Lifestyle

The house and car you can afford on a teacher’s salary in South Africa in 2026

Malcolm Libera

 ·21 Jun 2026

Public school teachers can afford a house worth between R32,000 and R3.37 million and cars worth between R310,000 and R1.13 million, depending on their position, qualifications, and experience.

The Department of Basic Education publishes an annual salary adjustment report for teachers in South Africa.

This report details teacher salary notches, which range significantly based on qualification, experience, and seniority.

The lowest salary scale for educators is R169,707 per year, while the highest salary is R1.327 million. Taking inclusive packages into consideration, this maximum can reach as high as R1.76 million

The latest data shows that South Africa’s public education system employs around 410,000 teachers in 25,000 schools.

However, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube revealed in a recent parliamentary Q&A that South Africa has lost over 32,000 teachers in the past five years.

This averages to more than 6,000 educators leaving the teaching industry each year. Of these departures, 30,992 were resignations attributed to overwhelming workload pressures, career changes, and emigration.

A teacher’s basic salary is determined by their notch on the salary scales published in the Government Gazette.

The notch on which a teacher enters public service depends on their qualifications and years of experience.

For example, a teacher with a matric and four years of university education would enter Notch 164. In their first year of employment, this translates to a basic annual salary of R366,051.

Teachers who meet minimum performance requirements move up to a higher salary notch each year, and they remain in government service.

This means that teachers’ salaries increase with experience. As such, older teachers will earn more than younger teachers with the same qualifications.

When a teacher gets a promotion, they will earn more because they will be moved to a higher salary notch.

This means that department heads, deputy principals, and principals earn much more than ordinary teachers with the same qualifications.

Due to the many variables determining a teacher’s salary, BusinessTech looked at examples of the houses and cars that can be afforded by entry teachers who have a Relative Equivalent Qualification Value (REQV) of 14 and the top-paid principals.

This is because, according to the central system used for administering the public service payroll (Persal), 66% of teachers had a Relative Equivalent Qualification Value (REQV) 14 qualification.

This is the minimum required level of education to register as a fully professionally qualified teacher with the South African Council of Educators (SACE).

Comparing this to the top-paid principals also gives you an idea of how much the salary scales and the standards of living vary between the salary bands and notches.

The full gazette with all salary notches can be read here.

Houses

According to Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts South Africa, banks clearly prefer lending to home buyers whose monthly bond cost is no more than 30% of their single or joint gross monthly income.

This 30% income threshold for home loans has been a common measure of loan affordability among South African banks.

For instance, institutions like SA Homeloans have stated that they will not approve a home loan if the repayments exceed this percentage of a borrower’s single or joint gross monthly income.

Gray emphasised that adhering to the 30% guideline ensures that home buyers maintain a balanced financial portfolio, allowing room for other expenses and savings.

Gray also noted that this threshold is important because it also leaves room for additional monthly payments to be made into a home loan account.

This can reduce the final cost of the home loan and decrease the payment period​​.

Considering this, BusinessTech estimated the price of a property that one or two individuals, assuming you have a partner, could afford on the average salary in South Africa.

To calculate this, we used Absa’s bond calculator, assuming a 20-year home loan period at an interest rate of 11.75%.

Based on these assumptions, the table below outlines the price and monthly bond repayment amount that teachers could afford at the minimum REQV 14 salary and the maximum Principal P5 salary in South Africa.

Using these figures, we then looked at various properties currently on the market at these price points.

1 Bedroom Apartment in Westlake Eco Estate – R899,000

3 Bedroom House in Willow Acres Estate – R3.3 million

Cars

Industry experts still recommend that prospective buyers shouldn’t spend more than a quarter (25%) of their monthly income on vehicle-related costs, including:

• Vehicle instalments
• Insurance premiums
• Fuel costs

Below, BusinessTech looked at what you can afford to buy on the minimum REQV 14 salary and the maximum Principal P5 salary in South Africa.

We used the above assumption that people will not spend more than 20% of their gross monthly income on vehicle financing, as per expert recommendations.

The calculations were made using Absa’s repayments calculator and include the assumption of a 0% deposit for car financing. They also exclude any additional fees incurred during the loan’s inception into the calculation.

The cars are financed over five years (60 months) at an annual interest rate of 10.50% (prime).

Using these figures, we then looked at various properties currently on the market at these price points.

Lepas L4 1.5 Amur – R299,900

BMW 420i Coupe M Sport – R1.005 million