What am I worth?

Steps come with years. Columns — BA+30, BA+45, BA+60 and so on — come with units you earn after your degree. For a veteran teacher who has stopped moving down the steps, a column change is often the fastest raise there is, and it lasts the rest of your career.

What each figure means

Every number on this page comes from the district's own report to the California Department of Education (Form J-90). The definitions in quotes are CDE's.

Nothing you enter is sent anywhere — this runs entirely in your browser, and your district choice is remembered on this device only. Elementary and high school districts overlap the same ground, so the map shows one set at a time; unified districts are in both.

Teacher estimate

Our line through the three state-reported points: start (year 1), BA+60 at step 10 (year 10), and the top of the schedule at the step where it's first reached — then flat. If a schedule tops out by step 10, the line runs straight from the start to the top. Year N is read as step N.

Start (lowest salary offered)

"The lowest salary that would be paid to an employee from the certificated salary schedule." For most districts that's a beginning teacher; in some it's a column for interns or emergency permits. The card shows the column name when the district reported one.

BA+60, step 10

"The amount that would be paid to an employee at step 10 with a requirement of a bachelor's degree plus an additional 60 semester units." Without a BA+60 column, the next lower column is used; without a step 10, step 9.

Highest salary offered

"The maximum salary that would be paid to an employee from the certificated salary schedule." Degree stipends count only when they're built into a schedule column.

Average salary paid

Total salary schedule cost divided by the full-time-equivalent staff on the schedule. It can include nurses, librarians and counselors who are paid on the teacher schedule.

One column to the right

On a teacher card, the typical raise for moving one column right at your step: the median gap between neighboring columns that reach that step on the district’s reported schedule. It’s shown only where at least three columns reach that step.

Highest entry step for experienced hires

The district's answer to "highest entry level for an experienced teacher" — how far up the schedule an experienced hire can start. A rough guide to how many outside years a district will credit. If it's step 10 and you have 20 years, you'd likely start at step 10 there, not step 20.

Principal and superintendent

"The average annual elementary / middle school / high school principal salary" and "the annual salary of the district superintendent." A few districts report a part-time superintendent; the card shows the share they reported.

What this map does not include

• It's an estimate. Where you'd actually land depends on the district's step-and-column rules, your units, and how many outside years it credits (see highest entry step above).
• No stipends or extra pay. None of these figures include a special education stipend, coaching or other extra-duty pay, extended-year pay, or stipends that aren't built into the schedule.
• Reporting was voluntary. Districts weren't required to file the J-90, so some have no figures. Those are hatched on the map.
• Benefits aren't here. Health coverage and the district's share of it can be worth more than a step or two on the schedule.
• County offices of education aren't mapped. They have no boundary of their own. A few districts under common administration report jointly; the card says so when that happens.
• 2024–25 is the last J-90 year. Starting in 2025–26, CDE collects this through a new form (the C-90). Raises negotiated since 2024–25 aren't reflected.

Check your real numbers

The authoritative source is your district's board-approved salary schedule, usually posted on the human resources page, and your union's current contract. If you're weighing a move, ask the district's HR office how many years of outside experience it will credit and in which column you'd be placed.