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    Teacher Salaries

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    Increasing Your Salary

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    Benefits & Career Growth

How Much Do Teachers Make In DFW?

Salaries vary by school district, but in general, your salary will depend on your experience and credentials. Let’s take a look.

Your starting salary, or entry level salary, is how much you’ll make in your first year of teaching. In Dallas-Fort Worth, you can earn over $60K as a first-year teacher. That's one of the highest starting salaries in the nation! (1)

Check out sample salaries from districts around the area:
 

District

Income for first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree

Income for first-year teacher with a master's degree

Arlington ISD$64,400$66,100
Dallas ISD$62,000$62,000 (Dallas ISD has a unique compensation system. Learn more in the next section.)
Fort Worth ISD$63,000$64,400
Mesquite ISD$62,000$63,500

Average salary refers to what all teachers make, on average—so that includes people who have been in the job for years. DFW’s average teacher salary is about $65,700. (2)

The chart below shows base salaries for teachers with a decade of experience and a master’s degree. And remember—there are many ways to raise your salary above the minimum!
 

District

Base salary for teacher with 10 years' experience & a master's

Arlington ISD$71,100
Dallas ISD$66,500–$100,000 (Dallas ISD has a unique compensation system. Learn more in the next section.)
Fort Worth ISD$68,821
Mesquite ISD$69,561

Other Ways to Increase Your Teaching Salary

An example of how a teacher could increase salary. A middle school bilingual teacher in Arlington ISD could earn: $64.6K - base salary + $4K - master's degree & 5 years' experience + $5K - bilingual ed bonus + $2.7K - TIA bonus + $1K - yearbook sponsor = $76,300 total salary

Job performance and experience are two of the best ways to increase your salary—but they’re not your only options! You could also: 

  • Teach a shortage area subject. Some districts offer extra stipends for teachers in high-need subject areas, like math, science or bilingual education. 
  • Earn an advanced credential. Many districts offer higher pay to teachers with advanced degrees (like a master’s or doctorate), or who earn their National Board Certification. 
  • Lead an extracurricular. You can earn stipends if you lead certain extracurriculars, such as yearbook, choir or athletics. Stipends vary depending on your activity and district, but pay often ranges from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
     

Ask your district if they offer incentives or extra pay in any of these areas! 

How much do similar professions make?

A bar chart of DFW average salaries. The chart says: Registered Nurse - $93K; Teacher - $66K; Paralegal - $63K; Graphic Designer - $58K; Social Worker - $54K; Bookkeeper - $49K. Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Salary numbers are important, but you may be wondering how teaching compares to other professions. 

A DFW teacher’s salary is comparable to or even higher than many other fields. Plus, teachers are contracted to work about 190 days each year—compared to 260 work days in most other fields. (4)

Benefits for DFW Teachers

As a teacher, you can expect comprehensive health insurance — plus a retirement plan, vacation time and more.

You can enroll you and your family in your school district’s health plan. This typically includes comprehensive medical, dental, vision and other insurance costs. 

Vacation days will depend on your district, but in general you can expect: 

  • Spring break
  • December holiday break
  • National holidays off
  • Paid personal & sick days during the school year

You may also get time off during the summer. Teachers use this time to travel, explore professional development, relax or work elsewhere. Some districts offer summer positions for teachers, such as summer school or curriculum development jobs.

In Texas, you’ll receive retirement funds through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. You can receive full benefits if you: 

  • Are 65 and have completed at least five years of in-state teaching service.
  • Are 62 and your combined age and years of service equal at least 80.

How does teacher retirement work?

During your teaching years, you’ll contribute a portion of your salary to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Your employer also makes a contribution that goes into the statewide fund. 

Your contributions, your employer’s contributions and the contributions of other Texas employees earn interest over time. Those contributions add up, so you’ll be financially secure when it’s time to retire. (5)

Want to continue your teacher education? Many school districts offer tuition reimbursement and professional development funds, for things like conferences or trainings.

Building your skills can increase your knowledge and your pay. It also helps districts retain top-notch educators—so it’s a win-win for everyone.

Stepping into a classroom could mean stepping out of debt. Loan forgiveness programs cancel your remaining student loans—meaning you don’t have to pay them back!—if you commit to teaching for several years:

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program helps public school teachers with federal student loans.

Teachers in certain shortage areas, including math, science and special education can receive up to $17,500 in forgiven loans. If you teach a different subject, you can still get up to $5,000! To qualify, you’ll need to:

  • Have a federal Direct Loan or Stafford Loan.
  • Teach in a school that serves low-income students.
  • Teach full-time for five consecutive academic years.
  • Have taken out your loans before the end of your five years of service.

Perkins Loan Forgiveness

You can get 100% of your Perkins loans forgiven if you teach for five years!

You’ll need to:

  • Have a federal Perkins loan. 
  • Teach in a school that serves low-income students.
  • Teach in a state-designated shortage area.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you work full-time in a public service field—like teaching!—for 10 years, you can get your remaining student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

To qualify, you’ll need to:

  • Have a federal Direct Loan, or consolidate your other federal loans into a Direct Loan. 
  • Work full-time (at least 30 hours a week).
  • Make 120 on-time payments while you’re employed full-time. 

Buying a house is expensive, but there are resources to find a home in the community where you teach:

Good Neighbor Next Door

The federal government created Good Neighbor Next Door to contribute to community revitalization and to support people in service professions (like teaching).

Good Neighbor Next Door offers a discount of 50% from the list price of qualifying homes. The home inventory changes weekly—so if you don’t see something in your area right away, it’s worth checking back!

Teacher Next Door

Teacher Next Door helps classroom teachers become homeowners in the communities where they work. The program offers a wide range of support, including:

  • Housing grants
  • Down payment assistance
  • Home loans
  • Preferred interest rates

Texas State Affordability and Housing Corporation

The Texas State Affordability and Housing Corporation helps teachers, public service workers and low-income families become homeowners. You can get a wide range of home-buying support, including:

  • Mortgage tax credits
  • Down payment assistance
  • Fee waivers

What’s next

Teacher Career Paths | TeachDFW

From teacher support to district leadership to education policy, there’s no one map for your education career.

Read More

Career Coaching in Dallas-Fort Worth

Talk to an expert about how to become a certified teacher in Dallas-Forth Worth. Get free advice on what to teach and how to choose and apply to the right program.

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Dallas-Fort Worth Teacher Salary

As a DFW teacher, you’ll get a competitive starting salary, comprehensive benefits and opportunities to grow your career. Learn everything you need to know!

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A future DFW teacher smiles confidently. He has short hair and glasses. Around him are illustrations of dollar signs.

There are lots of ways to increase your teaching salary—including earning an advanced degree, leading extracurriculars and meeting performance benchmarks.

Salaries for High-Performing Teachers

Programs like the Teacher Incentive Allotment or Dallas ISD’s Teacher Excellence Initiative are designed to reward educators for effective teaching. You can earn close to—or even over—six figures!

Dallas ISD bases teacher salaries primarily on job performance and an annual evaluation—rather than a traditional, experience-based salary schedule. If you receive a high evaluation, your salary could increase significantly the following year!

In other districts, you can still boost your salary through job performance. The Teacher Incentive Allotment lets districts designate “Recognized,” “Exemplary,” and “Master” high-performing teachers. These designations come with a salary bonus—often for thousands of dollars! (3)

Grow Your Career

As an educator, you can grow your career—and your salary—both in and out of the classroom. 

Build your classroom career 

As you gain experience, you can grow into specialized leadership roles, such as a mentor teacher or peer observer position.

Mentor teachers help student teachers and early career teachers build their skills. Mentors also earn extra pay! 

Grow outside the classroom

After you have some experience under your belt, you might be curious about shifting your career focus. School or district leadership positions can be a great next step.

Many educators also go on to work in higher ed, policy and education advocacy. The skills you build teaching can take you anywhere you want to go!

References

  1. “Teacher Pay and Student Spending: How Does Your State Rank?” National Education Association. April 18, 2024. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank
  2. May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_19100.htm#25-0000
  3. Allotments, TIA Texas. https://tiatexas.org/allotments/ 
  4. Salary Finder. CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/wages/find-salary.aspx
  5. Teacher Retirement System of Texas.  https://www.trs.texas.gov/Pages/Homepage.aspx