$100,000 Median Teacher Salary in Many New York State Districts

Teachers are making a good living in New York State in 2026. A quarter of all of New York State school districts have the median teacher pay of over $100,000 and it has New York State residents either rejoicing or in an uproar.

Of course, it depends who you are asking.

Some residents thing that the $100,000 for a teacher is outrageous and that is too much money. Many of the people on social media who were opposing point out all of the 'time off' that teachers may get. I come from a family of teachers so, I understand what the teachers have to go through day in and day out. In some cases, they literally spend more time with kids than some parents do--and that is just the way it is.

Though, higher salaries = higher taxes.

On the other hand, many people said that they are not even close to $100,000. Other supporters were saying that teachers deserve more money in general, anyway. According to EmpireCenter.org:

A total of 189 out of 685 school districts outside New York City last year had median classroom teacher pay over $100,000, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website, up from 156 five years earlier.

It is important to note that this is data from 2024, although, not much has dramatically changed. Which school districts have teachers make the most money in New York State. Empire Center has the data:

The district with the state’s highest median teacher pay was Mid-Hudson’s Scarsdale ($152,543). In other regions, the district with the highest median pay was:

• Cold Spring Harbor (Long Island) ($148,402)
• Sweet Home (Western NY) ($104,467)
• South Colonie (Capital Region) ($100,774)
• Utica (Mohawk Valley) ($84,322)
• Baldwinsville (Central NY) ($82,961)
• Greece (Finger Lakes) ($80,340)
• Schroon Lake (North Country) ($79,888)
• Hammondsport (Southern Tier) ($76,979)

Teachers pay is always a polarizing subject because of course, most is funded through our tax dollars. Some top-tier administers in certain districts in New York State are making nearly $500,000.

READ MORE: New York State schools have tinkered with changing the start times in certain school districts. This school year, a lot of districts have had to change or adjust start times due to the lack of school bus drivers in a district and they cannot get all the students to school on time. In some cases, districts have offered parents a reimbursement and will literally pay them in order to drive their kids to school.