Principals’ average annual salary: Average annual salary for K–12 school principals, by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2020–21

		Average annual salary for principals by years of experience
School type and selected school characteristic	Average annual salary	Less than 3 years	3 to 9 years	10 years or more
All principals	$100,500	$92,800	$100,700	$106,900

All public school principals	105,900	98,100	105,300	114,000

School classification
Traditional public	106,500	98,700	106,000	114,400
Charter school	99,900	92,900	99,000	110,100

Community type
City	112,600	104,400	112,400	119,900
Suburban	116,800	108,400	115,300	126,500
Town	95,400	89,100	93,900	104,100
Rural	90,700	85,500	90,600	96,500

School level¹
Elementary	103,900	96,500	103,200	111,800
Middle	108,700	100,900	108,000	117,400
Secondary/high	111,100	103,500	111,100	118,800
Combined/other	98,800	88,600	97,900	110,000

Student enrollment
Less than 100	89,300	84,300	88,100	95,300
100–199	95,800	81,200	99,100	102,500
200–499	103,400	96,400	103,100	110,900
500–749	107,900	99,300	106,000	119,200
750–999	114,300	108,900	113,500	120,600
1,000 or more	123,900	115,400	123,000	132,800

Percent of K–12 students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunches
0–34	111,000	103,300	109,100	119,600
35–49	105,500	97,600	105,800	111,300
50–74	102,600	95,700	102,100	110,200
75 or more	104,100	96,400	104,200	112,400

Reported effect of COVID-19 on instruction²
Offering only distance-learning instruction	116,400	110,600	114,900	124,200
Offering a hybrid of in-person and distance-learning instruction	103,900	95,600	103,700	111,900
Offering only in-person instruction or no effect on the instruction offered	96,000	89,200	94,200	106,000

All private school principals	$78,600	$72,800	$77,100	$84,800

School classification
Catholic	79,200	70,400	80,200	86,700
Other religious	63,000	55,300	61,600	69,500
Nonsectarian	106,300	104,000	102,400	111,800

Community type
City	87,100	78,600	83,000	95,800
Suburban	84,600	75,100	87,300	89,000
Town	56,500	50,400	58,500	59,600
Rural	63,600	71,700	57,200	62,600

School level¹
Elementary/middle	65,400	62,000	62,400	71,600
Secondary/high	111,500	99,900	110,800	119,900
Combined/other	76,700	72,200	75,000	81,800

Student enrollment
Less than 100	60,100	57,300	58,000	64,500
100–199	79,200	85,000	74,800	78,600
200–499	100,600	83,500	101,600	109,300
500–749	119,100	111,600	116,900	126,500
750 or more	147,600	122,900	142,000	160,200

Reported effect of COVID-19 on instruction²
Offering only distance-learning instruction	84,600	69,400	78,300	104,000
Offering a hybrid of in-person and distance-learning instruction	87,300	80,700	85,700	93,600
Offering only in-person instruction or no effect on the instruction offered	66,600	64,900	64,500	70,400

¹Elementary schools offer at least one grade of K to 4, and the number of elementary grades is higher than the number of middle grades. Middle schools offer at least one of grades 5 to 8, and the number of middle grades is greater than the number of elementary or secondary grades. Secondary/high schools are defined as schools that enroll students in more of grades 9 through 12 than in lower grades. Combined/other schools include all other combinations of grades, including K–12 schools. School level categories in the 2020–21 NTPS differ from those in previous survey administrations; caution should be exercised when comparing estimates by level over time.

²Principals were asked to report the current effect of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on instruction at the school at the time they completed the survey. Thus, this was the reported effect on instruction at the time the survey was completed, not a summary of the school year.

NOTE: Data are weighted estimates of the population. Principals who reported an annual salary of zero are excluded from the table.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal and Private School Principal Data Files,” 2020–21.