What is the starting salary for a HWDSB teacher?

A new HWDSB teacher starts around $56,156 for 2025-26, moving up one step per year of experience and higher with more QECO qualifications.

What is the top of the HWDSB salary grid?

The top of the HWDSB grid is $119,980, reached at the highest QECO category (A4) and top step.

How much do occasional or supply teachers make at HWDSB?

Daily occasional pay at HWDSB is about $292 per day. A long-term occasional (LTO) teacher is paid on the grid at 1/194 of the annual rate per day.

How is LTO pay calculated?

A long-term occasional teacher is paid the annual grid rate for their category and step, prorated at 1/194 per day worked.

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board teacher salary grid, 2025-26

What HWDSB teachers earn by QECO category and step for the 2025-26 school year, straight from the collective agreement. Find your exact spot below.

A HWDSB teacher earns from $56,156 at the start of the grid up to $119,980 at the top (category A4) for the 2025-26 school year.

Your school board

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HWDSB ETFO grid (2025-26)

HWDSB ETFO salary grid, 2025-26. Annual salary by QECO category and step.
Step	A1	A2	A3	A4
Step 0	$56,156	$59,223	$63,817	$67,388
Step 1	$59,223	$62,537	$67,647	$71,469
Step 2	$62,280	$65,857	$71,469	$75,558
Step 3	$65,339	$69,174	$75,299	$79,637
Step 4	$68,403	$72,491	$79,130	$83,730
Step 5	$71,469	$75,812	$82,966	$87,813
Step 6	$74,538	$79,130	$86,797	$91,892
Step 7	$77,599	$82,452	$90,620	$95,972
Step 8	$80,669	$85,767	$94,444	$100,055
Step 9	$83,730	$89,083	$98,271	$104,149
Step 10	$86,797	$92,405	$102,105	$108,233
Step 11	$93,935	$99,554	$112,325	$119,980

Source: ETFO Hamilton-Wentworth (HWETL) teachers CA 2022-2026. Confirm your placement against your own pay stub or local agreement.

HWDSB OSSTF grid (2025-26)

HWDSB OSSTF salary grid, 2025-26. Annual salary by QECO category and step.
Step	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Step 0	$56,155	$59,223	$63,818	$67,387
Step 1	$59,223	$62,536	$67,647	$71,469
Step 2	$62,280	$65,857	$71,469	$75,558
Step 3	$65,340	$69,172	$75,299	$79,637
Step 4	$68,402	$72,491	$79,130	$83,729
Step 5	$71,469	$75,811	$82,964	$87,813
Step 6	$74,538	$79,130	$86,796	$91,892
Step 7	$77,600	$82,452	$90,620	$95,972
Step 8	$80,670	$85,765	$94,444	$100,056
Step 9	$83,729	$89,084	$98,271	$104,148
Step 10	$86,796	$92,405	$102,104	$108,234
Step 11	$93,935	$99,554	$112,325	$119,978

Source: OSSTF District 21 (HWDSB) teachers CA 2022-2026. Confirm your placement against your own pay stub or local agreement.

How the grid actually works

Two things set your pay: your QECO category (your education) and your step (one per year of experience). Boards differ in the exact dollars, but the structure is province-wide. For 2025-26, every board's grid rose 2.5%, and the top category (A4) tops out near $121,000 almost everywhere.

The QECO categories

ANo university degreeThe floor if you teach without a university degree. Catholic boards label this B or A0.

A1A university degreeWhere most teachers start. A B.Ed plus your first degree places you at A1. Secondary boards may call this Group 1.

A2Degree plus extra qualificationsA four-year degree, or a degree with added AQ courses or standing.

A3Honour Specialist or five-year degreeA degree with an Honour Specialist, a five-year degree, or a degree with first or second class standing plus specialist qualifications.

A4The top categoryThe highest combinations: degree plus Honour Specialist, or a master’s or doctorate combined with a degree and specialist qualifications. A bare master’s alone does not jump you here.

+2.5%

raise for 2025-26

Applied to every board’s grid from the central deal.

÷ 194

LTO daily pay

A long-term occasional day pays the grid annual rate divided by 194.

$215–$300

daily supply rate

Per-diem for daily occasional teaching, varies by board.

What a HWDSB salary supports as a mortgage

Run from the 2025-26 figures on this page, using the standard debt-service ratios, 39 per cent gross and 44 per cent total, at the stress-test rate over a 25-year amortization. Shown with no other debts, because a car loan or a student line of credit comes out of the 44 per cent side and lowers this.

An approximation, not an approval. Your own number moves with property tax, condo fees, existing debts and which lender the file goes to. Two teaching salaries in one household support slightly more than double, because property tax and heat are spread across both.
Where you sit	Salary	Mortgage, roughly
Start of the grid	$56,156	$231,000
Top of the grid	$119,980	$555,000

A purchase at the top-of-grid figure needs at least $36,667 down on a 90 per cent loan-to-value basis, with land transfer tax on top and payable in cash. See the full working, or what one more step up the grid is worth.

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