Elementary Principal

Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.

79 people hold the Elementary Principal role across 74 departments in Seattle Public Schools, with a median total compensation of $236,223. Among 2 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Seattle Public Schools ranks #1 by median pay.

Employees: 79
Median pay: $236,223
Departments: 74
Cross-jurisdiction: #1 of 2

Compared with the local labor market

Elementary Principal pay vs. the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area

Across all employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, the median wage for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary — about 3,360 people — is $174,260. Seattle Public Schools pays a median base salary of $192,024 for this role, 10% above that figure — about the 77th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Seattle Public Schools sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$107,190

$142,600

$174,260

$189,150

$209,400

Seattle Public Schools median · $192,024

The bar is the range of annual wages for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary across every employer in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Seattle Public Schools’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary — about 328,330 people — is $105,870. Seattle Public Schools’s median base salary is 81% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$76,280

$86,040

$105,870

$134,630

$167,770

Seattle Public Schools median · $192,024

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Seattle Public Schools is $236,223, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare jurisdictions

Elementary Principal pay in other jurisdictions

Where Elementary Principals are paid most

Davis School District, Utah

$205,137 · 60

Median total compensation for comparable Elementary Principalroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within Seattle Public Schools