Post Job

Elementary School Principal salary

Average elementary school principal salary

$92,372

$44.41 hourly rate

Entry-level elementary school principal salary
$65,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does an elementary school principal make?

The average elementary school principal salary in the United States is $92,372. Elementary school principal salaries typically range between $65,000 and $129,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for elementary school principals is $44.41 per hour.

Elementary school principal salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Elementary school principals earn the highest average salary in Connecticut.

On This Page
Elementary school principal salary by: 

Where can an Elementary School Principal earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
127k
107k
87k
67k
47k
27k
Ashburn, VA$107,410
Edmond, OK$57,383
Compare salary by company
Vs
127k
107k
87k
67k
Robbinsdale Area Schools$112,416
Rock Island Senior High School$96,596

Elementary School Principal salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for an elementary school principal typically falls between $90,192 and $118,837.
zippia
$92,372yearly
glassdoor[1]
$92,719yearly
comparably[2]
$92,087yearly
Salary.com[3]
$118,837yearly
payscale[4]
$90,192yearly

Average elementary school principal salary by state

The average elementary school principal salary in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Delaware are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average elementary school principal salary states are Wyoming, Nebraska, and New Mexico.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for elementary school principals

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Connecticut$107,547$51.71
2Vermont$100,019$48.09
3New Jersey$106,319$51.11
4Washington$98,422$47.32
5Delaware$103,737$49.87
6New Hampshire$94,188$45.28
7Oregon$95,164$45.75
8Pennsylvania$92,341$44.39
9Rhode Island$85,541$41.13
10Maryland$92,722$44.58
11New York$92,155$44.31
12West Virginia$92,727$44.58
13Alaska$83,000$39.90
14Indiana$84,178$40.47
15Virginia$79,239$38.10
16Ohio$80,080$38.50
17South Dakota$87,954$42.29
18Wisconsin$78,430$37.71
19Montana$73,030$35.11
20Arizona$72,304$34.76
21California$93,353$44.88
22North Dakota$81,184$39.03
23Michigan$75,618$36.35
24Massachusetts$86,143$41.41
25Maine$76,374$36.72
26Illinois$68,721$33.04
27Minnesota$70,253$33.78
28Idaho$68,268$32.82
29Georgia$74,510$35.82
30Nevada$68,590$32.98
31Arkansas$65,657$31.57
32Missouri$68,245$32.81
33District of Columbia$80,073$38.50
34North Carolina$66,640$32.04
35Texas$66,252$31.85
36Colorado$65,626$31.55
37Kentucky$64,705$31.11
38Kansas$64,057$30.80
39Wyoming$62,266$29.94
40Iowa$65,479$31.48
41Mississippi$65,267$31.38
42New Mexico$61,840$29.73
43Utah$66,559$32.00
44Nebraska$61,912$29.77
45South Carolina$62,775$30.18
46Florida$59,094$28.41
47Louisiana$62,390$30.00
48Tennessee$62,437$30.02
49Hawaii$63,442$30.50
50Oklahoma$57,352$27.57
51Alabama$58,973$28.35

Highest paying cities for elementary school principals

The highest-paying cities for elementary school principals are Ridgefield, CT, Salinas, CA, and Lake Oswego, OR.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Ridgefield, CT$107,410$51.64
2Salinas, CA$100,708$48.42
3Lake Oswego, OR$95,349$45.84
4Nashua, NH$94,651$45.51
5Kennewick, WA$94,270$45.32
6New York, NY$92,283$44.37
7Harrisburg, PA$91,589$44.03
8Washington, DC$80,088$38.50
9Lewiston, ME$75,933$36.51
10Detroit, MI$75,878$36.48
11Kingman, AZ$72,888$35.04
12Helena, MT$72,791$35.00
13Wentzville, MO$69,205$33.27
14Edinburg, TX$68,195$32.79
15Castle Rock, CO$65,473$31.48
16Salina, KS$64,012$30.77
17Santa Fe, NM$60,048$28.87
18Edmond, OK$57,383$27.59

Elementary School Principal salary details

An elementary school principal's salary ranges from $65,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $129,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Elementary School Principal Salary Graph
Average Elementary School Principal Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an elementary school principal's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$129,000$10,750$62
75th Percentile$110,000$9,167$53
Average$92,372$7,698$44
25th Percentile$77,000$6,417$37
10th Percentile$65,000$5,417$31

Highest paying elementary school principal jobs

The highest paying types of elementary school principals are chairperson, principal associate, and principal.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Chairperson$125,944$10,495$60.555,178
Superintendent$82,458$6,871$39.6422,580
Educational Administrator$67,252$5,604$32.3352,917
Principal Investigator$84,635$7,053$40.6944,475
School Business Manager$62,224$5,185$29.9287,493
School Superintendent$93,341$7,778$44.8830,220

Which companies pay elementary school principals the most?

Elementary school principal salaries at Robbinsdale Area Schools and Torrance Unified School District are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average elementary school principal salary at companies like Colfax Corporation and Los Angeles Unified School District are highly competitive.

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$92,000$90,600$89,200$87,800$86,400$85,000
MaleFemale

Elementary School Principal salary trends

The average elementary school principal salary has risen by $10,335 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average elementary school principal earned $82,037 annually, but today, they earn $92,372 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for elementary school principals over the last decade.

Compare elementary school principal salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average elementary school principal salary over time

Compare elementary school principal salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Elementary School Principal salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2025$92,400$44.41+2.1%
    2024$90,400$43.47+1.1%
    2023$89,400$42.98+1.0%
    2022$88,500$42.56+2.0%
    2021$86,800$41.71+2.3%

    Recently added elementary school principal salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Miami-Dade County Public SchoolsPara I-Pre K_Vineland Elementary(1567100)Miami, FL12/16/2024$32,620
    Rochester Community SchoolsDelta Kelly Elementary School-Noon Recess Building (NRB) Paraeducator (2040)Rochester, MI12/16/2024$27,653
    Greater Burlington YMCAAfterschool Staff Location: Georgia-Vt-Georgia Elementary School Full/Nunez, GA12/16/2024$31,305
    Arizona Department of EducationPrincipal Elementary School PoolTucson, AZ12/16/2024$78,337
    Academy District 20Elementary School Principal (Hpes)Colorado Springs, CO12/15/2024$113,965
    Owen J Roberts School DistrictParaprofessional-Elementary School YearKane, PA12/14/2024$37,566
    Carroll County, Md Public Schools2Nd Shift Custodian-.7 Carrolltowne Elementary School/.3 Oklahoma Road Middle SchoolMaryland12/14/2024$37,311
    Berkeley County School DistrictElementary Principal PoolCope, SC12/14/2024$96,432
    Atlas Preparatory SchoolElementary School PrincipalColorado Springs, CO12/14/2024$92,700
    Grandview School DistrictElementary School K-5 Tbip TutorIone, WA12/14/2024$93,915

    Elementary School Principal salary FAQs

    Search for elementary school principal jobs

    Browse executive management jobs