Pittsburgh Public Schools spent about $306 million in salaries and overtime in 2025, a 4.4% increase from the previous year. The yearly Public Source analysis of PPS salary data shows persisting gender wage gaps and rising teacher salaries.

Salaries and benefits account for 42% of the district’s $729 million budget. District administrators spent the year focused on an effort to rightsize the district’s offerings and reduce the roster by around 150. The plan to close 12 schools has not passed and payroll continued to rise.

Superintendent Wayne Walters continues to be the highest-paid employee in 2025, earning $298,686 in salary. The amount is almost double that of other top earners, which include several employees in administrative departments. 

In previous years, some maintenance workers were among the highest-paid employees due to substantial overtime and supplemental pay. This year, a general foreman in maintenance administration received the highest overtime pay at $65,386, bringing their total earnings to $162,956. 

Supplemental pay is usually given to teachers and principals who do not qualify for overtime pay because they are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Teaching staff, including hourly adjunct instructors and day-to-day substitute teachers, received a combined total of $173.6 million, up $6 million from the previous year.

There are currently 427 vacancies in the district, of which 237 are in the operations department. In an email response, district spokesperson Ebony Pugh said no furloughs took place in the last year. She added that 35 teachers were displaced and 139 employees retired in 2025. Most employee groups received at least a 3% salary increase in 2025.

Pay gaps by race, gender

PPS records show gaps in average earnings between Black and white employees across several departments last year, including teachers. They also reveal pay disparities between men and women in some areas. 

Black male teachers in the district earned an average of $85,027 and Black female teachers earned an average of $91,256. White male teachers in the district averaged $92,655 and white female teachers $89,699.

Teacher salaries are determined by seniority as outlined in the union’s agreement with the district.

Black men in executive leadership, which includes Walters, took home more than any other racial or gender group, with an average of $197,387 for the year. That’s about $25,000 more than white men, $38,000 more than white women and $44,000 more than Black women in that department.

In most departments, women earned less than men when compared to colleagues of the same race last year. Exceptions include administration and secretarial roles, where women on average earned more than men of the same race.

Pugh told Public Source last year that the majority of female custodial employees work 10 months a year, 5 ½ hours per day, while the majority of males in those positions work 12 months and eight hours per day, which could lead to the wage gap in those areas.

Differences in average pay by race and gender may reflect variations in seniority or title. Averages also include employees who worked for PPS only part of the year.

Overall, Black employees outnumber white employees in lower-paying positions such as paraprofessionals and food service workers. 

Pugh said all PPS employees are placed on the salary schedule based on the step that applies to their position. The district’s compensation team runs a variety of audits and reports on a monthly basis to ensure all compensation practices are aligned with collective bargaining agreements and approved salary schedules and policies.

Six PPS schools did not employ any Black teachers in 2025. Just over half the district’s enrollment is Black students. However, in only 28 of the district’s 63 schools and early childhood centers are more than 10% of teachers Black. 

Most teachers earn six figures

Teacher pay is based on the number of years of experience and education levels.

PPS employed 1,845 full-time teachers in 2025, about 30 fewer than in 2024. Of those, 60% earned more than $100,000. Nearly 110 full-time teachers worked for only part of the year. 

Seven teachers earned over $140,000. The highest earnings went to a teacher from Clayton Academy, who made about $147,510, of which $36,990 was supplemental pay.

According to the district’s contract with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, a full-time teacher hired before July 2010, with a bachelor’s degree, is paid about $45,380 in the first year. It would take 11 years for that teacher to earn the highest salary amount at $96,264. A teacher hired after July 2010 would make $111,486 when they completed 12 years in the district. 

PPS hired 40 full-time substitute teachers in 2025, six fewer than in 2024, who earned an average of $28,572. Day-to-day substitutes are paid $135 per day per the union’s contract. 

Seniority sets pay 

Full-time teachers, including substitutes, had an average tenure of 14.5 years in PPS.

Average teacher salaries at Schiller 6-8 were the lowest in the district, at $77,671, whereas the average teacher salaries at South Brook 6-8 and Liberty K-5 were over $110,000. 

Teachers at Liberty K-5 had an average teaching experience of 22 years in the district. Schiller, Arlington K-8 and King K-8 teachers had an average tenure of 9 years in PPS. 

Few teachers live in the city

The district, in its responses to Public Source’s requests for roster data under the Right-to-Know Law, provides ZIP codes but not addresses for employees.

In 2025:

• 15% of teachers lived in ZIP codes that are entirely in the city
• 59% of teachers lived outside the city
• 26% of teachers live in ZIP codes that cross city boundaries, so residency is unclear.

Last year the district lifted its residency requirement, which had mandated paraprofessionals to live in the city. City residency is still required for other positions such as food workers and custodians. Teachers have not been required to live within the district since 2001.

Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Jamie Wiggan.

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PPS’s year of school consolidation talk ended with a bigger roster, higher payroll

by Lajja Mistry, Pittsburgh's Public Source
March 16, 2026

<h1>PPS’s year of school consolidation talk ended with a bigger roster, higher payroll</h1> <p class="byline">by Lajja Mistry, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />March 16, 2026</p> <p>Pittsburgh Public Schools spent about $306 million in salaries and overtime in 2025, a 4.4% increase from the previous year. The yearly Public Source analysis of PPS salary data shows persisting gender wage gaps and rising teacher salaries.</p> <div class="wp-block-group has-dark-gray-color has-secondary-background-color has-text-color has-background"> <h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pps-roster-salaries-up"><strong>PPS roster, salaries up</strong></h4> <p id="h-pps-roster-salaries-up" style="font-size:18px"><em>Note: Total employment, median and average pays include 890 employees who worked for PPS only part of the year.</em></p> <ul style="font-size:18px" class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Total employees: 4,478 (compared to 4,420 in 2024)</strong></li> <li><strong>Median income: $68,645 (compared to $65,900 in 2024)</strong></li> <li><strong>Number of employees who made more than $100,000: 1,554 (135 more than in 2024)</strong></li> <li><strong>Total overtime and supplemental pay: $16.2 million ($3 million decrease from 2024)</strong></li> <li><strong>Average pay of full-time teachers: $92,359 (compared to $86,658 in 2024)</strong></li> </ul></div> <p>Salaries and benefits account for 42% of the district’s $729 million budget. District administrators spent the year focused on an effort to <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-schools-facilities-plan-job-cuts/">rightsize</a> the district's offerings and reduce the roster by around 150. The plan to close 12 schools has not passed and payroll continued to rise.</p> <p>Superintendent Wayne Walters continues to be the highest-paid employee in 2025, earning $298,686 in salary. The amount is almost double that of other top earners, which include several employees in administrative departments.&nbsp;</p> <p>In previous years, some maintenance workers were among the highest-paid employees due to substantial overtime and supplemental pay. This year, a general foreman in maintenance administration received the highest overtime pay at $65,386, bringing their total earnings to $162,956.&nbsp;</p> <p>Supplemental pay is usually given to teachers and principals who do not qualify for overtime pay because they are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.</p> <p>Teaching staff, including hourly adjunct instructors and day-to-day substitute teachers, received a combined total of $173.6 million, up $6 million from the previous year.</p> </p> <p>There are currently 427 vacancies in the district, of which 237 are in the operations department. In an email response, district spokesperson Ebony Pugh said no furloughs took place in the last year. She added that 35 teachers were displaced and 139 employees retired in 2025. Most employee groups received at least a 3% salary increase in 2025.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pay-gaps-by-race-gender"><strong>Pay gaps by race, gender</strong></h2> <p>PPS records show gaps in average earnings between Black and white employees across several departments last year, including teachers. They also reveal pay disparities between men and women in some areas.&nbsp;</p> <p>Black male teachers in the district earned an average of $85,027 and Black female teachers earned an average of $91,256. White male teachers in the district averaged $92,655 and white female teachers $89,699.</p> <p>Teacher salaries are determined by seniority as outlined in the union’s agreement with the district.</p> <p>Black men in executive leadership, which includes Walters, took home more than any other racial or gender group, with an average of $197,387 for the year. That’s about $25,000 more than white men, $38,000 more than white women and $44,000 more than Black women in that department.</p> <p>In most departments, women earned less than men when compared to colleagues of the same race last year. Exceptions include administration and secretarial roles, where women on average earned more than men of the same race.</p> <p>Pugh told Public Source last year that the majority of female custodial employees work 10 months a year, 5 ½ hours per day, while the majority of males in those positions work 12 months and eight hours per day, which could lead to the wage gap in those areas.</p> <p>Differences in average pay by race and gender may reflect variations in seniority or title. Averages also include employees who worked for PPS only part of the year.</p> <p>Overall, Black employees outnumber white employees in lower-paying positions such as paraprofessionals and food service workers.&nbsp;</p> <p>Pugh said all PPS employees are placed on the salary schedule based on the step that applies to their position. The district's compensation team runs a variety of audits and reports on a monthly basis to ensure all compensation practices are aligned with collective bargaining agreements and approved salary schedules and policies.</p> <div class="wp-block-group has-dark-gray-color has-secondary-background-color has-text-color has-background"> <h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-among-teachers"><strong>Among teachers</strong></h4> <ul style="font-size:18px" class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>White teaching staff: 85% (1,560 teachers)</strong></li> <li><strong>Black teaching staff: 11% (209 teachers)</strong></li> <li><strong>Average earnings of Black male teachers: $85,026</strong></li> <li><strong>Average earnings of Black female teachers: $91,256</strong></li> <li><strong>Average earnings of white male teachers: $92,655</strong></li> <li><strong>Average earnings of white female teachers: $89,698</strong></li> </ul></div> <p>Six PPS schools did not employ any Black teachers in 2025. Just over half the district’s enrollment is Black students. However, in only 28 of the district’s 63 schools and early childhood centers are more than 10% of teachers Black.&nbsp;</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-teachers-earn-six-figures"><strong>Most teachers earn six figures</strong></h2> <p>Teacher pay is based on the number of years of experience and education levels.</p> <div class="wp-block-group has-dark-gray-color has-secondary-background-color has-text-color has-background"> <ul style="font-size:18px" class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Total earnings of full-time teachers: $170,403,621</strong></li> <li><strong>School with the highest average teacher salary: South-Brook 6-8</strong></li> <li><strong>School with the lowest average teacher salary: Schiller 6-8</strong></li> </ul></div> <p>PPS employed 1,845 full-time teachers in 2025, about 30 fewer than in 2024. Of those, 60% earned more than $100,000. Nearly 110 full-time teachers worked for only part of the year.&nbsp;</p> <p>Seven teachers earned over $140,000. The highest earnings went to a teacher from Clayton Academy, who made about $147,510, of which $36,990 was supplemental pay.</p> <p>According to the district’s contract with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, a full-time teacher hired before July 2010, with a bachelor’s degree, is paid about $45,380 in the first year. It would take 11 years for that teacher to earn the highest salary amount at $96,264. A teacher hired after July 2010 would make $111,486 when they completed 12 years in the district.&nbsp;</p> <p>PPS hired 40 full-time substitute teachers in 2025, six fewer than in 2024, who earned an average of $28,572. Day-to-day substitutes are paid $135 per day per the union’s contract.&nbsp;</p> </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seniority-sets-pay-nbsp"><strong>Seniority sets pay&nbsp;</strong></h2> <p>Full-time teachers, including substitutes, had an average tenure of 14.5 years in PPS.</p> <p>Average teacher salaries at Schiller 6-8 were the lowest in the district, at $77,671, whereas the average teacher salaries at South Brook 6-8 and Liberty K-5 were over $110,000.&nbsp;</p> <p>Teachers at Liberty K-5 had an average teaching experience of 22 years in the district. Schiller, Arlington K-8 and King K-8 teachers had an average tenure of 9 years in PPS.&nbsp;</p> </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-few-teachers-live-in-the-city"><strong>Few teachers live in the city</strong></h2> <p>The district, in its responses to Public Source’s requests for roster data under the Right-to-Know Law, provides ZIP codes but not addresses for employees.</p> <p>In 2025:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>15% of teachers lived in ZIP codes that are entirely in the city</li> <li>59% of teachers lived outside the city</li> <li>26% of teachers live in ZIP codes that cross city boundaries, so residency is unclear.</li> </ul> <p>Last year the district lifted its residency requirement, which had mandated paraprofessionals to live in the city. City residency is still required for other positions such as food workers and custodians. <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-schools-staff-residency-requirement-pros-cons-debate-pps/#:~:text=Weiss%20said%20the%20district%20would,the%20school%20board%20in%20January:">Teachers</a> have not been required to live within the district since 2001.</p> <p><em>Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:lajja@publicsource.org"><em>lajja@publicsource.org</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p><em>This story was fact-checked by Jamie Wiggan.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-schools-pps-salaries-earnings-teachers/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1330628&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-public-schools-pps-salaries-earnings-teachers/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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