Superintendents report an average tenure of over five years in their current roles — an increase of three years or less commonly cited as the standard in recent times, according to the recently released 2025–26 Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study from AASA, The School Superintendents Association. This finding is in line with the pre-pandemic figure of about six years.
An abridged version of the study — drawn from interviews with a representative sample of 1,951 responses from superintendents in 49 states — is available for those who are not AASA members.
Key findings
This annually revised and updated survey tracks the demographics, salary, benefits and other elements of the employment agreements of school superintendents throughout the country.
According to the results:
- Nearly 90 percent of superintendents intend to remain in their current district in the 2026–27 school year.
- Base salaries tended to be higher in districts with higher enrollment, but few superintendents reported having any predetermined tasks or objectives tied to pay or rewards. Only 14 percent said their contracts included any financial rewards based on an incentive or performance clause or a defined provision.
- Superintendents reported an average of 7.3 years of experience in their role.
- Superintendents increasingly reported declining economic conditions in their districts — 30 percent to 38 percent year-over-year — but those leading districts with 1,000 or more students were more likely to report that conditions were stable or growing.
- Although female superintendents outpace males in the role on doctoral attainment by 10 percentage points — 51 percent versus 41 percent — they made just 98 percent of what men earned in the 2025–26 school year.
