Bear Valley Unified School District teacher salaries

Bear Valley Unified School District is a unified school district in San Bernardino County, with its district office in Big Bear Lake. Pay starts at $62,162 on the first step. The largest group (50%) is on the BA+75 OR MA+30 column, which climbs to $125,946 by step 23.

Lowest

$62,162

BA+15, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$102,350

  • $4,479 below San Bernardino County average
  • $1,202 below California average

Highest

$125,946

BA+75 OR MA+30, step 23

Bear Valley Unified average

AveragesCalifornia $103,552, San Bernardino County $106,829

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
113
Starting salary
$62,162
BA+15, step 1
Median salary
$108,788
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
260th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Bear 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.

Yes

Bear Valley Unified's average of $102,350 is above the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Bear Valley Unified ranks 260th of 828.

Bear Valley Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 33 reporting districts in San Bernardino County

Bear Valley Unified ranks 19th of 33, below the middle district.

Bear Valley Unified
$80k$100k$120k

Middle district: $103,690

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 Bear Valley Unified's BA+15 column pays $71,956. Experienced teachers joining Bear Valley Unified can be placed as high as step 35.
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. Bear Valley Unified's columns run from BA+15 to BA+75 OR MA+30, 5 in all.

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

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

$103,884

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $125,946 on step 23.

$125,946$62,162
Step 1Step 40
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

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

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 48% of Bear Valley Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBA+15BA+30BA+45 OR MABA+60 OR MA+15BA+75 OR MA+30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15 to 16
17 to 18
19 to 20
21 to 22
23 to 40

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. 6
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 Bear 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 Bear Valley Unified

How much do Bear Valley Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Bear Valley Unified's teacher schedule is $102,350 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $62,162 (BA+15, step 1) to $125,946 (BA+75 OR MA+30, step 23).

What does a new teacher earn at Bear Valley Unified?

The schedule starts at $62,162 (BA+15, step 1). Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 35.

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

On the BA+75 OR MA+30 column, where 50% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 23, where it reaches $125,946. Steps go up with years of service.

Is Bear Valley Unified teacher pay high for California?

Bear Valley Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 260th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 19th of 33 in San Bernardino County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $106,829 in San Bernardino County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in San Bernardino County

Sources for the Bear 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. Bear 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