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Fundamental Facts: Pennsylvania Public Education

One of PSEA’s priorities is providing up-to-date facts and information about Pennsylvania’s public schools all in one place to help you better understand:

  • How many public schools, students, and staff Pennsylvania has,
  • What educators and support professionals get paid,
  • How public schools are funded, and
  • How public schools are performing academically.

Check out the information below to learn more.

School Entities, Staffing, and Enrollment

Total school entities in 2022-23: 777

  • 500 school districts
  • 27 intermediate units (IUs)
  • 71 career and technology centers (CTCs)
  • 179 charter schools (155 brick and mortar, 14 cyber, 10 regional)
    • Number of cyber charter schools PSEA represents: 4

Total educators in 2022-23: 136,532

  • School districts: 117,971
  • CTCs: 2,187
  • IUs: 4,853
  • Charter and cyber charter schools: 11,521

(Note: “Educators” includes special and regular education teachers, school counselors, nurses, school psychologists, therapists, reading specialists, ESL instructors, and librarians.)

Educator information in 2022-23

  • Average salary: $75,269
  • Percent with master’s degrees and beyond: 60.5 percent
  • Average years of experience: 14.7 years

(Note: “Educators” includes special and regular education teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, school psychologists, therapists, reading specialists, ESL instructors, and librarians.)

Total student enrollment in 2022-23: 1.9 million

  • 7 million students, or 88.4 percent of all students, are enrolled in public schools (school districts, IUs, CTCs, and charter schools).
    • School district, IU, CTC enrollment: 1.5 million
    • Charter schools enrollment: 104,483
    • Cyber charter school enrollment: 57,426
  • Private and non-public school enrollment: 222,202

Largest school districts in 2022-23, by number of students:

  • Philadelphia City SD (118,401; represented by PA AFT)
  • 2nd: Pittsburgh SD (20,039; represented by PA AFT)
  • 3rd: Central Bucks SD (17,540; represented by PSEA)
  • 4th: Reading SD (17,402; represented by PSEA)

Smallest school districts in 2022-23, by number of students:

  • Austin Area SD (171)
  • 2nd: Midland Borough SD (211; no high school)
  • 3rd: Salisbury-Elk Lick SD (244)
  • 4th: Harmony Area SD (250)

PA Department of Education 2027-28 public and private school enrollment projections

  • Public school enrollment projection, including charter schools, cyber charter schools, and CTCs: 1.6 million
    • Private and non-public school enrollment projection: 216,610
    • Total public and private school enrollment projection: 1.8 million

Examples of differences in school district sizes based on general fund budgets and student enrollment in 2022-23.

  • Central Bucks SD:
    • General fund budget: $336.9 million
    • Student enrollment: 17,540
  • Austin Area SD:
    • General fund budget: $4.5 million
    • Student enrollment: 171

Examples of differences in school district student population density.

  • Austin Area SD and Forest Area SD have fewer than one student per square mile of land area.
  • Reading SD, Upper Darby SD, and Jenkintown SD have more than 1,200 students per square mile of land area.

Salaries and Wages

The average starting educator salary in 2023-24 is $50,043

  • This is 12.5 percent ($7,148) lower than the inflation-adjusted 1995-96 average starting salary of $57,191.
  • Maryland is implementing a law that will bring the minimum salary for all teachers to $60,000 by July 1, 2026.

The average teacher salary of $74,945 in 2022-23 was 16.5 percent ($14,798) lower than the inflation-adjusted 1995-96 average salary of $89,743

Relative to comparable professionals, teaching already has a growing pay disadvantage.

  • The pay disadvantage of teachers relative to comparable professionals is now at 15.8 percent in Pennsylvania, according to the most recent data from the Economic Policy Institute.

Relative to comparable professions, the teaching profession has a growing disadvantage in working conditions

  • Teachers’ workloads are increasing, their working conditions are worsening, and their chances of working at home are minimal.
  • The teaching profession is now competing with jobs that pay more and offer work-at-home options. Just under 60 percent of new hires in 2024 in all occupations will work part-time or fully remote work schedules.

Total wages, excluding benefits, paid to all school employees in Pennsylvania were:

  • 6 percent of total Pennsylvania private sector wages in 2021-22.
  • This is down from 5.2 percent of total Pennsylvania private sector wages in 2002-03.

Total school district expenditures for salaries and benefits were:

  • 61.2 percent of total school district expenditures in 2020-21.
  • This is down from 71.7 percent of total school district expenditures in 1992-93.

(Note: Salaries and benefits represent total compensation for all school employees. Figures do not include state reimbursement for pension (PSERS) and Social Security benefits; (net) district expenditures for salaries and benefits are lower when reimbursement payments to school districts are included.)

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In the fall of 2023, the average ESP member wage was $19.75 per hour.

The total number of support staff in Pennsylvania in 2022-23 was 90,588.

School Funding

The estimated basic education subsidy for all school districts is $7.87 billion in 2023-24. The basic education subsidy increased by:

  • 8 percent ($567 million) in 2023-24;
  • 4 percent ($750 million) in 2022-23; and
  • 8 percent ($300 million) in 2021-22.

The total amount of state revenues available to school districts was $12.5 billion in 2021-22

  • This figure includes state subsidies for basic and special education, student transportation, school construction subsidies (among other line items), and PSERS and Social Security reimbursements.

  • The total state revenues available to school districts was $8.9 billion in 2011-12.

  • Total state revenues distributed each year to school districts increased by an average of $358 million between 2011-12 and 2021-22.

The basic education subsidy as a share of total school district expenditures:

  • Was 37.3 percent in 2022-23.
  • Peaked at 55.0 percent in 1973-74.
  • Reached its lowest point at 30.4 percent in 2020-21.

Percentage of children in poverty and Pennsylvania’s rank

  • In 2022, 15 percent of Pennsylvania children between the ages of 6 and 17 lived in families with incomes below the federal poverty level.
  • Pennsylvania ranked 20th among U.S. states in the percentage of children in poverty (1 being the highest poverty level and 50 the lowest).
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Largest school districts in 2022-23, by number of students:

  • Philadelphia City SD (118,401; represented by PA AFT)
  • 2nd: Pittsburgh SD (20,039; represented by PA AFT)
  • 3rd: Central Bucks SD (17,540; represented by PSEA)
  • 4th: Reading SD (17,402; represented by PSEA)

Smallest school districts in 2022-23, by number of students:

  • Austin Area SD (171)
  • 2nd: Midland Borough SD (211; no high school)
  • 3rd: Salisbury-Elk Lick SD (244)
  • 4th: Harmony Area SD (250)

PA Department of Education 2027-28 public and private school enrollment projections

  • Public school enrollment projection, including charter schools, cyber charter schools, and CTCs: 1.6 million
    • Private and non-public school enrollment projection: 216,610
    • Total public and private school enrollment projection: 1.8 million

Examples of differences in school district sizes based on general fund budgets and student enrollment in 2022-23.

  • Central Bucks SD:
    • General fund budget: $336.9 million
    • Student enrollment: 17,540
  • Austin Area SD:
    • General fund budget: $4.5 million
    • Student enrollment: 171

Examples of differences in school district student population density.

  • Austin Area SD and Forest Area SD have fewer than one student per square mile of land area.
  • Reading SD, Upper Darby SD, and Jenkintown SD have more than 1,200 students per square mile of land area.

Student Performance

Test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2022 National Report Card indicate that Pennsylvania schools are among the best in the nation.

  • Scores on the National Report Card 4th Grade Reading
    • Only three states have statistically significant higher fourth-grade reading scores than Pennsylvania.
    • Only one state has a significantly higher percentage of fourth-grade students who scored proficient or above (the two highest levels) than Pennsylvania.

  • 8th Grade Reading
    • Only six states have statistically significant higher eighth-grade reading scores than Pennsylvania.
    • Only two states have a significantly higher percentage of eighth-grade students who scored proficient or above (the two highest levels) than Pennsylvania.

  • 4th Grade Math
    • Only one state has statistically significant higher fourth-grade math scores than Pennsylvania.
    • No state has a significantly higher percentage of fourth-grade students who scored proficient or above (the two highest levels) than Pennsylvania.

  • 8th Grade Math
    • Only 12 states have statistically significant higher eighth-grade math scores than Pennsylvania.
    • Only six states have a significantly higher percentage of eighth-grade students who scored proficient or above (the two highest levels) than Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania college attendance and AP, SAT, and ACT scores

  • More than six out of 10 Pennsylvania high school graduates plan to continue their education after high school.

  • During the 2021-22 school year, Pennsylvania was among the top six states in the percentage of public high school students who scored high enough on AP exams to qualify for college credit when taking the exam.

  • Pennsylvania ranked 30th in average state SAT score (Total Score; 1 being the highest score and 50 the lowest), and 21st in the proportion of students who take the SAT. (Since Pennsylvania has one of the highest proportions of students taking the SATs, an overall lower ranking among states is not unexpected.)

  • Pennsylvania ranked 14th in average state ACT score (Composite Score; 1 being the highest score and 50 the lowest), and 43rd in the proportion of students who take the ACT. (Since Pennsylvania has one of the lowest proportions of students taking the ACTs, an overall higher ranking among states is not unexpected.)

  • Pennsylvania ranks 14th in the nation in the percentage of full-time college students who complete their bachelor’s degrees.

Citations

School entities, total educators, personnel data:

Student enrollment figures and projections:

https://www.education.pa.gov/DataAndReporting/Enrollment/Pages/EnrProjections.aspx

General fund budget figures for school districts:

Population (student) density figures:

  • PSEA Research Division computations using enrollment (see above) and land area data

Starting salaries:

  • PSEA’s contract database

The inflation adjusted teacher salary:

  • 2022-23 Professional Personnel File, Pennsylvania Dept. of Education (see above for analysis details) and inflation-adjusted using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), All Items, for January of each year (https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?cu)

Teacher salaries vs. comparable professions:

Remote work information:

Total wage data:

  • Total wage data for school employees is based on school district financial data which is collected by the commonwealth from individual school districts on form PDE-2057. Total wages in the private sector is a figure jointly collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is published in the Quarterly Census of Employment Wages (QCEW).

District expenditures data (salaries, benefits, and total expenditures):

  • Based on school district financial data which is collected by the commonwealth from individual school districts on their Annual Financial Reports, form PDE-2057.

PSEA Education Support Professional Wage Survey:

  • October 2023 PSEA survey of 4,903 of PSEA ESP members.

Total number of support staff in Pennsylvania:

Basic education subsidy information:

  • Based on school district financial data which is collected by the commonwealth from individual school districts on their Annual Financial Reports, form PDE-2057.

Total revenues to school districts:

  • Based on school district financial data which is collected by the commonwealth from individual school districts on their Annual Financial Reports, form PDE-2057.

Expenditure per student (Average Daily Membership):

Percentage of children in poverty:

NAEP scores:

High school graduate plans:

AP exam information:

ACT score data

SAT score data:

Percentage of full-time college students who complete their degrees:

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