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Average and median age of school principals and percentage distribution of principals, by age category, sex, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2017–18

          Percent of principals by
          Age   Sex  
School type and selected school characteristic Average age
of principals
  Median age
of principals
  Less than
45 years
  45–54 years   55 years
or more
  Male   Female  
   All schools 49   47   35.1   37.8   27.0   45.4   54.6  
                             
All public schools 48   47   36.9   40.8   22.3   46.3   53.7  
                             
School classification                            
Traditional public 48   47   36.4   41.3   22.3   47.0   53.0  
Charter school 47   46   43.0   34.6   22.4   38.4   61.6  
                             
Community type                            
City 48   47   37.1   40.7   22.2   39.3   60.7  
Suburban 48   47   36.9   42.1   21.0   45.6   54.4  
Town 48   47   35.3   41.0   23.7   49.6   50.4  
Rural 48   47   37.5   39.3   23.2   53.1   46.9  
                             
School level                            
Primary 48   47   37.1   40.1   22.8   33.2   66.8  
Middle 47   46   42.0   39.4   18.6   60.1   39.9  
High 48   47   33.8   42.9   23.3   67.4   32.6  
Combined 49   48   34.4   42.5   23.1   56.6   43.4  
                             
Student enrollment                            
Less than 100 49   48   29.0   44.0   26.9   49.5   50.5  
100–199 48   47   36.9   39.9   23.2   47.2   52.8  
200–499 48   46   39.3   37.8   22.9   42.3   57.7  
500–749 48   47   37.0   42.4   20.6   42.9   57.1  
750–999 48   47   35.1   45.8   19.1   50.5   49.5  
1,000 or more 48   47   34.5   42.3   23.2   63.2   36.8  
                             
Percent of K–12 students who were approved
for free or reduced‑price lunches
                           
0–34 48   47   36.7   41.5   21.8   49.4   50.6  
35–49 48   46   37.6   41.8   20.6   48.5   51.5  
50–74 48   47   35.6   41.0   23.5   50.0   50.0  
75 or more 48   47   37.7   39.8   22.6   40.4   59.6  
                             
All private schools 52   52   28.9   27.5   43.5   42.0   58.0  
                             
School Classification                            
Catholic 52   53   29.5   23.3   47.2   35.8   64.2  
Other religious 51   51   29.1   28.6   42.3   50.4   49.6  
Nonsectarian 52   52   28.1   29.9   42.0   33.5   66.5  
                             
Community type                            
City 53   52   29.0   25.3   45.7   36.6   63.4  
Suburban 53   53   25.6   29.7   44.7   36.2   63.8  
Town 54   55   25.6   21.8   52.6   44.6   55.4  
Rural 49   48   35.3   29.9   34.8   57.8   42.2  
                             
School level                            
Elementary 52   52   29.1   26.8   44.1   34.4   65.6  
Secondary 52   51   28.7   32.5   38.8   56.5   43.5  
Combined 52   52   28.7   26.4   44.8   48.7   51.3  
                             
Student enrollment                            
Less than 100 51   51   30.3   26.7   42.9   38.3   61.7  
100–199 53   52   27.6   28.4   44.0   38.7   61.3  
200–499 53   52   27.3   27.3   45.4   47.5   52.5  
500–749 51   50   31.6   28.7   39.7   56.3   43.7  
750 or more 53   52   23.5   33.5   43.0   68.0   32.0  
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), “Public School Principal and Private School Principal Documentation Data Files,” 2017–18.