Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total budgeted payroll
$1,203,735
Increase vs. last year
$57,975
Increase %
5.1%
New average base salary
$44,125
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How to use this
- 1Enter teacher headcount.
- 2Enter average current base salary ($).
- 3Enter salary increase per step (%).
- 4Enter average steps staff move this year.
- 5Enter additional across-the-board raise (%).
- 6Enter benefits + payroll tax load (%).
- 7Read your total budgeted payroll on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Private schools and larger childcare centers often run a step (years of experience) and lane (education level) salary schedule instead of flat pay, and budgeting it means summing very different numbers across your roster. This calculator takes your headcount at a base salary, an average step increase percentage, an average number of steps your staff will move up this year, and a benefits load percentage, then produces total budgeted payroll including the load. It also shows the year-over-year payroll increase driven purely by step movement, separate from any across-the-board raise, which is the number school boards and finance committees usually want isolated. If you have a real spreadsheet of every teacher's exact step, this is a good sanity-check tool for the top-line total rather than a replacement for line-item payroll, since it works off averages.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Teacher headcount: 22
- Average current base salary: 42000 $
- Salary increase per step: 3 %
- Average steps staff move this year: 1
- Additional across-the-board raise: 2 %
- Benefits + payroll tax load: 24 %
Results
- Total budgeted payroll: $1,203,735
- Increase vs. last year: $57,975
- Increase %: 5.1%
- New average base salary: $44,125
What each field means
Inputs
- Teacher headcount
- The teacher headcount used in the calculation. Starts at 22 so you have a working example on load.
- Average current base salary ($)
- The average current base salary used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 42000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Salary increase per step (%)
- The salary increase per step used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–30 %.
- Average steps staff move this year
- The average steps staff move this year used in the calculation. Starts at 1 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–10.
- Additional across-the-board raise (%)
- The additional across-the-board raise used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 2 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–30 %.
- Benefits + payroll tax load (%)
- The benefits + payroll tax load used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 24 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–60 %.
Results
- Total budgeted payroll
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Increase vs. last year
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Increase %
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- New average base salary
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What's a typical step increase percentage?
Public and private school salary schedules commonly use 2-4% per step in the early years, tapering to smaller increases near the top of the scale (year 15-20+). If your schedule compresses at the top, using a flat average step% across your whole roster will slightly overstate cost for veteran-heavy staffs — split the calculation by tenure band for more accuracy.
Why separate step movement from a cost-of-living raise?
Step movement is automatic and contractual for staff who haven't topped out, while a cost-of-living or market adjustment is a discretionary board decision applied on top. Boards need to see both because step cost happens whether or not they approve a raise, so it's the baseline budget pressure before any new spending decision.
How does the benefits load number affect the total?
It compounds on top of salary, so a 24% load on a $500,000 base payroll adds $120,000, not a rounding error. Health insurance premium increases (commonly 5-10% a year) usually drive the load percentage up year over year even when salary growth is flat, so revisit this input annually rather than reusing last year's number.
Does this replace individual teacher payroll planning?
No — it's a top-line budget estimate using averages. For actual payroll, run each teacher's real step and lane against the published schedule. Use this tool for board presentations, quick scenario comparisons (raise 2% vs. 3%), and sanity-checking the total your finance system produces.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Put a dollar figure on losing and replacing a teacher.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Teacher Salary Scale Budget Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/teacher-salary-scale-budget
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/teacher-salary-scale-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Teacher Salary Scale Budget Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Teacher Salary Scale Budget Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/teacher-salary-scale-budget) (2026).