   (3,273)   (†)
3 years 127,030   (7,212) 41,170   (451) 38,950   (494) 45,250   (786) 48,160   (2,529)   (†) 47,610   (522) 45,040   (571) 52,330   (909) 55,690   (2,924)   (†)
4 years 148,720   (8,316) 42,530   (422) 39,900   (423) 45,780   (653) 46,530   (2,181)   (†) 49,190   (488) 46,130   (489) 52,940   (755) 53,810   (2,522)   (†)
5 years 169,220   (8,284) 43,420   (805) 40,020   (398) 47,220   (1,647) 46,960   (1,639)   (†) 50,200   (930) 46,270   (461) 54,610   (1,905) 54,310   (1,895)   (†)
6 to 9 years 597,980   (16,175) 47,820   (322) 43,020   (334) 50,960   (464) 51,940   (1,177) 51,330   (2,288) 55,290   (372) 49,750   (386) 58,920   (537) 60,060   (1,361) 59,350   (2,646)
10 to 14 years 655,560   (17,292) 54,370   (390) 48,360   (542) 57,750   (553) 57,280   (1,075) 60,940   (2,880) 62,870   (450) 55,920   (627) 66,780   (640) 66,240   (1,243) 70,470   (3,330)
15 to 19 years 435,300   (15,477) 58,800   (600) 51,410   (759) 62,410   (809) 65,390   (1,611) 63,350   (3,950) 67,990   (694) 59,440   (878) 72,170   (935) 75,610   (1,863) 73,250   (4,568)
20 to 24 years 312,010   (10,430) 60,880   (599) 54,230   (788) 65,160   (845) 64,460   (1,666) 66,930   (4,546) 70,400   (693) 62,710   (912) 75,350   (977) 74,540   (1,927) 77,390   (5,257)
25 to 29 years 230,570   (10,871) 63,300   (778) 56,430   (1,023) 67,330   (1,246) 67,840   (1,906)   (†) 73,200   (900) 65,260   (1,183) 77,850   (1,440) 78,450   (2,204)   (†)
30 to 34 years 153,840   (9,375) 65,770   (796) 58,570   (1,080) 69,180   (1,117) 70,100   (4,586)   (†) 76,050   (920) 67,730   (1,249) 79,990   (1,292) 81,070   (5,304)   (†)
35 years or more 86,470   (5,303) 63,570   (953) 59,740   (1,472) 66,250   (1,136) 65,560   (2,379)   (†) 73,510   (1,102) 69,090   (1,703) 76,610   (1,314) 75,810   (2,751)   (†)

2015-16
                                                                 
Total 3,111,900   (26,757) $54,720   (194) $47,430   (174) $59,750   (268) $62,400   (498) $65,540   (1,026) $60,440   (214) $52,380   (192) $65,990   (296) $68,910   (550) $72,380   (1,133)
1 year or less 155,710   (4,612) 41,350   (388) 39,230   (426) 46,730   (802)   (†)   (†) 45,660   (429) 43,330   (471) 51,610   (886)   (†) (†) (†)
2 years 152,960   (4,532) 43,130   (333) 40,430   (356) 48,770   (686) 49,750   (2,020)   (†) 47,630   (368) 44,650   (393) 53,860   (758) 54,940   (2,230)   (†)
3 years 160,250   (4,554) 43,300   (315) 41,060   (325) 47,760   (712) 47,220   (1,512)   (†) 47,820   (348) 45,350   (359) 52,750   (786) 52,150   (1,670)   (†)
4 years 138,340   (4,009) 43,510   (350) 41,210   (378) 47,020   (705) 46,650   (1,972)   (†) 48,050   (386) 45,510   (417) 51,930   (778) 51,520   (2,178)   (†)
5 years 126,990   (3,848) 45,160   (366) 41,960   (454) 48,800   (576) 49,820   (2,077)   (†) 49,880   (405) 46,340   (501) 53,890   (636) 55,020   (2,294)   (†)
6 to 9 years 462,070   (8,410) 48,490   (210) 44,230   (259) 51,520   (323) 52,820   (858) 58,880   (1,743) 53,550   (232) 48,840   (287) 56,900   (357) 58,330   (948) 65,020   (1,925)
10 to 14 years 603,720   (9,701) 55,050   (273) 48,530   (323) 58,420   (383) 58,960   (865) 62,900   (2,131) 60,790   (301) 53,600   (357) 64,520   (423) 65,120   (956) 69,460   (2,353)
15 to 19 years 526,640   (9,683) 60,740   (378) 53,260   (462) 64,320   (535) 65,020   (1,062) 69,520   (2,322) 67,090   (417) 58,820   (510) 71,030   (591) 71,810   (1,173) 76,770   (2,565)
20 to 24 years 350,590   (6,965) 63,970   (503) 56,570   (567) 67,310   (674) 69,090   (1,183) 68,850   (2,698) 70,650   (555) 62,470   (626) 74,330   (744) 76,300   (1,307) 76,040   (2,979)
25 to 29 years 229,550   (5,677) 65,060   (517) 56,930   (819) 68,790   (727) 72,060   (1,487) 79,100   (3,185) 71,860   (571) 62,870   (904) 75,970   (803) 79,580   (1,642) 87,360   (3,518)
30 to 34 years 126,370   (4,205) 66,780   (764) 59,670   (917) 70,320   (1,149) 74,530   (2,240)   (†) 73,760   (843) 65,900   (1,013) 77,660   (1,269) 82,310   (2,474)   (†)
35 years or more 78,700   (3,346) 65,290   (921) 58,920   (1,295) 66,650   (1,205) 73,480   (2,945)   (†) 72,110   (1,017) 65,070   (1,430) 73,610   (1,331) 81,160   (3,252)   (†)

2017-18
                                                                 
Total 3,323,200   (22,973) $57,950   (174) $49,890   (164) $63,120   (240) $66,510   (511) $69,520   (1,220) $61,460   (184) $52,910   (174) $66,940   (254) $70,540   (542) $73,730   (1,294)
1 year or less 110,530   (4,032) 42,800   (365) 41,520   (363) 47,150   (785)   (†)   (†) 45,390   (387) 44,040   (385) 50,010   (832)   (†) (†) (†)
2 years 188,610   (5,321) 46,110   (358) 43,000   (372) 51,720   (702) 52,770   (1,691)   (†) 48,900   (380) 45,600   (394) 54,850   (745) 55,970   (1,793)   (†)
3 years 155,610   (5,186) 46,340   (363) 43,510   (415) 50,840   (628) 53,160   (2,198)   (†) 49,150   (385) 46,150   (441) 53,920   (666) 56,380   (2,331)   (†)
4 years 157,050   (4,567) 46,760   (306) 43,620   (309) 50,900   (530) 50,830   (1,830)   (†) 49,590   (325) 46,270   (328) 53,990   (562) 53,900   (1,941)   (†)
5 years 160,710   (5,024) 47,780   (342) 44,350   (356) 51,330   (526) 55,420   (2,753)   (†) 50,670   (363) 47,040   (377) 54,440   (558) 58,770   (2,920)   (†)
6 to 9 years 471,880   (8,966) 50,520   (215) 45,990   (272) 54,200   (339) 55,900   (935) 56,980   (3,617) 53,580   (228) 48,770   (289) 57,480   (360) 59,290   (991) 60,430   (3,837)
10 to 14 years 661,040   (9,714) 57,200   (264) 50,150   (329) 60,330   (330) 64,480   (1,049) 64,890   (1,557) 60,670   (280) 53,190   (349) 63,980   (350) 68,390   (1,113) 68,810   (1,651)
15 to 19 years 558,200   (9,032) 64,450   (364) 56,250   (515) 67,730   (455) 69,970   (1,019) 80,600   (3,571) 68,350   (386) 59,660   (546) 71,830   (483) 74,210   (1,081) 85,480   (3,787)
20 to 24 years 405,850   (6,949) 68,010   (413) 59,420   (658) 71,960   (580) 72,250   (1,325) 73,030   (2,351) 72,120   (438) 63,020   (698) 76,320   (615) 76,630   (1,405) 77,450   (2,494)
25 to 29 years 254,040   (6,764) 69,290   (625) 60,120   (726) 73,570   (810) 72,820   (1,924) 73,980   (2,618) 73,480   (662) 63,760   (770) 78,020   (859) 77,230   (2,040) 78,460   (2,777)
30 to 34 years 129,320   (4,707) 71,150   (734) 63,390   (1,058) 74,760   (1,117) 74,770   (2,387)   (†) 75,460   (779) 67,230   (1,122) 79,290   (1,185) 79,300   (2,532)   (†)
35 years or more 70,370   (2,994) 69,320   (913) 61,820   (1,367) 72,600   (1,261) 72,210   (2,737)   (†) 73,520   (969) 65,560   (1,450) 76,990   (1,337) 76,590   (2,903)   (†)
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Teachers base salary does not include any supplemental contracts for additional work at a school during the school year (e.g., coaching) or during the summer (e.g., teaching summer sessions). Also does not include any income from nonschool sources.
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.
3 Includes teachers with levels of education below the bachelor's degree (not shown separately).
4 Education specialist degrees or certificates are generally awarded for 1 year's work beyond the master's level. Includes certificate of advanced graduate studies.
NOTE: This table includes regular full-time teachers only; it excludes other staff even when they have full-time teaching duties (regular part-time teachers, itinerant teachers, long-term substitutes, administrators, library media specialists, other professional staff, and support staff). Teachers were asked how many school years they had worked as a teacher. In 2011-12 and earlier years, teachers were also asked how many of their teaching years were full time and how many were part time. After 2011-12, teachers were no longer asked how many years were full time versus part time. Throughout this table, all school years are counted, regardless of whether teachers taught full time or part time. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. 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 Teacher Data File," 1990-91, 1999-2000, 2007-08, and 2011-12; and "Charter School Teacher Data File," 1999-2000; and National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), "Public School Teacher Data File," 2015-16 and 2017-18. (This table was prepared August 2021.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest