Starting a career in public education? Bucks County districts pay higher than average

New Hope-Solebury and Centennial school districts have the first and second highest average new teacher salaries in the state at $95,446 and $81,639, respectively.

For teachers just starting their careers in education, Bucks County public schools offer some of the largest salaries in Pennsylvania, according to state salary data.

Except for Palisades School District, the average salary for a teacher in Bucks County with up to five years’ experience as of Oct. 10, 2024, ranked among the top 250 out of 500 school districts in the state.

New Hope-Solebury and Centennial school districts have the first and second highest average new teacher salaries in the state at $95,446 and $81,639, respectively, but they’re also the only Bucks County districts that fall in the top 10 highest average salaries in the state.

Those totals come from a review of individual staff reports for the 2024-2025 school year published by the state education department in April, which is based on educator and administrator information provided by public school districts, charter schools, intermediate units and juvenile detention centers last October.

This analysis was limited to public school district employees classified as full-time “classroom teachers” with one to five years in education. Any duplicate entries were removed by sorting from highest to lowest salary and keeping only the first instance of a teacher’s public identification number assigned in the data.

Only about 1,000 teachers across Bucks County matched that description, roughly 5% of the more than 22,000 novice teachers in the data.

The average new teacher in with an undergraduate degree in Pennsylvania this school year was paid about $58,335, while teachers with postgraduate degrees were paid $66,511 on average. 

Top 10 Highest Average Salaries for New Teachers in Pennsylvania

While New Hope and Centennial have some of the highest average salaries for new teachers with any degree, they are the only two Bucks County districts to crack the top 10.

Montgomery County has four school districts on that list, with two districts in York and one each in Chester and Bradford counties filling out the rest. 

Here’s a breakdown of the 10 highest new teacher (one to five years teaching) salaries in the state by district These salaries reflect teachers with both undergraduate and post-graduate degrees:

• New Hope-Solebury School District (Bucks County) — about $95,446
• Upper Dublin School District (Montgomery County) — about $81,639
• Upper Merion Area School District (Montgomery County) — about $79,561
• Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (Chester County) — about $78,513
• Athens Area School District (Bradford County) — about $78,354
• Lower Merion School District (Montgomery County) — about $77,135
• Colonial School District (Montgomery County) — about $76,946
• Centennial School District (Bucks County) — about $75,842
• York Suburban School District (York County) — about $75,440
• Dallastown Area School District (York County) — about $75,333

Average Salary for New Teachers in Bucks County

More than half of Bucks County’s school districts are within the top 100 for new teacher salaries, and almost every district is in the upper half of new teacher salaries in Pennsylvania.

Here’s what each Bucks County district is paying on average to teachers with one to five years experience when including those with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the data and where that pay ranks in the state:

• New Hope-Solebury School District — about $95,446 (1st highest in state)
• Centennial School District — about $75,842 (8th highest in state)
• Bensalem Township School District — about $69,661 (28th highest in state)
• Quakertown Community School District — about $67,985 (40th highest in state)
• Pennsbury School District — about $67,066 (55th highest in state)
• Pennridge School District — about $66,485 (58th highest in state)
• Neshaminy School District — about $65,592 (71st highest in state)
• Bristol Township School District — about $62,482 (114th highest in state)
• Central Bucks School District — about $62,109 (120th highest in state)
• Council Rock School District — about $59,862 (170th highest in state)
• Bristol Borough School District — about $57,535 (221st highest in state)
• Morrisville Borough School District — about $56,579 (247th highest in state)
• Palisades School District — about $51,629 (357th highest in state)

What do new teachers with a bachelor’s degree make in Bucks County

Only about half of Bucks County’s school districts paid an above-average salary for teachers with an undergraduate degree, but those salaries also run the gamut from some of the highest to lowest in the state.

Here’s what each district paid on average for teachers with a bachelor’s degree:

• New Hope-Solebury School District — about $67,416 (11th highest in state)
• Centennial School District — about $64,677 (30th highest in state)
• Neshaminy School District — about $62,630 (60th highest in state)
• Pennsbury School District — about $61,534 (83rd highest in state)
• Bensalem Township School District — about $61,079 (86th highest in state)
• Quakertown Community School District — about $59,450 (110th highest in state)
• Bristol Township School District — about $57,313 (163rd highest in state)
• Council Rock School District — about $55,854 (213th highest in state)
• Bristol Borough School District — about $55,179 (229th highest in state)
• Central Bucks School District — about $55,139 (230th highest in state)
• Pennridge School District — about $52,875 (301st highest in state)
• Morrisville Borough School District — about $52,593 (306th highest in state)
• Palisades School District — about $46,249 (448th highest in state)

What do new teachers with a postgraduate degree make in Bucks County

Postgraduate degrees will earn new teachers more money working in Bucks County, where only four out of 13 school districts pay below the state average.

Here’s the average salary for teachers with a specialist, master’s or a doctorate degree:

• New Hope-Solebury School District — about $101,675 (1st highest in state)
• Quakertown Community School District — about $81,911 (11th highest in state)
• Centennial School District — about $80,754 (14th highest in state)
• Bensalem Township School District — about $76,477 (32nd highest in state)
• Pennsbury School District — about $72,293 (60th highest in state)
• Neshaminy School District — about $72,111 (63rd highest in state)
• Central Bucks School District — about $70,189 (87th highest in state)
• Bristol Township School District — about $70,146 (89th highest in state)
• Pennridge School District — about $69,509 (101st highest in state)
• Council Rock School District — about $66,482 (141st highest in state)
• Morrisville Borough School District — about $62,060 (209th highest in state)
• Bristol Borough School District — about $60,901 (226th highest in state)
• Palisades School District — about $57,009 (295th highest in state)

Reporting by Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times / Bucks County Courier Times