Teachers in DuPage County earned an average salary of $95,227 in 2025, the highest among all 102 Illinois counties, according to data reported by the DuPage Policy Journal from the Illinois State Board of Education's annual Schools Report Card.
For families in Community Unit School District 200, West Chicago Elementary District 33, and West Chicago Community High School District 94, the numbers come with a practical upside: the county's three-year teacher retention rate held at 91.9%, meaning roughly nine out of 10 teachers returned to the same district they taught in the year before.
That rate has barely budged in three years. It was 92.3% in 2023, 91.8% in 2024, and 91.9% in 2025, even as average salaries climbed from $85,929 to $95,227 over the same span.
Wheaton-area context
CUSD 200, which encompasses 21 schools including Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools, has positioned itself as a competitive employer. In August 2025, the Naperville Unit Education Association cited Wheaton 200 as one of several surrounding districts with a higher base teacher salary than Naperville 203 during its own contract talks.
Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Schuler's district has also tied facilities investment to staffing stability. In a January 2026 community newsletter, CUSD 200 leadership said the 2024 middle school referendum improvements are expected to help attract and retain teachers, calling the district a destination that families seek out for its education and staff quality.
District 33, which serves West Chicago elementary students, holds the highest financial designation, Financial Recognition, with a score of 3.90 in ISBE's 2025 Financial Profile. That signals fiscal capacity to sustain competitive pay.
Statewide picture
The retention numbers stand out against persistent teacher shortages across Illinois. The state still had more than 3,800 unfilled teaching positions in the 2024-25 school year, according to the Illinois Educator Shortage Survey, though that figure was down 5.6% from the prior year. ISBE's most recent data collection shows the statewide vacancy rate fell 24%, from 2.76% to 2.1%, between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.
DuPage County employed 10,763 full-time teachers across its 226 schools in 2025, serving 142,148 students at a 13-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio.
What's not yet clear
District-level retention and salary breakdowns for CUSD 200, District 33, and District 94 are not published in the county-wide ISBE data. None of the three districts has commented publicly on what the 2025 figures mean for upcoming contract cycles. Families looking for district-specific teacher data can search by district on the Illinois Report Card website.
School boards in the area are in summer recess; fall meeting dates have not been posted.
