Pajaro Valley Unified School District teacher salaries

Pajaro Valley Unified School District is a unified school district in Santa Cruz County, with its district office in Watsonville. Pay starts at $58,520 on the first step. The largest group (70%) is on the BA+60 column, which climbs to $109,309 by step 38.

Lowest

$58,520

BA, step 1

Average salary on the teacher schedule1

$85,745

  • $1,545 below Santa Cruz County average
  • $17,807 below California average

Highest

$109,309

BA+60, step 38

Pajaro Valley Unified average

Santa Cruz County average$87,290

California average$103,552

Full-time equivalents on the schedule
895
Starting salary
$58,520
BA, step 1
Median salary
$87,174
Half earn more, half earn less
Average pay rank in California
554th of 828 reporting
of 828 reporting

Does Pajaro 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.

No

Pajaro Valley Unified's average of $85,745 is below the middle California district's $94,573.

All 828 reporting districts in California

Pajaro Valley Unified ranks 554th of 828.

Pajaro Valley Unified
$50k$100k$150k

Middle district: $94,573

The 11 reporting districts in Santa Cruz County

Pajaro Valley Unified ranks 6th of 11, above the middle district.

Pajaro Valley Unified
$80k

Middle district: $85,745

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 Pajaro Valley Unified's BA column pays $60,570. Experienced teachers joining Pajaro Valley Unified can be placed as high as step 18.
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. Pajaro Valley Unified's columns run from BA to BA+60, 4 in all.

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

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

$79,374

a year at step 10. This column tops out at $109,309 on step 38.

$109,309$58,520
Step 1Step 40
Chosen columnOther columns, same type

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

Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 53% of Pajaro Valley Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.

StepBABA+30BA+45BA+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
29
30 to 31
32 to 33
34 to 37
38 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. 39
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 Pajaro 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 Pajaro Valley Unified

How much do Pajaro Valley Unified teachers make?

The average salary on Pajaro Valley Unified's teacher schedule is $85,745 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $58,520 (BA, step 1) to $109,309 (BA+60, step 38).

What does a new teacher earn at Pajaro Valley Unified?

The schedule starts at $58,520 (BA, step 1). Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 18.

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

On the BA+60 column, where 70% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 38, where it reaches $109,309. Steps go up with years of service.

Does a master's degree raise pay at Pajaro Valley Unified?

Yes, in two ways. The college units from a master's move you to a higher column on the schedule, and Pajaro Valley Unified reports a master's bonus of $2,142 on top. For a doctorate it reports $2,142.

Is Pajaro Valley Unified teacher pay high for California?

Pajaro Valley Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 554th of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 6th of 11 in Santa Cruz County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $87,290 in Santa Cruz County.

Keep exploring teacher pay in Santa Cruz County

Sources for the Pajaro 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. Pajaro 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