Golden Valley Unified School District teacher salaries

Golden Valley Unified School District is a unified school district in Madera County, with its district office in Madera. A teacher with a full credential starts at $57,037. The largest group (36%) is on the BA+75 column, which climbs to $102,617 by step 20.

Lowest

$53,680

BA EMERG/ INTERN before a full credential, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$77,753

  • $6,351 below Madera County average
  • $25,799 below California average

Highest

$102,617

BA+75 with a credential, step 20

Golden Valley Unified average

Madera County average$84,104

California average$103,552above the highest salary here

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
146
Starting salary
$57,037
BA+29 with a credential, step 1
Median salary
$73,545
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
664th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Golden Valley 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

Golden Valley Unified's average of $77,753 is below the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Golden Valley Unified ranks 664th of 828.

Golden Valley Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 9 reporting districts in Madera County

Golden Valley Unified ranks 5th of 9, above the middle district.

Golden Valley Unified
$60k$80k$100k

Middle district: $77,753

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 Golden Valley Unified's BA+29 column pays $64,944. Experienced teachers joining Golden Valley Unified can be placed as high as step 20.
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. Golden Valley Unified's columns run from BA+29 to BA+75, 5 in all.
Credentialed
Holds a full California teaching credential, the state license to teach. Golden Valley Unified's credentialed columns start at $57,037.
Without full credential
Teachers who don't yet hold a full credential. Golden Valley Unified pays them on separate columns, starting at $53,680.

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

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

$82,693

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $102,617 on step 20.

$102,617$53,680
Step 1Step 20
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Golden Valley Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 29% of Golden Valley Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBA+29BA+30BA+45BA+60BA+75
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Only BA+60, BA+75 continue past step 11.

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. 24
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 Golden Valley 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 Golden Valley Unified

How much do Golden Valley Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Golden Valley Unified's teacher schedule is $77,753 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $53,680 (BA EMERG/ INTERN before a full credential, step 1) to $102,617 (BA+75 with a credential, step 20).

What does a new teacher earn at Golden Valley Unified?

A new teacher with a full credential starts at $57,037 (BA+29 column, step 1). Teachers without a full credential start lower, at $53,680. Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 20.

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

On the BA+75 column, where 36% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 20, where it reaches $102,617. Steps go up with years of service.

Does a master's degree raise pay at Golden Valley Unified?

Yes, in two ways. The college units from a master's move you to a higher column on the schedule, and Golden Valley Unified reports a master's bonus of $1,200 on top. For a doctorate it reports $1,750.

Is Golden Valley Unified teacher pay high for California?

Golden Valley Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 664th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 5th of 9 in Madera County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $84,104 in Madera County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in Madera County

Sources for the Golden Valley 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. Golden Valley 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