MAP: Which school districts increased teacher pay for the 2025-26 school year?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As school districts across Central Texas make budget decisions for the 2025-26 school year, KXAN is keeping track of starting teacher salaries area-wide.

There are 58 districts in the KXAN viewing area, from Mason ISD in the west to Fayetteville ISD in the east. So far, 19 of those districts have announced salaries for the upcoming school year.

The map below shows starting salaries in each district for new teachers with no experience. Additional districts will be colored in as salary information is decided by school boards. Click the arrow in the top right to see salaries for the 2024-25 school year.

Which districts offer the highest and lowest starting salaries?

Many districts told KXAN they are waiting for further guidance from the Texas Education Agency on the impact of House Bill 2 before setting new salaries. When asked in mid-June, a spokesperson for the TEA told KXAN they were still in the process of evaluating and did not have information to pass along at that time. Several districts said they anticipate confirming new salaries in July or August.

Of the districts that have released new pay scales for the 2025-26 school year, Del Valle ISD is offering the highest starting salary at $60,000, a $400 increase over last year. This is the third school year in a row that Del Valle ISD has offered the highest starting salary areawide.

Manor ISD has the second-highest starting salary announced so far — $57,669, a 2.3% increase over last school year. Leander ISD, Round Rock ISD, Burnet CISD and Eanes ISD all offer a starting salary of at least $56,000.

Jarrell ISD, Lockhart ISD, Fredericksburg ISD, Taylor ISD, Hays CISD, Marble Falls ISD, Llano ISD, Rockdale ISD and Luling ISD all offer at least $50,000 for new teachers with no experience. Of the districts that have set budgets so far, four will offer less than $50,000. Mason ISD offers a base salary of $40,000.

The state minimum salary, set by lawmakers, was increased by $300 to $33,960 for the 2025-26 school year, marking the first increase in six years. Richland Springs ISD has historically used the state minimum, but it remains to be seen whether it will continue to do so in the new school year.

Which districts increased pay the most this year?

Of the districts that have announced salaries for the 2025-26 school year, 11 have increased pay for new teachers with no experience compared to last year.

Llano ISD increased the most, with an 8.5% increase in starting salary. A new teacher there will earn $51,000, up from $47,000 the previous school year. Burnet CISD increased starting salaries by 7%, while Giddings ISD and Thrall ISD both increased by 6.6%.

When looking at dollar amounts, Llano ISD increased the most, with a $4,000 increase in starting salaries. Burnet CISD increased by $3,700, while Giddings ISD increased by $3,000.

Seven districts did not increase starting salaries for the new school year: Eanes ISD, Hays CISD, Leander ISD, Luling ISD, Mason ISD, Prairie Lea ISD and Rockdale ISD.

How will House Bill 2 impact salaries?

This year, state lawmakers approved a school funding package that was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in early June. The $8.5 billion bill, known as House Bill 2, creates new buckets of money for public schools to spend on specific initiatives.

About half of those funds — $4.2 billion — is for teacher pay raises, in some cases as much as $8,000. The exact amount of the ‘Teacher Retention Allotment’ is determined by how many students are enrolled in a district and by how many years of experience teachers have.

The allotment doesn’t kick in until a teacher has at least three years of experience, meaning starting salaries for brand-new teachers will not change from last year unless individual districts choose to do so.