Annual salary
$55,339.90
North Carolina · salary schedule · 2026-27
Wake County Public School System salary schedule, 2026-27
2026-2027 Classroom Teacher Salary Schedules. The grid below is the schedule as published, every cell; pick a license and certification and step to see the annual, monthly and per-day figure and the next five steps.
- Wake County Public School System's 2026-27 salary schedule starts at $55,339.90 (Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified, step 0) and tops out at $89,917.60 (Master's Degree ("M" License), AND National Board Certified, step 31+), per Wake County Public School System (effective ).
- A teacher on the bachelor's column (Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified) starts at $55,339.90 and reaches $73,399.20 at the top of that column.
- On the master's column (Master's Degree ("M" License), Not National Board Certified) the range is $61,101.50 to $81,072.30.
- The grid has 4 license and certification columns and 32 step rows; the highest cell is reached at step 31+.
- Wake County Schools enrolled 161,481 students in 2023-24, the 1st-largest district in North Carolina by NCES enrollment.
2026-2027 Classroom Teacher Salary Schedules
| Step \ License and certification | Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified | Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), AND National Board Certified | Master's Degree ("M" License), Not National Board Certified | Master's Degree ("M" License), AND National Board Certified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $55,339.90 | $61,101.50 | ||
| 1 | $55,595.80 | $61,387.90 | ||
| 2 | $56,055.80 | $61,895.00 | ||
| 3 | $56,372.70 | $63,258.20 | $62,250.80 | $69,172.90 |
| 4 | $56,942.50 | $63,776.60 | $62,879.30 | $69,739.50 |
| 5 | $57,448.30 | $64,343.10 | $63,435.70 | $70,356.80 |
| 6 | $58,161.20 | $65,141.20 | $64,226.20 | $71,233.40 |
| 7 | $58,667.00 | $65,707.90 | $64,782.50 | $71,850.60 |
| 8 | $59,379.50 | $66,506.00 | $65,573.20 | $72,727.20 |
| 9 | $60,001.80 | $67,202.80 | $66,257.20 | $73,486.20 |
| 10 | $61,909.70 | $69,342.90 | $68,361.20 | $75,823.30 |
| 11 | $62,425.60 | $69,919.60 | $68,937.80 | $76,460.40 |
| 12 | $63,256.30 | $70,848.60 | $69,860.10 | $77,482.40 |
| 13 | $63,772.10 | $71,425.20 | $70,426.50 | $78,109.50 |
| 14 | $65,379.70 | $73,222.30 | $72,201.90 | $80,075.20 |
| 15 | $66,505.60 | $74,488.80 | $73,438.30 | $81,452.40 |
| 16 | $66,936.80 | $74,971.80 | $73,925.60 | $81,992.90 |
| 17 | $67,098.60 | $75,152.90 | $74,107.20 | $82,194.60 |
| 18 | $67,314.30 | $75,394.40 | $74,351.00 | $82,464.80 |
| 19 | $67,593.80 | $75,707.40 | $74,658.40 | $82,805.70 |
| 20 | $67,815.30 | $75,955.50 | $74,908.60 | $83,083.20 |
| 21 | $67,926.10 | $76,079.50 | $75,033.60 | $83,221.90 |
| 22 | $68,036.80 | $76,203.60 | $75,158.60 | $83,360.50 |
| 23 | $68,335.80 | $76,538.20 | $75,490.00 | $83,727.50 |
| 24 | $68,634.90 | $76,872.60 | $75,821.40 | $84,094.40 |
| 25 | $70,826.70 | $79,325.80 | $78,234.30 | $86,768.80 |
| 26 | $71,429.40 | $80,001.60 | $78,905.60 | $87,514.40 |
| 27 | $71,883.80 | $80,510.80 | $79,405.50 | $88,069.00 |
| 28 | $72,338.40 | $81,020.10 | $79,905.50 | $88,623.50 |
| 29 | $72,792.90 | $81,529.30 | $80,405.60 | $89,178.20 |
| 30 | $73,096.10 | $81,868.80 | $80,738.90 | $89,547.90 |
| 31+ | $73,399.20 | $82,208.20 | $81,072.30 | $89,917.60 |
highest celllowest cell32 step rows x 4 license and certification columnshover or tap a cell to trace its row and column
Find my cell
Per month (12)
$4,611.66
Next 5 steps in this license and certification
| Step | Salary | vs. selected |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55,595.80 | +$255.90 |
| 2 | $56,055.80 | +$715.90 |
| 3 | $56,372.70 | +$1,032.80 |
| 4 | $56,942.50 | +$1,602.60 |
| 5 | $57,448.30 | +$2,108.40 |
Worked example as rendered: Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified, step 0 = $55,339.90 a year, $4,611.66 a month spread over 12 months. Monthly and daily figures are arithmetic on the published annual cell, before any supplement, stipend or deduction.
North Carolina teachers are paid the state salary schedule plus a locally funded supplement; the figures here are the district total, not the state base alone.
Each cell is the workbook’s "Annual 10 Month Salary" for a traditional-calendar school: the monthly state base plus the monthly local supplement, times ten.
The workbook also publishes separate monthly state base, local supplement and total for year-round schools, and a parallel set of Special Education classroom teacher schedules.
The workbook also publishes two Local Graduate Pay (LGP) schedules, for teachers whose graduate degree WCPSS approves but NC DPI does not; they combine a bachelor’s base with a larger local supplement to equal the state master’s schedule, so their totals are identical to the master’s lanes here and they are not repeated as separate columns.
The district posts the schedules as a Google Sheets workbook titled "Teachers/Certified Staff" for 2026-2027.
- Soft spot: Values carry cents because the workbook computes them from monthly figures; they are reproduced to two decimals as published.
- Soft spot: Contract days are not stated, so work_days is null.
- Soft spot: Special Education teacher, guidance, social worker, psychologist and speech schedules in the same workbook are not included.
How this schedule moves
On the Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified column a teacher moves from $55,339.90 at step 0 to $73,399.20 at step 31+: 31 step increases worth $583 each on average, 33% in total.
The largest single increase on that column is $2,192, between step 24 and step 25.
A master's degree is worth $5,762 more than a bachelor's at the first step (10.4%) and $7,673 more at the top of the column (10.5%).
The highest-paid column, Master's Degree ("M" License), AND National Board Certified, starts at $69,172.90 and tops out at $89,917.60, 23% above the top of the Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified column.
Among the 10 North Carolina district schedules indexed here, Wake County Public School System's starting pay ranks 4th and its top cell ranks 3rd; the state medians are $54,825 to start and $86,368 at the top.
Across all 3,959 district grids indexed nationally, that starting figure sits at the 64th percentile and the top cell at the 47th percentile.
Column by column
| License and certification | First step | Top | Step moves to top | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified | $55,339.90 | $73,399.20 | 31 | 33% |
| Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), AND National Board Certified | $63,258.20 | $82,208.20 | 28 | 30% |
| Master's Degree ("M" License), Not National Board Certified | $61,101.50 | $81,072.30 | 31 | 33% |
| Master's Degree ("M" License), AND National Board Certified | $69,172.90 | $89,917.60 | 28 | 30% |
Against North Carolina districts of similar size
| District | Students | Year | Starting | Master's start | Top cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County Public School System | 161,481 | 2026-27 | $55,339.90 | $61,101.50 | $89,917.60 |
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools | 144,116 | 2026-27 | $56,341 | $62,233 | $94,490 |
| Guilford County Schools | 67,832 | 2026-27 | $55,250 | $60,050 | $81,760 |
| Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools | 52,157 | 2026-27 | $54,400 | $59,500 | $87,030 |
| Johnston County Public Schools | 37,289 | 2024-25 | $48,815 | $53,387 | $81,258 |
| Durham Public Schools | 31,339 | 2025-26 | $48,750 | $53,350 | $85,705 |
Starting pay is the first step of the bachelor's column where the schedule has one, otherwise the lowest first-step cell. Enrollment is NCES 2023-24. Years differ where districts publish on different cycles.
Questions people ask
What is the starting teacher salary in Wake County Public School System?
$55,339.90 on the license and certification Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified at step 0 of the 2026-27 schedule (Wake County Public School System). The lowest cell on the whole grid is $55,339.90 (Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified).
What is the top of the Wake County Public School System salary schedule?
$89,917.60, at step 31+ on Master's Degree ("M" License), AND National Board Certified (2026-27). That is the highest published cell before any stipend, longevity or supplement not printed on the grid.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Wake County Public School System salary schedule?
On the Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified column the top figure, $73,399.20, is reached at step 31+, 31 step increases after step 0 (2026-27 schedule).
How much more does a master's degree pay in Wake County Public School System?
$5,762 more at the first step: $61,101.50 on Master's Degree ("M" License), Not National Board Certified against $55,339.90 on Bachelor's Degree ("A" License), Not National Board Certified (2026-27 schedule).
Other North Carolina districts with schedules
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schoolsstarts $56,341
- Guilford County Schoolsstarts $55,250
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schoolsstarts $54,400
- Cumberland County Schools
- Union County Public Schoolsstarts $8,800
- Johnston County Public Schoolsstarts $48,815
- Durham Public Schoolsstarts $48,750
- Gaston County Schoolsstarts $3,562.30
- New Hanover County Schoolsstarts $7,000
- Brunswick County Schoolsstarts $6,200
See every North Carolina district on the North Carolina page, or the statewide schedule. Compare this district on the comparison pages or the rankings.