Principal Pay in North Carolina
Principals are the chief executives of their schools. They are responsible for establishing and maintaining a positive school culture focused on student success; managing, on average, 50 direct reports; recruiting, developing, and retaining teachers and support staff; managing an operating budget averaging $5 million; as well as serving as the glue between the school and the surrounding community. And yet, for years, North Carolina ranked near the bottom nationally in principal pay. So, since 2017, North Carolina has been investing substantially in principal salaries – while also transforming the way principals are paid.
Why Did North Carolina Transform
Its Previous Principal Pay Strategy?
For years, principals in North Carolina had the lowest pay in the southeast; and among the lowest in the country. And – like most other states – the North Carolina paid principals based on school size, their level of education, and years of experience; with little accounting for the difficultly of the job or their effectiveness in their role. This system rewarded principals for moving to larger schools and lacked a strategy to incentivize high-quality principals to work in to our highest-needs schools. Both the structure and level of principal compensation needed to be improved.
The biggest difference I see between schools that have Advanced Teaching Roles and those that do not is the level of buy-in from teachers; but also the ability for administrators to build relationships with staff…I can honestly say I could not imagine working in a different school that did not have Advanced Teaching Roles, nor in a district that wouldn’t support it.
Principal Philip Steffes
Former Principal at Palisades Park Elementary School
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Timeline of Transformation: Reimagining the Step-and-Lane Principal Pay Schedule
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Aligning Compensation with Student Success: BEST NC's Principal Pay Policy Snapshot
Research from both the business and K-12 sectors reinforces a truth long understood but too often ignored in policy: Principals are the pivotal force shaping school culture, instructional quality, teacher retention, and — ultimately — student achievement. But, despite this well-documented reality, the education sector has historically lagged far behind other industries in its efforts to recruit, prepare, support, and retain exceptional leaders.
BEST NC’s policy brief Principal Pay in North Carolina: Aligning Compensation Strategies with Student Success documents North Carolina’s efforts from 2016 to 2020 to dramatically increase and transform the principal pay structure, focusing on how this important funding lever can best be used to improve student outcomes. While tremendous progress was made toward a student-focused principal pay plan, more can be done to ensure it is well-aligned with best practices for compensating executives; which is why this report also includes a robust set of recommendations to build upon and strengthen North Carolina’s nation-leading school leadership reforms.
Recognizing Complexity
The new principal salary schedule is based on the size of a school’s student population and the growth status of the schools the principal has led – based on the previous three years of growth data.
Principal Pay Over Time
Adjusted for inflation, the average salary (including local supplements) for school administrators declined by approximately 10% between 2010-11 and 2015-16. Over this period, principals in North Carolina saw their inflation-adjusted earnings fall from $83,191 to $75,396 in 2016 dollars – a loss of nearly $10,000. This long-term erosion in pay placed North Carolina at a severe competitive disadvantage, not only relative to neighboring states but also relative to other career pathways available to talented educators.
Beyond structural improvements, the principal pay reforms substantially increased school leader compensation, making North Carolina far more competitive both regionally and nationally. Between 2016-17 and 2019-20:
- The average nominal principal salary increased from approximately $75,000 to more than $95,000.
- North Carolina rose to 38th nationally in average principal pay.
- By 2021, North Carolina was tied for 7 in the Southeast, placing it in the middle of the region
for pay, up from last in the region in just a few years.
North Carolina Traditional K-12 Public School Principal Pay,
by Source (2014-15 to 2024-25)
The increases were not limited to averages. The lowest base salary tier — which had previously placed many principals below competitive levels — was raised significantly. This helped stabilize early-career principals and reduced disparities across regions.
BEST NC's Recommendations to Further Strengthen North Carolina's Innovative Principal Pay Model
Thanks to sustained increases in principal pay, North Carolina is now more regionally competitive. However, continued investment is necessary to ensure we continue to stay competitive with surrounding states:
- Continued investment is necessary to ensure we are competitive with surrounding states.
- BEST NC recommends embedding a school complexity measure in the current pay structure to ensure we are consistently rewarding our best principals for taking on the highest-need schools.
- We also recommend exploring additional measures of principal effectiveness.
RESOURCE LIBRARY
Related Resources & Programs
Below is a curated selection of our catalogue of policy briefs, reports, videos, blogs, interactive data tools, and research around this initiative:
Policy Brief
Advanced Teaching Roles in North Carolina: Meaningful Career Opportunities for Teaching Professionals (2022)