Paradise Unified School District teacher salaries

Paradise Unified School District is a unified school district in Butte County, with its district office in Paradise. Pay starts at $57,726 on the first step. The largest group (87%) is on the BA+60 column, which climbs to $118,325 by step 32.

Lowest

$57,726

BA+30, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$90,738

  • $2,509 above Butte County average
  • $12,814 below California average

Highest

$118,325

BA+60, step 32

Paradise Unified average

Butte County average$88,229

California average$103,552

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
112
Starting salary
$57,726
BA+30, step 1
Median salary
$92,619
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
478th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Paradise 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

Paradise Unified's average of $90,738 is below the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Paradise Unified ranks 478th of 828.

Paradise Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 13 reporting districts in Butte County

Paradise Unified ranks 7th of 13, above the middle district.

Paradise 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 Paradise Unified's BA+30 column pays $62,820. Experienced teachers joining Paradise 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. Paradise Unified's columns run from BA+30 to BA+60, 3 in all.

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

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

$80,623

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $118,325 on step 32.

$118,325$57,726
Step 1Step 32
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Paradise Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 54% of Paradise Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBA+30BA+45BA+60
1
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

Only BA+60 continues past step 12.

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. 10
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 Paradise 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 Paradise Unified

How much do Paradise Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Paradise Unified's teacher schedule is $90,738 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $57,726 (BA+30, step 1) to $118,325 (BA+60, step 32).

What does a new teacher earn at Paradise Unified?

The schedule starts at $57,726 (BA+30, step 1). 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 Paradise Unified pay scale?

On the BA+60 column, where 87% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 32, where it reaches $118,325. Steps go up with years of service.

Does a master's degree raise pay at Paradise Unified?

Yes, in two ways. The college units from a master's move you to a higher column on the schedule, and Paradise Unified reports a master's bonus of $1,612 on top. For a doctorate it reports $1,612.

Is Paradise Unified teacher pay high for California?

Paradise Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 478th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 7th 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 Paradise 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. Paradise 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