ALBANY, NY (April 16, 2025) — The number of New York school district employees earning over $200,000 in total compensation has more than doubled since 2019, according to 2023-24 salary data released on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The data, sourced from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) and the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), covers 239,254 teachers and administrators outside New York City and 139,121 other school employees.
In 2023-24, 75,056 employees earned six-figure salaries, representing 31.3% of NYSTRS educators. Of these, 1,688 earned over $200,000, and 81 surpassed $300,000. Downstate suburban districts accounted for 76% of six-figure earners, with 33,834 on Long Island and 18,622 in Westchester, Orange, and Rockland counties.
Benjamin Ciuffo, a retired assistant superintendent at Jericho Union Free School District, topped the list with $599,524. Upstate, Timothy Backus, former deputy superintendent at South Colonie Central School District, earned $443,517.
The average pay for full-time employees, defined as those earning above the annualized minimum wage, was $94,732. Long Island educators averaged $116,066, followed by the Mid-Hudson region at $110,830. Western New York averaged $81,891, while the North Country was lowest at $71,127. In 202 school districts, full-time NYSTRS members averaged over $100,000, with Scarsdale Union Free School District leading at $149,705, where nearly 90% of its 530 educators earned six figures.
Contracts detailing teacher and superintendent compensation are available on SeeThroughNY.net, which also published median teacher pay for 2023-24. The Empire Center, an Albany-based independent think tank, sponsors the transparency website to promote policies improving New York’s quality of life.
