San Francisco Unified School District teacher salaries

San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is a unified school district in San Francisco County, with its district office in San Francisco. A teacher with a full credential starts at $79,468. The largest group (62%) is on the BA+60 column, which climbs to $131,654 by step 26.

Lowest

$69,525

BA INTERN/ EMERG before a full credential, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$103,472

  • about the same as the San Francisco County average
  • about the same as the California average

Highest

$131,654

BA+60 with a credential, step 26

San Francisco Unified average

AveragesSan Francisco County $103,472, California $103,552

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
3,263
Starting salary
$79,468
BA with a credential, step 1
Median salary
$101,741
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
239th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does San Francisco 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

San Francisco Unified's average of $103,472 is above the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

San Francisco Unified ranks 239th of 828.

San Francisco Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 1 reporting districts in San Francisco County

San Francisco Unified ranks 1st of 1, above the middle district.

San Francisco Unified
$100k

Middle district: $103,472

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 San Francisco Unified's BA column pays $83,181. Experienced teachers joining San Francisco 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. San Francisco Unified's columns run from BA to BA+60, 3 in all.
Credentialed
Holds a full California teaching credential, the state license to teach. San Francisco Unified's credentialed columns start at $79,468.
Without full credential
Teachers who don't yet hold a full credential. San Francisco Unified pays them on separate columns, starting at $69,525.

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

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

$107,518

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $131,654 on step 26.

$131,654$69,525
Step 1Step 28
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

San Francisco Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 36% of San Francisco Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBABA+30BA+60
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

Only BA+60 continues past step 15.

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. 252
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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco Unified

How much do San Francisco Unified teachers make?

The average salary on San Francisco Unified's teacher schedule is $103,472 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $69,525 (BA INTERN/ EMERG before a full credential, step 1) to $131,654 (BA+60 with a credential, step 26).

What does a new teacher earn at San Francisco Unified?

A new teacher with a full credential starts at $79,468 (BA column, step 1). Teachers without a full credential start lower, at $69,525. 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 San Francisco Unified pay scale?

On the BA+60 column, where 62% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 26, where it reaches $131,654. Steps go up with years of service.

Is San Francisco Unified teacher pay high for California?

San Francisco Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 239th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 1st of 1 in San Francisco County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $103,472 in San Francisco County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in San Francisco County

Sources for the San Francisco 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. San Francisco 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