Average and median age of school teachers and percentage distribution of teachers, by age category, sex, school type, and selected school characteristics: 2011–12

          Age category   Sex  
Selected public school
district characteristic
Average age of teachers   Median age of teachers   Less than
30 years
  30–49 years   50–54 years   55 years or more   Male   Female  
All schools 42.6 41.2 15.5 53.3 11.6 19.7 23.9 76.1
 
All public schools 42.4 41.0 15.3 54.0 11.9 18.8 23.7 76.3
 
School classification
Traditional public 42.6 41.2 14.7 54.1 12.1 19.1 23.6 76.4
Charter school 37.4 34.2 31.0 51.5 6.8 10.7 25.1 74.9  
 
Community type 
City
Suburban  42.2 40.6 15.0 55.4 10.8 18.8 23.0 77.0
Town  42.4 41.3 15.2 53.9 12.8 18.1 24.2 75.8
Rural  42.3 41.0 15.4 54.7 12.0 17.9 24.5 75.5
 
School level
Primary 42.4 41.0 14.9 54.3 12.3 18.5 10.7 89.3
Middle 42.2 40.8 15.5 55.1 11.4 18.0 27.4 72.6
High 42.6 41.1 15.1 53.7 11.6 19.6 41.7 58.3
Combined 42.1 40.7 18.8 50.4 10.8 20.0 31.2 68.8
 
School enrollment
Less than 100 43.9 43.4 15.5 47.3 12.8 24.5 32.1 67.9  
100-199 43.7 42.8 14.6 50.5 12.6 22.4 26.2 73.8
200-499 42.3 41.1 16.4 53.2 11.6 18.8 17.6 82.4
500–749 42.4 41.0 15.2 54.7 12.9 17.2 18.1 81.9
750–999 42.3 40.7 14.6 54.3 11.3 19.8 22.7 77.3
1,000 or more 42.4 40.8 14.5 55.1 11.3 19.0 36.8 63.2
 
Percent of K-12 students who were
approved for free or
reduced-price lunches
0-34  42.5 41.3 15.3 54.4 11.8 18.5 25.0 75.0
35-49  42.5 41.2 15.0 54.8 11.7 18.6 25.8 74.2
50-74  42.4 40.7 15.0 53.8 12.5 18.8 21.8 78.2  
75 or more  42.2 40.6 16.0 53.3 11.4 19.2 21.5 78.5
     School did not participate in free
or reduced-price lunch program
43.1 41.6 14.0 52.0 12.7 ! 21.4 32.4 67.6  
                                 
All private schools 43.8 42.7 16.7 47.8 9.5 25.9 25.2 74.8
 
School classification
Catholic 45.3 45.7 17.0 40.2 11.6 31.2 21.5 78.5
Other religious
Nonsectarian
 
Community type 
City 44.1 42.9 15.2 48.2 10.1 26.4 27.1 72.9
Suburban 
Town  44.3 43.3 18.8 43.8 8.4 ! 28.9 18.9 81.1
Rural 
 
School level
Elementary 44.4 43.5 17.8 42.8 11.2 28.2 14.0 86.0
Secondary 44.3 43.6 16.2 46.2 10.4 27.2 44.4 55.6
Combined
 
School enrollment  
Less than 100
100-199
200-499 44.4 44.0 15.8 46.6 10.8 26.8 21.7 78.3
500–749 44.3 44.2 14.9 48.1 8.7 28.3 31.9 68.1
750 or more    
                                 
! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 percent and 50 percent (i.e., the standard error is at least 30 percent and less than 50 percent of the estimate).
‡ Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater (i.e., the standard error is 50 percent or more of the estimate) or the response rate is below 50 percent.
NOTE: Teachers include both full-time and part-time teachers. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and because some data are not shown.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Teacher Data File," 2011–12.