Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of principal salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest principal salary of $132,640
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Hawaii has the lowest principal salary of $51,515
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The national average salary for principals is $111,719
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The national hourly pay for principals is $53.71
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do principals get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for principal by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for principals after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for principal salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Principals By State
| Rank | State | Average Principal Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $132,640 | $84,000 | $207,000 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $132,479 | $84,000 | $208,000 |
| 3 | California | $122,066 | $74,000 | $198,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $119,787 | $74,000 | $193,000 |
| 5 | Vermont | $118,967 | $72,000 | $194,000 |
| 6 | West Virginia | $118,916 | $75,000 | $187,000 |
| 7 | Maryland | $116,276 | $73,000 | $184,000 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $115,662 | $72,000 | $184,000 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $109,922 | $68,000 | $175,000 |
| 10 | Delaware | $109,816 | $68,000 | $174,000 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $106,051 | $65,000 | $173,000 |
| 12 | Michigan | $104,660 | $65,000 | $167,000 |
| 13 | Washington | $103,658 | $63,000 | $168,000 |
| 14 | Virginia | $103,223 | $64,000 | $164,000 |
| 15 | South Dakota | $100,210 | $64,000 | $156,000 |
| 16 | Ohio | $98,631 | $61,000 | $157,000 |
| 17 | Indiana | $98,295 | $61,000 | $157,000 |
| 18 | North Carolina | $97,441 | $61,000 | $154,000 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $96,376 | $57,000 | $161,000 |
| 20 | Illinois | $95,002 | $59,000 | $151,000 |
| 21 | Oregon | $94,899 | $57,000 | $157,000 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $94,500 | $59,000 | $151,000 |
| 23 | Nevada | $92,979 | $55,000 | $156,000 |
| 24 | Maine | $92,607 | $54,000 | $157,000 |
| 25 | North Dakota | $89,256 | $57,000 | $138,000 |
| 26 | Minnesota | $88,115 | $55,000 | $139,000 |
| 27 | Arizona | $85,992 | $51,000 | $143,000 |
| 28 | Alaska | $85,927 | $53,000 | $137,000 |
| 29 | South Carolina | $85,333 | $53,000 | $135,000 |
| 30 | Texas | $84,349 | $51,000 | $136,000 |
| 31 | Georgia | $83,780 | $52,000 | $132,000 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $83,072 | $51,000 | $132,000 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $81,724 | $51,000 | $129,000 |
| 34 | Idaho | $80,442 | $49,000 | $131,000 |
| 35 | Iowa | $78,881 | $49,000 | $125,000 |
| 36 | Tennessee | $78,861 | $49,000 | $125,000 |
| 37 | Montana | $78,524 | $49,000 | $123,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $77,269 | $48,000 | $123,000 |
| 39 | Utah | $77,187 | $47,000 | $125,000 |
| 40 | Missouri | $75,898 | $47,000 | $120,000 |
| 41 | Alabama | $75,274 | $47,000 | $119,000 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $74,619 | $46,000 | $119,000 |
| 43 | New Mexico | $74,148 | $45,000 | $120,000 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $72,272 | $45,000 | $113,000 |
| 45 | Colorado | $71,853 | $46,000 | $112,000 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $70,601 | $44,000 | $111,000 |
| 47 | Kansas | $69,799 | $44,000 | $109,000 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $69,032 | $43,000 | $108,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $68,553 | $43,000 | $107,000 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $51,515 | $32,000 | $80,000 |
Methodology: Principal Salary By State
To better understand principal pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for principals by state.
We took the average annual salary data for principals from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for principals.
Principal Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for principals?
The highest-paid state for principals is New York with an average salary of $132,640 per year.
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What city pays principals the most?
New York, NY pays principals the most with an average salary of $134,786 per year.
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What is the worst state for principals?
The worst state for principals is Hawaii with an average salary of $51,515 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
