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Average annual salary for school principals, by years of experience as a principal, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2017–18

      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 schools $92,900   $84,700   $95,600   $96,600  
                 
All public schools 98,300   90,400   99,400   104,700  
                 
School classification                
Traditional public 98,700   90,900   99,600   105,300  
Charter school 93,100   84,500   97,000   97,500  
                 
Community type                
City 103,200   95,700   104,300   110,300  
Suburban 108,600   100,700   108,600   115,900  
Town 88,800   80,700   91,000   93,900  
Rural 85,000   77,400   86,400   90,600  
                 
School level                
Primary 97,000   89,200   98,200   103,000  
Middle 101,200   92,500   101,500   110,500  
High 104,600   97,600   105,500   109,700  
Combined 88,100   80,600   87,900   96,600  
                 
Student enrollment                
Less than 100 84,400   75,200   91,000   87,200  
100–199 86,300   80,600   87,000   91,900  
200–499 95,100   88,100   95,400   101,300  
500–749 101,400   95,000   100,900   109,100  
750–999 105,300   95,100   106,000   113,300  
1,000 or more 114,600   106,800   115,000   120,600  
                 
Percent of K–12 students who were approved
for free or reduced‑price lunches		                
0–34 104,200   95,200   104,800   111,100  
35–49 97,900   91,100   99,300   102,200  
50–74 95,100   88,600   94,800   101,800  
75 or more 95,900   87,900   98,400   101,800  
                 
All private schools 72,500   62,200   76,700   75,900  
                 
School Classification                
Catholic 72,800   68,000   75,600   74,100  
Other religious 56,500   46,600   60,000   60,600  
Nonsectarian 97,200   84,200   101,500   100,800  
                 
Community type                
City 82,800   70,600   86,200   86,500  
Suburban 76,600   66,100   77,800   82,200  
Town 50,500   49,000   53,700   49,000  
Rural 55,200   51,100   63,100   53,600  
                 
School level                
Elementary 67,200   56,700   71,700   71,200  
Secondary 87,600   72,400   92,300   93,400  
Combined 74,000   67,800   75,400   76,500  
                 
Student enrollment                
Less than 100 53,400   49,300   56,000   54,400  
100–199 74,100   66,700   76,500   76,900  
200–499 92,200   78,500   96,300   96,000  
500–749 112,400   93,400   135,400   105,300  
750 or more 134,400   135,900   127,300   138,800  
NOTE: Private school 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 Documentation Data Files,” 2017–18.

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