How experienced are Leander ISD teachers, and how many leave?

In short

• Average teacher experience in 2024-25: 12.9 years, vs. 11.2 statewide.¹
• Teacher turnover: 16.8% left, vs. 18.8% statewide. It peaked at 22.0% in the 2022-23 report.¹²
• Pay by experience: new teachers earn about $2,000 more than the state average. Teachers with 11 or more years earn about $3,700 to $4,700 less (our math).¹³

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

How it works

• The state publishes a yearly report on every district, called the Texas Academic Performance Report. It lists teacher experience, pay and turnover.¹
• Turnover is the share of teachers from one fall who are no longer teaching in the district the next fall. It includes retirements and moves to other jobs in the district.¹
• Pay here is “regular duties only.” It leaves out extra pay for coaching and other duties.¹

What the numbers show

Teacher turnover, district vs. state (report year)

Report	Leander ISD	State
2019-20	15.1%	16.8%
2020-21	10.3%	14.3%
2021-22	16.8%	17.7%
2022-23	22.0%	21.4%
2023-24	17.5%	19.1%
2024-25	16.8%	18.8%

Average pay by years of experience, 2024-25

Experience	Leander ISD	State	Difference (our math)
Beginning	$57,673	$55,689	+$1,984
1-5 years	$57,976	$59,266	−$1,290
6-10 years	$59,630	$62,607	−$2,977
11-20 years	$62,662	$66,353	−$3,691
21-30 years	$66,873	$70,976	−$4,103
Over 30 years	$70,391	$75,042	−$4,651

Source: state reports for Leander ISD.¹²

• Few brand-new teachers: 4.8% of teachers were in their first year, vs. 7.3% statewide.¹
• Pay rises slowly with experience here. A 30-year teacher earns about $12,700 more than a new one. Statewide the gap is about $19,400 (our math).³

Nearby districts, 2024-25 (average pay, regular duties only)

District	Beginning	6-10 years	11-20 years	Over 30 years	Avg. experience	Turnover
Leander	$57,673	$59,630	$62,662	$70,391	12.9 years	16.8%
Round Rock	$57,675	$60,442	$64,232	$76,016	11.8 years	19.2%
Georgetown	$54,590	$59,379	$63,603	$75,067	12.0 years	20.9%
Austin	$54,565	$62,233	$67,736	$78,101	10.2 years	17.9%
Liberty Hill	$54,850	$56,765	$59,767	$70,529	10.5 years	21.0%
Hutto	$56,509	$59,303	$64,231	$69,639	10.1 years	19.7%

Source: state reports for each district.⁴

• New teachers: Leander and Round Rock have the highest starting averages in this group. Round Rock is a few dollars higher.¹⁴
• Teachers with 11-20 years: Leander pays less than Round Rock, Georgetown, Austin and Hutto. Only Liberty Hill pays less (our math).⁴³
• Turnover: Leander had the lowest rate of these six districts.⁴

The other side

• The state average includes big-city districts with higher pay, so being below it is not unusual for a suburban district.
• Lower turnover can have many causes, such as local job markets and housing costs, not just pay.
• The jump in average experience from 11.7 to 12.9 years in one report happened in one report. The state’s definition did not change, and the state average barely moved. The number of Leander teachers with over 30 years more than doubled in one year, from 76 to 183. The reports do not say why.²⁵

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We removed our guess about why average teacher experience jumped. The page now gives the facts and says the reports do not explain it.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We checked every figure against its source. We no longer say Leander ties Round Rock on starting pay. Round Rock is slightly higher.

Questions to ask

• Does the district plan to change its pay scale for experienced teachers?
• Has the district updated teachers’ experience records with the state?
• How does the district explain past changes in teacher turnover?

What we still don’t know

• How many leaving teachers retired, moved districts or left teaching.
• Whether the district corrected its teachers’ experience records in 2024-25.

Footnotes

1. Texas Education Agency, 2024-25 Texas Academic Performance Report, Leander ISD (246913), Staff Information: average years experience of teachers 12.9 (state 11.2); teachers by years of experience, beginning 148.7 (4.8%; state 7.3%); average teacher salary by years of experience (regular duties only) $57,673 / $57,976 / $59,630 / $62,662 / $66,873 / $70,391 (state $55,689 / $59,266 / $62,607 / $66,353 / $70,976 / $75,042); turnover rate for teachers 16.8% (state 18.8%). Saved copy. https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/tapr/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Same reports for earlier years, turnover rate for teachers (district, state): 2019-20 15.1%, 16.8%; 2020-21 10.3%, 14.3%; 2021-22 16.8%, 17.7%; 2022-23 22.0%, 21.4%; 2023-24 17.5%, 19.1%. Average years experience of teachers 11.7 in the 2023-24 report (with district 6.6; 7.7 in 2024-25). Teachers with over 30 years: 76.0 FTE (2.5%) in the 2023-24 report, 182.6 (5.9%) in 2024-25; state 11,200.2 and 11,237.9. Saved copy. https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/tapr/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Our math. District minus state for each row, e.g. $57,673 − $55,689 = $1,984 and $70,391 − $75,042 = −$4,651. $70,391 − $57,673 = $12,718; $75,042 − $55,689 = $19,353. Nearby districts, 11-20 years: Leander $62,662 vs Round Rock $64,232, Georgetown $63,603, Austin $67,736, Hutto $64,231, Liberty Hill $59,767. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Texas Education Agency, 2024-25 Texas Academic Performance Report, district staff information for Round Rock ISD (246909), Georgetown ISD (246904), Austin ISD (227901), Liberty Hill ISD (246908) and Hutto ISD (246906): average teacher salary by years of experience (regular duties only), average years experience of teachers, and turnover rate for teachers, as shown in the table. Saved copy. https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/tapr/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Texas Education Agency, 2024-25 Comprehensive TAPR Glossary, page 35: average years experience of teachers is “the average number of completed years of professional experience, regardless of district”; teachers by years of experience counts total years for each person. https://tea.texas.gov/school-and-district-leaders/accountability/academic-accountability/performance-reporting/2024-25-comprehensive-tapr-glossary-0.pdf ↩