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Average Salaries & Expenditure Percentage - CalEdFacts

This content is part of California Department of Education's information and media guide about education in the State of California. For similar information on other topics, visit the full CalEdFacts.

Statewide Average Salaries
and Expenditure Percentages: 2020–21

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction is required by California Education Code (EC) Section 41409(c) to provide annually to each school district, for use in the School Accountability Report Card (SARC), the statewide salary averages for teachers and administrators and the statewide percentage of expenditures spent on personnel in the following categories:

  1. Beginning, midrange, and highest salary paid to teachers
  2. Salaries of school-site principals
  3. Salaries of district superintendents
  4. Percentage of expenditures allocated to teacher salaries
  5. Percentage of expenditures allocated to administrative personnel salaries

Existing law also requires the State Superintendent to group the statewide salary averages and percentage of expenditures by district type (elementary, high, and unified) and by size based on regular annual average daily attendance.

Every school district, except for kindergarten through grade twelve districts with a single school, must include in its SARC (EC Section 41409.3) the statewide averages and expenditure percentages provided by the State Superintendent along with the district’s salaries and expenditure percentages for comparative purposes.

For more information regarding statewide average salary fiscal information, contact the Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services by phone at 916-322-1770 or by email at sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov. Questions concerning program information should be directed to the Policy and Evaluation Division by phone at 916-319-0875 or by email at sarc@cde.ca.gov. Additional information is also available on the California Department of Education SARC web page.

Statewide Average Salaries and Expenditure Percentages for the School Accountability Report Card: 2020–21

ADA = Average Daily Attendance

Elementary School Districts
Statewide Averages Small
ADA <1,000
Medium
ADA 1,000 to 4,999
Large
ADA ≥5,000
Beginning Teacher Annual Salary $46,844 $51,591 $52,641
Midrange Teacher Annual Salary $73,398 $79,620 $83,981
Highest Teacher Annual Salary $93,345
$104,866 $107,522
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (Elementary) $116,457
$131,473
$136,247
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (Middle) $122,115
$135,064
$142,248
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (High) N/A $137,679
$139,199
District Superintendent Annual Salary $136,296
$205,661
$242,166
Percentage Allocated for Administrative Salaries 6.44%
5.87%
5.47%
Percentage Allocated for Teacher Salaries 29.92%
33.33% 34.07%
High School Districts
Statewide Averages Small
ADA <1,000
Medium
ADA 1,000 to 3,999
Large
ADA ≥4,000
Beginning Teacher Annual Salary $50,126
$50,352
$55,947
Midrange Teacher Annual Salary $61,890
$83,849
$90,080
Highest Teacher Annual Salary $99,120
$103,007
$117,121
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (Elementary) N/A N/A N/A
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (Middle) N/A $169,216
$146,364
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (High) $128,609
$144,431
$164,633
District Superintendent Annual Salary $145,986
$193,259
$261,984
Percentage Allocated for Administrative Salaries 5.96% 5.68% 4.57%
Percentage Allocated for Teacher Salaries 26.75% 30.40% 31.49%
Unified School Districts
Statewide Averages ADA
<1,500
ADA
1,500
to 4,999
ADA
5,000
to 9,999
ADA
10,000
to 19,999
ADA
≥20,000
Beginning Teacher Annual Salary $46,419
$48,503
$52,478
$54,370
$51,081
Midrange Teacher Annual Salary $69,902
$74,912
$80,810
$82,681
$77,514
Highest Teacher Annual Salary $97,912
$100,321
$101,276
$106,610
$105,764
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (Elementary) $111,731
$122,160
$127,080
$135,283
$133,421
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (Middle) $122,012
$127,632 $134,264
$141,244
$138,594
School-Site Principal Annual Salary (High) $122,212
$137,578
$147,200
$152,955
$153,392
District Superintendent Annual Salary $150,971
$198,665
$242,351
$264,367
$298,377
Percentage Allocated for Administrative Salaries 6.10% 5.61% 5.51% 5.03% 4.97%
Percentage Allocated for Teacher Salaries 28.52% 30.66% 32.58% 33.09% 31.60%

The average salary of public school teachers in 202021 for the State of California was $85,856.

According to Table B-6 of the National Education Association’s (NEA) Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2021 and Estimates of School Statistics 2022 report, California’s 2020–21 average teacher salary ranked third highest in comparison to all other states. To download and view NEA's full report, please visit NEA's web site External link opens in new window or tab..

Questions:   Financial Accountability & Information Services | sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-1770
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, August 22, 2023
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