Garden Grove Unified School District teacher salaries

Garden Grove Unified School District is a unified school district in Orange County, with its district office in Garden Grove. Pay starts at $72,504 on the first step. The largest group (83%) is on the BA+60 column, which climbs to $141,634 by step 25.

Lowest

$72,504

BA, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$125,040

  • $11,799 above Orange County average
  • $21,488 above California average

Highest

$141,634

BA+60, step 25

Garden Grove Unified average

AveragesCalifornia $103,552, Orange County $113,241

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
1,910
Starting salary
$72,504
BA, step 1
Median salary
$133,541
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
32nd of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Garden Grove 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.

Yes

Garden Grove Unified's average of $125,040 is above the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Garden Grove Unified ranks 32nd of 828.

Garden Grove Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 29 reporting districts in Orange County

Garden Grove Unified ranks 2nd of 29, above the middle district.

Garden Grove Unified
$100k$120k$140k

Middle district: $111,191

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 Garden Grove Unified's BA column pays $80,934. Experienced teachers joining Garden Grove Unified can be placed as high as step 25.
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. Garden Grove Unified's columns run from BA to BA+60, 5 in all.

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

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

$117,354

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $141,634 on step 25.

$141,634$72,504
Step 1Step 25
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Garden Grove Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 59% of Garden Grove Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBABA+15BA+30BA+45BA+60
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 to 15
16
17 to 19
20 to 24
25

Only BA+60 continues past step 16.

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. 508
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 Garden Grove 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 Garden Grove Unified

How much do Garden Grove Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Garden Grove Unified's teacher schedule is $125,040 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $72,504 (BA, step 1) to $141,634 (BA+60, step 25).

What does a new teacher earn at Garden Grove Unified?

The schedule starts at $72,504 (BA, step 1). Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 25.

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

On the BA+60 column, where 83% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 25, where it reaches $141,634. Steps go up with years of service.

Is Garden Grove Unified teacher pay high for California?

Garden Grove Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 32nd of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 2nd of 29 in Orange County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $113,241 in Orange County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in Orange County

Sources for the Garden Grove 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. Garden Grove 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