Annual salary
$50,556.10
Tennessee · salary schedule · 2026-27
Rutherford County Schools salary schedule, 2026-27
Certified pay schedule, 200 days (2026-27). The grid below is the schedule as published, every cell; pick a grade and step to see the annual, monthly and per-day figure and the next five steps.
- Rutherford County Schools's 2026-27 salary schedule starts at $50,556.10 (BA, step 0) and tops out at $97,748.68 (DR, step 25), per Rutherford County Board of Education (effective ).
- A teacher on the bachelor's column (BA) starts at $50,556.10 and reaches $75,313.49 at the top of that column.
- On the master's column (MA) the range is $54,853.37 to $81,715.13.
- The schedule is built on 200 work days, which makes the starting cell about $252.78 per day.
- The grid has 5 grade columns and 26 step rows; the highest cell is reached at step 25.
- Rutherford County enrolled 51,595 students in 2023-24, the 4th-largest district in Tennessee by NCES enrollment.
Certified pay schedule, 200 days (2026-27)
| Step \ Grade | BA | MA | MA+45 | EDS | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $50,556.10 | $54,853.37 | $59,515.91 | $62,491.71 | $65,616.29 |
| 1 | $51,440.84 | $55,813.32 | $60,557.44 | $63,585.31 | $66,764.58 |
| 2 | $52,341.05 | $56,790.04 | $61,617.19 | $64,698.06 | $67,932.95 |
| 3 | $53,257.02 | $57,783.88 | $62,695.50 | $65,830.27 | $69,121.79 |
| 4 | $54,189.02 | $58,795.08 | $63,792.68 | $66,982.31 | $70,331.42 |
| 5 | $55,814.69 | $60,558.95 | $65,706.44 | $68,991.77 | $72,441.36 |
| 6 | $57,768.20 | $62,678.50 | $68,006.17 | $71,406.49 | $74,976.81 |
| 7 | $59,212.40 | $64,245.46 | $69,706.33 | $73,191.64 | $76,851.23 |
| 8 | $60,692.72 | $65,851.60 | $71,448.99 | $75,021.44 | $78,772.51 |
| 9 | $62,210.03 | $67,497.89 | $73,235.22 | $76,896.96 | $80,741.82 |
| 10 | $63,765.30 | $69,185.34 | $75,066.09 | $78,819.40 | $82,760.37 |
| 11 | $65,040.60 | $70,569.04 | $76,567.41 | $80,395.79 | $84,415.57 |
| 12 | $66,016.21 | $71,627.57 | $77,715.93 | $81,601.72 | $85,681.81 |
| 13 | $67,006.45 | $72,702.00 | $78,881.66 | $82,825.74 | $86,967.04 |
| 14 | $68,011.54 | $73,792.52 | $80,064.89 | $84,068.13 | $88,271.54 |
| 15 | $68,861.69 | $74,714.93 | $81,065.70 | $85,118.99 | $89,374.93 |
| 16 | $69,722.46 | $75,648.87 | $82,079.02 | $86,182.97 | $90,492.12 |
| 17 | $70,593.99 | $76,594.48 | $83,105.01 | $87,260.26 | $91,623.27 |
| 18 | $71,476.41 | $77,551.91 | $84,143.82 | $88,351.01 | $92,768.56 |
| 19 | $72,191.18 | $78,327.43 | $84,985.26 | $89,234.52 | $93,696.25 |
| 20 | $72,913.09 | $79,110.71 | $85,835.11 | $90,126.87 | $94,633.21 |
| 21 | $73,459.94 | $79,704.04 | $86,478.88 | $90,802.81 | $95,342.96 |
| 22 | $74,010.88 | $80,301.81 | $87,127.46 | $91,483.84 | $96,058.03 |
| 23 | $74,565.97 | $80,904.07 | $87,780.92 | $92,169.96 | $96,778.46 |
| 24 | $74,938.79 | $81,308.60 | $88,219.82 | $92,630.82 | $97,262.35 |
| 25 | $75,313.49 | $81,715.13 | $88,660.93 | $93,093.98 | $97,748.68 |
highest celllowest cell26 step rows x 5 grade columnshover or tap a cell to trace its row and column
Find my cell
Per month (12)
$4,213.01
Per work day
$252.78 / 200 days
Next 5 steps in this grade
| Step | Salary | vs. selected |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $51,440.84 | +$884.74 |
| 2 | $52,341.05 | +$1,784.95 |
| 3 | $53,257.02 | +$2,700.92 |
| 4 | $54,189.02 | +$3,632.92 |
| 5 | $55,814.69 | +$5,258.59 |
Worked example as rendered: BA, step 0 = $50,556.10 a year, $4,213.01 a month spread over 12 months, $252.78 per work day on a 200-day year. Monthly and daily figures are arithmetic on the published annual cell, before any supplement, stipend or deduction.
200-day certified teacher scale. The document states an FY26-27 salary increase of 2.00 percent.
Placement above step 21: years 22 to 25 pay at step 22, 26 to 29 at step 23, 30 to 35 at step 24, and 36 or more at step 25.
Administrator salaries are derived from this scale by dividing the teacher salary by 200 and applying a position index, so they are excluded here.
- Soft spot: The sheet is headed "Proposed Certified Pay Schedule 2026-2027" even though the district publishes it as its current certified pay scale.
How this schedule moves
On the BA column a teacher moves from $50,556.10 at step 0 to $75,313.49 at step 25: 25 step increases worth $990 each on average, 49% in total.
The largest single increase on that column is $1,954, between step 5 and step 6.
A master's degree is worth $4,297 more than a bachelor's at the first step (8.5%) and $6,402 more at the top of the column (8.5%).
The highest-paid column, DR, starts at $65,616.29 and tops out at $97,748.68, 30% above the top of the BA column.
Among the 11 Tennessee district schedules indexed here, Rutherford County Schools's starting pay ranks 6th and its top cell ranks 1st; the state medians are $50,556 to start and $91,563 at the top.
Across all 3,959 district grids indexed nationally, that starting figure sits at the 49th percentile and the top cell at the 57th percentile.
Column by column
| Grade | First step | Top | Step moves to top | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | $50,556.10 | $75,313.49 | 25 | 49% |
| MA | $54,853.37 | $81,715.13 | 25 | 49% |
| MA+45 | $59,515.91 | $88,660.93 | 25 | 49% |
| EDS | $62,491.71 | $93,093.98 | 25 | 49% |
| DR | $65,616.29 | $97,748.68 | 25 | 49% |
Against Tennessee districts of similar size
| District | Students | Year | Starting | Master's start | Top cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County Schools | 51,595 | 2026-27 | $50,556.10 | $54,853.37 | $97,748.68 |
| Hamilton County Schools | 45,790 | 2026-27 | $50,003.78 | – | $92,605.73 |
| Knox County Schools | 60,604 | 2026-27 | $50,089.83 | – | $81,543.23 |
| Williamson County Schools | 41,909 | 2026-27 | $60,379 | $57,968 | $93,510 |
| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System | 39,345 | 2026-27 | $51,000 | $55,858 | $96,165 |
| Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools | 80,468 | 2026-27 | $54,521.41 | $60,070.06 | $96,980.83 |
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 Rutherford County Schools?
$50,556.10 on the grade BA at step 0 of the 2026-27 schedule (Rutherford County Board of Education). The lowest cell on the whole grid is $50,556.10 (BA).
What is the top of the Rutherford County Schools salary schedule?
$97,748.68, at step 25 on DR (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 Rutherford County Schools salary schedule?
On the BA column the top figure, $75,313.49, is reached at step 25, 25 step increases after step 0 (2026-27 schedule).
How much more does a master's degree pay in Rutherford County Schools?
$4,297 more at the first step: $54,853.37 on MA against $50,556.10 on BA (2026-27 schedule).
Other Tennessee districts with schedules
- Hamilton County Schoolsstarts $50,003.78
- Knox County Schoolsstarts $50,089.83
- Williamson County Schoolsstarts $52,124
- Clarksville-Montgomery County School Systemstarts $51,000
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schoolsstarts $53,500.00
- Washington County Schoolsstarts $47,905
- Warren County Schoolsstarts $50,500
- Monroe County Schoolsstarts $50,009
- Bristol Tennessee City Schoolsstarts $53,251
- Memphis-Shelby County Schoolsstarts $51,827.51
See every Tennessee district on the Tennessee page, or the statewide schedule. Compare this district on the comparison pages or the rankings.