Teacher pay in California, by district (2026–27)

Updated 2026-11-05

The typical California district posts a teacher salary range of about $64,000 to $113,066 a year this school year. The highest posted ranges right now top out at Altus Schools (Riverside County) ($94,464–$195,344/yr), Las Lomitas Elementary ($90,480–$182,046/yr) and Altus Schools Mirus ($86,172–$178,988/yr). 2,213 teaching jobs are open today at 696 districts and schools.

The tables below cover 566 districts, charter schools and private schools, from 2,108 postings since July 1, and they update every day.

How to read a teacher salary range

Nearly every district pays teachers from a salary schedule: a grid with steps for years of service down the side and columns for education across the top (a bachelor's degree plus 30 units, plus 45, a master's, and so on). The range on a posting, say "$60,320 – $108,616 Annually," runs from the first step of the first column to the last step of the last column. A new teacher with a bachelor's degree starts near the bottom. The top takes twenty-some years and a stack of units.

Three things move you up faster than time. Districts credit some years of teaching elsewhere when they place you on the schedule, often with a cap, so ask what they'll count. College units past the bachelor's move you across the columns, and most schedules add a stipend for a master's or doctorate. And hard-to-staff jobs, special education, bilingual classes and some math and science, carry stipends or signing bonuses on top, which the posting will say.

The range is for a full-time contract over the regular work year, usually 180 to 186 days. Health benefits are separate and vary more than salary does: some districts pay the full premium for a family, others cap their share, and the difference can be worth more than a step. Charter schools set their own schedules; some start higher and top out lower. Private schools, which post on EDJOIN too, don't use a public schedule at all; their ranges are in the tables, usually near the bottom.

Teachers in a unified district are on one schedule from TK through twelfth grade, so the ranges below apply to TK teachers and high school teachers alike. Elementary and high school districts each have their own.

Teacher pay by district

Where these numbers come from

We read every teaching posting on EDJOIN and on the job boards of districts that post elsewhere, as long as it's open now or went up after July 1, 2026, and keep the ones that list an annual salary range for a full-time job on the regular schedule. Substitutes, part-time jobs, hourly and stipend positions, teachers on special assignment, and preschool and adult education teachers are left out. A district's range is the lowest low and the highest high across its postings, which is usually the whole schedule. Pay changes with every contract settlement, so check the posting and the district's current salary schedule before you apply.