Carlsbad Unified School District teacher salaries

Carlsbad Unified School District is a unified school district in San Diego County, with its district office in Carlsbad. Pay starts at $57,513 on the first step. The largest group (36%) is on the MA+30 OR PHD OR NBC column, which climbs to $130,671 by step 27.

Lowest

$57,513

BA OR, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$102,755

  • about the same as the San Diego County average
  • $797 below California average

Highest

$130,671

MA+30 OR PHD OR NBC, step 27

Carlsbad Unified average

AveragesSan Diego County $102,646, California $103,552

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
542
Starting salary
$57,513
BA OR, step 1
Median salary
$105,249
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
255th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Carlsbad 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

Carlsbad Unified's average of $102,755 is above the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Carlsbad Unified ranks 255th of 828.

Carlsbad Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 37 reporting districts in San Diego County

Carlsbad Unified ranks 16th of 37, above the middle district.

Carlsbad Unified
$80k$100k$120k

Middle district: $100,279

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 Carlsbad Unified's BA OR column pays $72,466. Experienced teachers joining Carlsbad Unified can be placed as high as step 11.
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. Carlsbad Unified's columns run from BA OR to MA+30 OR PHD OR NBC, 5 in all.

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

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

$101,511

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $130,671 on step 27.

$130,671$57,513
Step 1Step 27
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

Carlsbad Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

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

StepBA ORBA+30BA+60 OR MA+CREDMA+15MA+30 OR PHD OR NBC
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22 to 23
24
25
26
27

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. 25
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 Carlsbad 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 Carlsbad Unified

How much do Carlsbad Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Carlsbad Unified's teacher schedule is $102,755 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $57,513 (BA OR, step 1) to $130,671 (MA+30 OR PHD OR NBC, step 27).

What does a new teacher earn at Carlsbad Unified?

The schedule starts at $57,513 (BA OR, step 1). Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 11.

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

On the MA+30 OR PHD OR NBC column, where 36% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 27, where it reaches $130,671. Steps go up with years of service.

Is Carlsbad Unified teacher pay high for California?

Carlsbad Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 255th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 16th of 37 in San Diego County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $102,646 in San Diego County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in San Diego County

Sources for the Carlsbad 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. Carlsbad 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