Laguna Beach Unified School District teacher salaries

Laguna Beach Unified School District is a unified school district in Orange County, with its district office in Laguna Beach. Pay starts at $74,634 on the first step. The largest group (40%) is on the MA+55 WHOLE YR column, which climbs to $152,390 by step 18.

Lowest

$74,634

BA WHOLE YR, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$143,700

  • $30,459 above Orange County average
  • $40,148 above California average

Highest

$173,453

MA+60+24 WHOLE YR, step 24

Laguna Beach Unified average

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

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
158
Starting salary
$74,634
BA WHOLE YR, step 1
Median salary
$145,628
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
7th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Laguna Beach 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

Laguna Beach Unified's average of $143,700 is above the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Laguna Beach Unified ranks 7th of 828.

Laguna Beach Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 29 reporting districts in Orange County

Laguna Beach Unified ranks 1st of 29, above the middle district.

Laguna Beach 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 Laguna Beach Unified's BA WHOLE YR column pays $92,188. Experienced teachers joining Laguna Beach Unified can be placed as high as step 5.
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. Laguna Beach Unified's columns run from BA WHOLE YR to MA+60+24 HALF YR, 12 in all.

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

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

$133,666

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $152,390 on step 18.

$173,453$74,634
Step 1Step 25
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Laguna Beach Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 52% of Laguna Beach Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBA WHOLE YRBA+15 WHOLE YRBA+30 WHOLE YRBA+30 HALF YRBA+45 WHOLE YRBA+45 HALF YRMA+55 WHOLE YRMA+55 HALF YRMA+60+17 WHOLE YRMA+60+17 HALF YRMA+60+24 WHOLE YRMA+60+24 HALF YR
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 to 14
15
16 to 17
18
19
20
21
22 to 23
24
25

Only MA+60+24 HALF YR continues past step 24.

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. 27
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 Laguna Beach 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 Laguna Beach Unified

How much do Laguna Beach Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Laguna Beach Unified's teacher schedule is $143,700 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $74,634 (BA WHOLE YR, step 1) to $173,453 (MA+60+24 WHOLE YR, step 24).

What does a new teacher earn at Laguna Beach Unified?

The schedule starts at $74,634 (BA WHOLE YR, step 1). Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 5.

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

On the MA+55 WHOLE YR column, where 40% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 18, where it reaches $152,390. Steps go up with years of service.

Is Laguna Beach Unified teacher pay high for California?

Laguna Beach Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 7th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 1st 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 Laguna Beach 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. Laguna Beach 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