Education

Teacher Salary in District Of Columbia (2026)

The average Teacher in District Of Columbia earns around $64,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $50,891/year ($4,241/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$50,891
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$4,241
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$1,957
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$24/hr
Federal Tax
$5,500
State Tax
$2,714
FICA Taxes
$4,896
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

20.48%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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Teacher Salary Ranges in District Of Columbia

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$45,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$64,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$92,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all Teachers earn the same — not even close

DC's teacher market is anchored by DC Public Schools DCPS (the substantial DCPS ~50K+ students + ~110 schools + Washington Teachers Union WTU collective bargaining + the substantial post-2010 DCPS reform + the substantial post-2024 DCPS substantial growth), DC Public Charter Schools DCPCS (the substantial DC charter ~45K+ students + ~120+ charter schools + KIPP DC + Friendship Public Charter School + Center City PCS + the substantial DC post-2020 charter growth as one of country's substantial US charter concentrations), DC private + boarding school cluster (Sidwell Friends School + Georgetown Day School + St. Albans School + National Cathedral School + Maret + Holton-Arms + Madeira + Landon + the substantial DC private school cluster as one of country's premier US private school clusters including post-1883 Sidwell Friends as one of country's substantial US Quaker schools), George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development + Howard University School of Education + Catholic University School of Education + Trinity Washington University + American University School of Education + the substantial DC teacher pipeline, plus DC Retirement Board DCRB pension + Federal Employees Retirement System FERS + the substantial DC + federal teacher pension.

Veteran Teacher (Step 15+ Master Salary)

$95,000–$148,000+ stipend

Veteran at DCPS + DCPCS · top-of-scale + the substantial post-2010 DCPS reform

Mid-Career Teacher (Step 7-14)

$72,000–$95,000+ stipend

Mid-career at DCPS + DCPCS · Master + Specialist columns + extra duty

Early-Career Teacher (Step 1-6)

$58,000–$72,000+ stipend

Early-career at DCPS + DCPCS · BS + initial license

STEM / Math / Science Teacher

$65,000–$108,000+ stipend

STEM at DCPS + DCPCS + the substantial DC STEM teacher signing

Special Education Teacher

$65,000–$108,000+ stipend

SPED at DCPS + DCPCS + the substantial post-2020 DC SPED recruitment

High School AP / Honors Teacher

$72,000–$118,000+ stipend

AP at DCPS top HS + Wilson + School Without Walls + private schools

Private / Boarding School Teacher (Sidwell / GDS / St Albans)

$72,000–$128,000+ housing

Sidwell Friends + GDS + St. Albans + National Cathedral · private + housing

DC Public Charter School Teacher (KIPP / Friendship)

$58,000–$95,000+ stipend

KIPP DC + Friendship Public Charter + Center City PCS + DCPCS

Principal / Asst Principal

$125,000–$192,000+ bonus

DCPS + DCPCS admin · principal + AP track · district promotion

New Grad Teacher (BSE / Licensure)

$55,000–$65,000+ stipend

DC new grad · GW + Howard + Catholic + Trinity + AU · entry

Worth knowing: DC Public Schools DCPS post-2010 reform + DC Public Charter Schools DCPCS + DC private + boarding school cluster (Sidwell Friends + Georgetown Day + St. Albans + National Cathedral) + WTU Washington Teachers Union tri-anchor is one of the country's distinctive concentrated US single-state urban public + heritage charter + premier private + boarding school + WTU-unionized teacher cluster and a feature most national teacher surveys understate for DC. DC Public Schools DCPS (the substantial DCPS ~50K+ students + ~110 schools + Washington Teachers Union WTU collective bargaining + the substantial post-2010 DCPS reform + the substantial post-2024 DCPS substantial growth). DC Public Charter Schools DCPCS (the substantial DC charter ~45K+ students + ~120+ charter schools + KIPP DC + Friendship Public Charter School + Center City PCS + the substantial DC post-2020 charter growth as one of country's substantial US charter concentrations). DC private + boarding school cluster (Sidwell Friends School + Georgetown Day School + St. Albans School + National Cathedral School + Maret + Holton-Arms + Madeira + Landon + the substantial DC private school cluster as one of country's premier US private school clusters including post-1883 Sidwell Friends + post-1882 St. Albans + post-2000 KIPP DC). GW + Howard + Catholic + Trinity Washington + AU pipeline. DCRB pension + FERS + the substantial DC + federal teacher pension. DC NOT a RTW state + WTU + AFT. DC progressive top 10.75% + DC NLC since 2024 anchor the DC teacher proposition.

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