Ontario Teacher Pay Scale A1 to A4: What Each Category Needs
A, A1, A2, A3 and A4 are QECO salary categories, and each higher category needs more academic qualifications, starting with an acceptable undergraduate degree for A1. On the Halton elementary 2025-26 grid, A1 started at $57,703 and A4 at $70,194. A lender never reads the category itself; it reads the salary your board letter and pay stub show for that category.
Key takeaways
- A, A1, A2, A3 and A4 are salary categories set by a QECO evaluation of your academic record. A4 is the highest.
- A1 starts with an acceptable undergraduate degree. QECO lists 34 routes across the five categories, and each route must be met exactly as written.
- On the Halton elementary 2025-26 grid, step 0 ran from $51,370 in Category A to $70,194 in A4, and the top of each category ran from $88,499 to $119,969.
- Secondary agreements use Group 1 to Group 4 for the same ladder. The TDSB secondary agreement places a teacher with no Statement of Evaluation in Group 1 (A1) by default.
- A lender reads the salary on your board letter and pay stub. If your Statement of Evaluation has not reached the board yet, that salary may sit at a lower temporary category.
What do A, A1, A2, A3 and A4 mean on the teacher pay scale?
Every Ontario teacher grid has two directions. Steps run down the grid, one for each year of recognized experience. Categories run across it, and they are about qualifications, not years. The Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario, known as QECO, reads your transcripts and teaching qualifications and issues a Statement of Evaluation that names your category. Your board then places you on its own grid at that category.
The letters are the same across the province, but the dollars are not. Each board and local union negotiates its own grid. That is why a search for "Ontario teacher pay scale A1 A4" turns up a different table for every board. The category tells you which column you are in. Your board agreement tells you what that column pays.
What qualifications put you in each category?
QECO publishes a General Education Chart with 34 numbered routes. The chart says the requirements for each route must be met exactly as described before the category is granted, so treat the summary below as a map, not a ruling on your own record. Technological education teachers have a separate chart.
| Category | Examples of routes on the QECO chart |
|---|---|
| A | No university degree (route 1). |
| A1 | An acceptable undergraduate university degree (route 2). |
| A2 | An acceptable four-year undergraduate degree (route 3), or a three-year degree plus Part I and Part II of a three-part Specialist qualification (route 6). |
| A3 | An undergraduate degree plus an Honour Specialist qualification (route 8), a four-year degree with first or second-class standing (route 10), or Category A2 plus one of the add-ons the chart lists (route 16). |
| A4 | A four-year degree with first or second-class standing plus an Honour Specialist qualification (route 17), a four-year degree with first or second-class standing plus an acceptable master's degree (route 21), or Category A3 plus one of the add-ons the chart lists (route 33). |
Additional Qualification courses, Specialist and Honour Specialist qualifications all appear in the routes, and the counting rules are detailed. Ask QECO to assess your record before paying for courses with a category in mind.
What does each category pay?
One published grid shows the spread. The Halton elementary grid for September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026, the last year of the 2022-2026 agreement, pays the figures below. The top of each column is the highest step that category reaches on that grid, and the columns do not all have the same number of steps.
Secondary teachers read the same ladder with different labels. The TDSB secondary agreement places teachers by Group, using the QECO Certification Plan, and its adult day school appendix spells out that a teacher with no Statement of Evaluation is placed in Group 1 (A1) by default until one is received. Group 4 is the A4 equivalent.
| Category | Step 0 | Top of category | Top step |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | $51,370 | $88,499 | Step 9 |
| A1 | $57,703 | $94,510 | Step 9 |
| A2 | $61,647 | $102,834 | Step 10 |
| A3 | $66,255 | $111,552 | Step 11 |
| A4 | $70,194 | $119,969 | Step 11 |
How much can each category borrow?
A lender turns salary into a mortgage amount with a qualifying rate and debt service limits. For an uninsured mortgage, OSFI sets the qualifying rate at the greater of the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25 per cent. CMHC lists maximum ratios of 39 per cent for gross debt service and 44 per cent for total debt service.
The table below uses the Halton figures, a qualifying rate of 6.00 per cent, a 25-year amortization, the 39 per cent limit, $3,000 a year of property tax and $100 a month for heat, with no other debts. It is arithmetic on stated assumptions, not an approval. Car loans, student lines of credit and condo fees all pull the number down.
| Category | At step 0 | At top of category |
|---|---|---|
| A | about $206,200 | about $394,800 |
| A1 | about $238,400 | about $425,400 |
| A2 | about $258,400 | about $467,700 |
| A3 | about $281,800 | about $511,900 |
| A4 | about $301,900 | about $554,700 |
At step 0, each move up one category on this grid adds roughly $20,000 to $32,000 of estimated borrowing room. Your own board, step and debts set your real figure.
Which category does a lender use?
A lender does not look up your category on a QECO chart. It reads the annual salary on your board employment letter and checks it against your pay stub. The category matters only because it sets that salary.
That creates a timing trap for new hires. The Peel elementary agreement gives a new teacher until the later of June 30 of the first school year or five months from the start date to submit a verified Statement of Evaluation. Until it arrives, a teacher with a degree is placed temporarily in A1, and pay is adjusted back to the start date if the paperwork lands inside the deadline. Peel also says there is no movement on the salary schedule without a QECO Statement of Evaluation.
So a teacher who expects A3 may hold an employment letter that shows an A1 salary. A lender will usually work from the lower number on the paper unless the board confirms the higher placement. Get the evaluation in before you shop, and ask HR for a fresh letter once your placement is final.
What to do this week
- Find your QECO Statement of Evaluation and check the category it names.
- Look at your most recent pay stub. Confirm it pays the category and step you expect.
- If you are new and your evaluation is still with QECO, note your board's submission deadline and send it as soon as it arrives.
- Ask HR for an employment letter that states your status, category, step and annual salary.
- Run your real salary through the affordability calculator before you look at homes.
- The Ontario teacher salary grid tool
- Teacher affordability calculator
- Get a free teacher mortgage review
General information for Ontario teachers, not advice on your own file. Lender and insurer rules vary. Confirm your category and salary with QECO and your board.
Sources and dates
Figures in this guide come from the sources below. Each entry shows the date the source published it, or the date it was accessed when the source does not state one. After the review date, treat any number as a starting point and check the source.
- Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario (QECO), General Education Chart (routes 1 to 34) (as of 2026-10-27)
- ETFO Halton local collective agreement, salary grids (L10.01.03, September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026) (as of 2025-26)
- ETFO Peel (PETL) collective agreement 2022-2026 (L23.05 and L23.06, QECO Statement of Evaluation) (as of 2025-26)
- OSSTF Toronto (TTBU) collective agreement 2022-2026 (L6.2 and Local Appendix D, Group placement) (as of 2025-26)
- OSFI, minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (as of 2026-01-29)
- CMHC, mortgage loan insurance for homeownership: debt service ratios (as of 2026-10-27)
First published . Updated . Source dates are listed above.
Common questions
What is the difference between A1 and A4 for Ontario teachers?+
They are QECO qualification categories. A1 starts with an acceptable undergraduate degree, and A4 needs more, such as a four-year degree plus an Honour Specialist qualification or a master's on top of a strong four-year degree. On the Halton elementary 2025-26 grid, A1 started at $57,703 and A4 at $70,194.
What category does a new teacher with a B.Ed start in?+
It depends on the whole academic record QECO assesses, not the B.Ed alone. An acceptable undergraduate degree meets A1, and a four-year degree or added qualifications can place you higher. Your Statement of Evaluation names the category.
Is Group 4 the same as A4?+
Yes. Secondary agreements label the QECO ladder Group 1 to Group 4. The TDSB secondary agreement, for example, ties Group 1 to A1.
Will a lender use my category or my salary?+
Your salary. The lender reads the annual figure on your board letter and pay stub. If your board has you at a temporary category while your evaluation is pending, the letter will show that lower salary until HR updates it.
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