Delaware SpendingThe Desk / Salaries & Payroll · FY2026
People are the state's biggest expense.
$3.21 billion in wages plus $1.91 billion in benefits — 30 cents of every dollar on the FY2026 checkbook. Who logs the overtime, which school districts pay the most, and what the top education offices average — every figure from official Delaware records.
Wages paid FY2026
$3.21B
+52% since FY2018
Benefits FY2026
$1.91B
employer medical, pension, taxes
Authorized positions
35,475
FY2026 budget
Avg. educator salary
$81,734
DE public schools, 13,525 FTE
The Overtime Kings — FY2026
| # | Department | Overtime | Per position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Corrections | $44,636,440 | $16,901 |
| 2 | Department of Health & Social Services | $11,947,697 | $3,111 |
| 3 | Department of Transportation | $7,716,041 | $4,100 |
| 4 | Services FR Children,youth,families | $5,873,588 | $4,485 |
| 5 | Department of Safety & Homeland Security | $2,430,325 | $1,710 |
| 6 | Department of Education | $2,296,096 | $135 |
| 7 | Department of State | $1,356,604 | $2,068 |
| 8 | Higher Education | $1,033,584 | $896 |
| 9 | Department of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation | $588,402 | $751 |
| 10 | Judicial | $360,003 | $258 |
| 11 | Delaware National Guard | $280,326 | — |
| 12 | Department of Agriculture | $249,755 | $1,654 |
Department of Corrections alone accounts for 56% of all state overtime. Total overtime is up 43% since FY2018 ($56.0M → $79.9M).
Overtime by Fiscal Year
State Payroll Trend — wages vs. benefits
Educator Pay by District — school year 2024–25
All 44 Districts & Charters, Ranked
| # | District / charter | Avg. salary | Staff (FTE) | Avg. yrs. experience | vs. state avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $94,634 | 446 | 18 | +15.8% |
| 2 | Brandywine School District | $89,392 | 1,057 | 17 | +9.4% |
| 3 | Sussex Technical School District | $89,130 | 117 | 19 | +9.0% |
| 4 | Newark Charter School | $88,696 | 248 | 16 | +8.5% |
| 5 | Delaware Military Academy | $87,891 | 42 | 16 | +7.5% |
| 6 | Christina School District | $87,632 | 1,510 | 17 | +7.2% |
| 7 | Colonial School District | $86,761 | 898 | 15 | +6.2% |
| 8 | Charter School of Wilmington | $86,670 | 61 | 16 | +6.0% |
| 9 | Cape Henlopen School District | $85,675 | 721 | 16 | +4.8% |
| 10 | Red Clay Consolidated School District | $85,119 | 1,548 | 15 | +4.1% |
| 11 | POLYTECH School District | $84,737 | 109 | 18 | +3.7% |
| 12 | Las Americas Aspira Academy | $83,277 | 115 | 12 | +1.9% |
| 13 | Appoquinimink School District | $81,938 | 1,221 | 14 | +0.2% |
| 14 | State of Delaware | $81,734 | 13,525 | 15 | — |
| 15 | Indian River School District | $81,639 | 1,076 | 15 | -0.1% |
| 16 | Sussex Academy | $79,064 | 70 | 16 | -3.3% |
| 17 | MOT Charter School | $77,885 | 103 | 15 | -4.7% |
| 18 | Academia Antonia Alonso | $75,682 | 68 | 9 | -7.4% |
| 19 | First State Montessori Academy | $75,306 | 48 | 12 | -7.9% |
| 20 | Delmar School District | $74,665 | 96 | 16 | -8.6% |
| 21 | Capital School District | $74,533 | 560 | 14 | -8.8% |
| 22 | Lake Forest School District | $74,519 | 309 | 15 | -8.8% |
| 23 | First State Military Academy | $73,947 | 35 | 12 | -9.5% |
| 24 | Great Oaks Charter School | $73,539 | 15 | 7 | -10.0% |
| 25 | Laurel School District | $73,471 | 194 | 15 | -10.1% |
| 26 | Smyrna School District | $73,359 | 502 | 14 | -10.2% |
| 27 | East Side Charter School | $73,206 | 59 | 11 | -10.4% |
| 28 | Kuumba Academy Charter School | $73,107 | 61 | 8 | -10.6% |
| 29 | Odyssey Charter School | $72,994 | 221 | 10 | -10.7% |
| 30 | Milford School District | $72,752 | 363 | 14 | -11.0% |
| 31 | Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence | $72,728 | 10 | 5 | -11.0% |
| 32 | Caesar Rodney School District | $72,666 | 732 | 13 | -11.1% |
| 33 | Positive Outcomes Charter School | $72,609 | 20 | 14 | -11.2% |
| 34 | Woodbridge School District | $71,550 | 262 | 13 | -12.5% |
| 35 | Seaford School District | $71,342 | 297 | 13 | -12.7% |
| 36 | Charter School of New Castle | $71,085 | 54 | 8 | -13.0% |
| 37 | Academy of Dover Charter School | $68,099 | 35 | 7 | -16.7% |
| 38 | Freire Charter School Wilmington | $64,943 | 27 | 5 | -20.5% |
| 39 | Campus Community School | $64,839 | 26 | 11 | -20.7% |
| 40 | Edison (Thomas A.) Charter School | $62,811 | 53 | 7 | -23.2% |
| 41 | Gateway Charter School | $61,940 | 29 | 12 | -24.2% |
| 42 | Sussex Montessori School | $61,444 | 22 | 4 | -24.8% |
| 43 | Early College High School at Del State | $61,390 | 33 | 11 | -24.9% |
| 44 | Providence Creek Academy Charter School | $59,744 | 54 | 9 | -26.9% |
The $150K Club — highest-paid education offices
| # | Office / school | District | Avg. salary | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polytech Administrative Office | POLYTECH School District | $166,250 | 3 |
| 2 | Providence Creek Academy Charter School | Providence Creek Academy Charter School | $164,229 | 1 |
| 3 | NCC Votech Administrative Office | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $158,325 | 13 |
| 4 | Brader (Henry M.) Elementary School | Christina School District | $152,883 | 1 |
| 5 | Brookside Elementary School | Christina School District | $151,667 | 1 |
| 6 | Jones (Albert H.) Elementary School | Christina School District | $151,417 | 1 |
| 7 | Academy of Dover Charter School | Academy of Dover Charter School | $150,730 | 2 |
| 8 | Hodgson (Paul M.) Vocational Technical High School | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $150,715 | 4 |
| 9 | Downes (John R.) Elementary School | Christina School District | $150,426 | 1 |
| 10 | Maclary (R. Elisabeth) Elementary School | Christina School District | $149,985 | 1 |
| 11 | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $149,394 | 31 |
| 12 | Pulaski Early Education Center | Christina School District | $148,883 | 1 |
| 13 | Networks | Christina School District | $148,819 | 2 |
| 14 | POLYTECH School District | POLYTECH School District | $147,610 | 8 |
| 15 | West Park Place Elementary School | Christina School District | $146,393 | 1 |
| 16 | Rehoboth Elementary School | Cape Henlopen School District | $145,910 | 2 |
| 17 | Delaware Skills Center | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $145,853 | 1 |
| 18 | New Castle Elementary School | Colonial School District | $145,606 | 1 |
| 19 | Pleasantville Elementary School | Colonial School District | $145,606 | 1 |
| 20 | Mariner Middle School | Cape Henlopen School District | $145,294 | 2 |
| 21 | Delcastle Technical High School | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $145,228 | 5 |
| 22 | Christiana High School | Christina School District | $144,330 | 6 |
| 23 | Keene (William B.) Elementary School | Christina School District | $144,241 | 2 |
| 24 | Beacon Middle School | Cape Henlopen School District | $143,780 | 3 |
| 25 | Delaware School for the Deaf School (DSD) | Christina School District | $143,591 | 4 |
| 26 | Christina Administrative Office | Christina School District | $143,560 | 24 |
| 27 | St. Georges Technical High School | New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District | $143,516 | 4 |
| 28 | Newark High School | Christina School District | $143,223 | 4 |
| 29 | Leasure (May B.) Elementary School | Christina School District | $143,130 | 1 |
| 30 | Towne Point Elementary School | Capital School District | $142,961 | 1 |
Official/administrative staff averages by organization, school year 2024–25. Offices with a single FTE (Polytech Administrative Office's 3-person office averages $166,250) are effectively one person's pay, published as an average.
For comparison: elected officials
| Office | Salary (statutory) |
|---|---|
| Governor | $185,096 |
| Secretary of State | $167,901 |
| State Treasurer | $142,425 |
| State Auditor | $142,425 |
Source: Ballotpedia. For per-person salary records, see OpenPayrolls, which republishes Delaware payroll data.
How to read this page
No individual names here: Delaware's published payroll checks are anonymized — the checkbook shows "Employee Compensation" and "Other Employment Costs/Benefits" as aggregate payees, so per-person state salaries are not derivable from these datasets. Educator figures are averages by organization from the Delaware Dept. of Education (state + local + federal shares combined). "Per position" overtime uses authorized positions, not headcount. Sources: Educator Average Salary · Educator Salary Distribution · State Checkbook · Appropriated Budgets
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