Durham Unified School District teacher salaries

Durham Unified School District is a unified school district in Butte County, with its district office in Durham. A teacher with a full credential starts at $53,570. The largest group (63%) is on the BA+60 column, which climbs to $107,146 by step 32.

Lowest

$50,892

INTERN before a full credential, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$72,782

  • $15,447 below Butte County average
  • $30,770 below California average

Highest

$107,146

BA+60 with a credential, step 32

Durham Unified average

Butte County average$88,229

California average$103,552

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
57
Starting salary
$53,570
BA+30 with a credential, step 1
Median salary
$67,953
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
732nd of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Durham Unified pay teachers more than the median California district?

Line up all 828 reporting California districts from the lowest average salary to the highest. The one in the middle is the median district: half the districts pay a lower average, half pay a higher one. A median isn't pulled up or down by a few unusually high- or low-paying districts, so it shows what a typical district pays.

No

Durham Unified's average of $72,782 is below the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Durham Unified ranks 732nd of 828.

Durham Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 13 reporting districts in Butte County

Durham Unified ranks 13th of 13, below the middle district.

Durham Unified
$80k$100k

Middle district: $90,738

Each bar counts the districts whose average salary falls in a $5,000 band. The dashed line marks the median district.

What BA+98, steps and credentials mean

Teacher pay in California is set by a grid. Two things place you on it: how long you've taught and how much college you've done.

Step
Steps go up with years of service. Step 5 on Durham Unified's BA+30 column pays $57,943. Experienced teachers joining Durham Unified can be placed as high as step 32.
Column, such as BA+98
Your bachelor's degree (BA) plus the college semester units you've completed since. BA+98 means a bachelor's plus 98 more units. Durham Unified's columns run from BA+30 to BA+60, 3 in all.
Credentialed
Holds a full California teaching credential, the state license to teach. Durham Unified's credentialed columns start at $53,570.
Without full credential
Teachers who don't yet hold a full credential. Durham Unified pays them on separate columns, starting at $50,892.

How fast does a teacher's salary grow at Durham Unified?

Pick a column and a step to see the salary, and how far it is from the top.

$69,924

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $107,146 on step 32.

$107,146$50,892
Step 1Step 32
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Durham Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

No single cell here has 5 or more full-time equivalents, so none is shaded. 30% of Durham Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBA+30BA+45BA+60
1 to 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Tap any salary to see how many full-time equivalents are paid it and follow it on the chart above.

Full-time equivalents in a cell
  1. 5+
  5. 0
Cells with fewer than 5 stay unshaded. Bold figures sit in the three darkest shades.Striped cells: this column has no salary at that step.

Bonuses, health cover and work days at Durham Unified

Bonuses are paid on top of the schedule, in the amounts the district reported.2 Teachers are exempt from federal overtime pay.3 Extra pay for coaching, clubs and similar duties isn't part of this report.

Questions about teacher pay at Durham Unified

How much do Durham Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Durham Unified's teacher schedule is $72,782 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $50,892 (INTERN before a full credential, step 1) to $107,146 (BA+60 with a credential, step 32).

What does a new teacher earn at Durham Unified?

A new teacher with a full credential starts at $53,570 (BA+30 column, step 1). Teachers without a full credential start lower, at $50,892. Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 32.

How long does it take to reach the top of the Durham Unified pay scale?

On the BA+60 column, where 63% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 32, where it reaches $107,146. Steps go up with years of service.

Is Durham Unified teacher pay high for California?

Durham Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 732nd of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 13th of 13 in Butte County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $88,229 in Butte County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in Butte County

Sources for the Durham Unified figures

Salaries are the annual amounts on the district's certificated salary schedule. Following the state's definitions, they leave out extended-year pay, bonuses and extra-curricular pay such as coaching. Counts are full-time equivalents, so two half-time teachers count as one, and they can include counselors, nurses and librarians paid on the same schedule. County averages, ranks and percentages are our own arithmetic on these figures; our statewide average matches the state's published $103,552.

  1. California Department of Education, Selected Certificated Salaries and Related Statistics, 2024-25, Table I: average salary paid, raise on last year, highest starting step. The median salary is our own calculation from source 2.
  2. Durham Unified's report to the California Department of Education, Form J-90 database, 2024-25: salary schedule, full-time equivalents per cell, bonuses, health contributions, work days.
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #17D: Exemption for Professional Employees Under the FLSA: teachers are exempt from federal overtime pay.

How we read the data