Annual salary
$54,830
Ohio · salary schedule · 2026-27
Cleveland Metropolitan School District salary schedule, 2026-27
Teacher's differentiated compensation system (2026-27). The grid below is the schedule as published, every cell; pick a column and level to see the annual, monthly and per-day figure and the next five steps.
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District's 2026-27 salary schedule starts at $54,830 (Annual salary, level 1) and tops out at $110,484 (Annual salary, level 17), per Cleveland Teachers Union, AFT Local 279 (effective ).
- The schedule is built on 185 work days, which makes the starting cell about $296.38 per day.
- The grid has 1 column columns and 17 level rows; the highest cell is reached at level 17.
- Cleveland Municipal enrolled 33,841 students in 2023-24, the 3rd-largest district in Ohio by NCES enrollment.
Teacher's differentiated compensation system (2026-27)
Official sourceDocumentCleveland Teachers Union, AFT Local 279School year2026-27EffectiveWork days185
| Level \ Column | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| 1 | $54,830 |
| 2 | $59,464 |
| 3 | $65,916 |
| 4 | $70,644 |
| 5 | $75,955 |
| 6 | $82,057 |
| 7 | $85,778 |
| 8 | $88,805 |
| 9 | $91,936 |
| 10 | $94,712 |
| 11 | $97,333 |
| 12 | $99,784 |
| 13 | $102,045 |
| 14 | $104,099 |
| 15 | $106,193 |
| 16 | $108,317 |
| 17 | $110,484 |
highest celllowest cell17 level rows x 1 column columnshover or tap a cell to trace its row and column
Find my cell
Per month (12)
$4,569.17
Per work day
$296.38 / 185 days
Next 5 steps in this column
| Level | Salary | vs. selected |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $59,464 | +$4,634 |
| 3 | $65,916 | +$11,086 |
| 4 | $70,644 | +$15,814 |
| 5 | $75,955 | +$21,125 |
| 6 | $82,057 | +$27,227 |
Worked example as rendered: Annual salary, level 1 = $54,830 a year, $4,569.17 a month spread over 12 months, $296.38 per work day on a 185-day year. Monthly and daily figures are arithmetic on the published annual cell, before any supplement, stipend or deduction.
Appendix A, Teacher's Differentiated Compensation System, of the agreement between the Cleveland Metropolitan School District board of education and the Cleveland Teachers Union, AFT Local 279, effective July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027.
Cleveland has no education lanes. The single table prints one salary per level, and the three columns of the printed table are the school years 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027; the 2026-2027 column is recorded here.
Advancement is by level under Article 31, Section 3, not by a degree column.
The 185-day figure comes from Article 31, which refers to the normal 185-day school year in the approved board calendar.
The same appendix prints separate 16-level and 17-level schedules for other bargaining-unit classifications (LPNs, paraprofessionals and technicians, sign language and educational interpreters at 70% of the teacher schedule, CDCS staff and others), which are not recorded here.
- Soft spot: Because the document is organized by level rather than by education lane, the grid has a single unnamed salary column; the lane label Annual salary is descriptive, not the district's own wording.
How this schedule moves
On the Annual salary column a teacher moves from $54,830 at level 1 to $110,484 at level 17: 16 level increases worth $3,478 each on average, 102% in total.
The largest single increase on that column is $6,452, between level 2 and level 3.
Among the 235 Ohio district schedules indexed here, Cleveland Metropolitan School District's starting pay ranks 8th and its top cell ranks 39th; the state medians are $44,468 to start and $94,897 at the top.
Across all 3,959 district grids indexed nationally, that starting figure sits at the 62nd percentile and the top cell at the 75th percentile.
Against Ohio districts of similar size
| District | Students | Year | Starting | Master's start | Top cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Metropolitan School District | 33,841 | 2026-27 | $54,830 | – | $110,484 |
| Cincinnati Public Schools | 34,860 | 2024-25 | $51,203.77 | $55,996.96 | $113,191.98 |
| Olentangy Local School District | 23,806 | 2026-27 | $50,217 | $56,720 | $131,117 |
| Columbus City Schools | 45,181 | 2025-26 | $41,801 | $58,165 | $123,966 |
| South-Western City Schools | 21,873 | 2025-26 | $50,290.00 | $55,319.00 | $113,957.14 |
| Toledo Public Schools | 21,047 | 2025-26 | $45,671 | $49,266 | $101,877 |
Starting pay is the first level of the bachelor's column where the schedule has one, otherwise the lowest first-level cell. Enrollment is NCES 2023-24. Years differ where districts publish on different cycles.
Questions people ask
What is the starting salary on the Cleveland Metropolitan School District schedule?
$54,830 at level 1 on Annual salary, per the 2026-27 schedule (Cleveland Teachers Union, AFT Local 279).
What is the top of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District salary schedule?
$110,484, at level 17 on Annual salary (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 Cleveland Metropolitan School District salary schedule?
On the Annual salary column the top figure, $110,484, is reached at level 17, 16 level increases after level 1 (2026-27 schedule).
Other Ohio districts with schedules
- Cincinnati Public Schoolsstarts $51,203.77
- Olentangy Local School Districtstarts $50,217
- Columbus City Schoolsstarts $41,801
- South-Western City Schoolsstarts $50,290.00
- Toledo Public Schoolsstarts $45,671
- Dublin City Schoolsstarts $52,078
- Hilliard City Schoolsstarts $49,880
- Dayton City Schoolsstarts $53,339
- Worthington City Schoolsstarts $55,070
- Mason City Schoolsstarts $50,922
See every Ohio district on the Ohio page. Compare this district on the comparison pages or the rankings.