Sacramento City Unified School District teacher salaries

Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) is a unified school district in Sacramento County, with its district office in Sacramento. A teacher with a full credential starts at $62,966. The largest group (72%) is on the BA+90 OR MA+39 column, which climbs to $132,487 by step 20.

Lowest

$61,429

BA before a full credential, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule¹

$109,230

$11,881 above Sacramento County average
$5,678 above California average

Highest

$132,487

BA+90 OR MA+39 with a credential, step 20

Sacramento City Unified average

AveragesSacramento County $97,349, California $103,552

Full-time equivalents on the schedule: 2,225
Starting salary: $62,966; BA with a credential, step 1
Median salary: $117,986; Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California: 139th of 828 reporting; of 828 reporting

Does Sacramento City 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

Sacramento City Unified's average of $109,230 is above the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Sacramento City Unified ranks 139th of 828.

Sacramento City Unified

$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 14 reporting districts in Sacramento County

Sacramento City Unified ranks 1st of 14, above the middle district.

Sacramento City Unified

$60k$80k$100k

Middle district: $92,602

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 Sacramento City Unified's BA column pays $69,813. Experienced teachers joining Sacramento City 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. Sacramento City Unified's columns run from BA to BA+90 OR MA+39, 5 in all.
Credentialed: Holds a full California teaching credential, the state license to teach. Sacramento City Unified's credentialed columns start at $62,966.
Without full credential: Teachers who don't yet hold a full credential. Sacramento City Unified pays them on separate columns, starting at $61,429.

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

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

Degree and units (column)Step (roughly years of experience): 10

$100,786

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $132,487 on step 20.

$132,487$61,429

Step 1Step 20

Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Sacramento City Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-25²

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 55% of Sacramento City Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

Sacramento City Unified credentialed salary schedule, 2024-25. Annual salary in dollars by step (rows) and column (units past a bachelor's degree).
Step	BA	BA+45 OR MA	BA+60 OR MA+12	BA+75 OR MA+24	BA+90 OR MA+39
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Sacramento City Unified without full credential salary schedule, 2024-25. Annual salary in dollars by step (rows) and column (units past a bachelor's degree).
Step	BA	BA+45 OR MA	BA+60 OR MA+12
1
2
3
4

Only BA continues past step 3.

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

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 Sacramento City 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.

Health insurance, family planUp to $53,388paid by the district each year
Master's degree bonusNot reported
Doctorate bonus$3,00025 full-time equivalents eligible
Bilingual teaching bonusNot reported
National Board Certification bonusNot reported
Special education bonusNot reported
Summer school pay$80 an hour
Work days a year192 days188 of them with students
Schedule raise on last year2%
Highest starting step for experienced hiresStep 20

Questions about teacher pay at Sacramento City Unified

How much do Sacramento City Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Sacramento City Unified's teacher schedule is $109,230 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $61,429 (BA before a full credential, step 1) to $132,487 (BA+90 OR MA+39 with a credential, step 20).

What does a new teacher earn at Sacramento City Unified?

A new teacher with a full credential starts at $62,966 (BA column, step 1). Teachers without a full credential start lower, at $61,429. 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 Sacramento City Unified pay scale?

On the BA+90 OR MA+39 column, where 72% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 20, where it reaches $132,487. Steps go up with years of service.

Is Sacramento City Unified teacher pay high for California?

Sacramento City Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 139th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 1st of 14 in Sacramento County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $97,349 in Sacramento County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in Sacramento County

Compare all 14 Sacramento County districtsStarting, average and top pay side by side, sortable

Sources for the Sacramento City 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.

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.
Sacramento City 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.
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