With Oakland Unified School District teachers on strike for a second time in two years, how does their pay compare around the region, state and country?
The Oakland Education Association, the union representing the district’s 3,000 K-12 teachers, counselors, social workers, speech pathologists, nurses, librarians and substitutes, argues its teachers are the lowest paid in the Bay Area.
The average annual teacher salary in Oakland Unified for the 2021-2022 school year was $70,572, according to the California Department of Education. Across the Bay at San Francisco Unified, the average was $84,881, while at San Jose Unified, it was $86,433. At Piedmont City Unified, located in the town surrounded by Oakland, the average was $89,480.
Among other Bay Area districts, the average annual salary was $77,994 in West Contra Costa Unified, $82,473 in Ravenswood Elementary and $122,868 at Palo Alto Unified.
The Department of Education lists Oakland Unified as California’s 11th largest school districts, with 45,741 students. San Francisco Unified, the sixth-largest, has 55,537.
Among other large districts, at Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest and the second-biggest in the country with 538,295 students, average annual teacher salary was $81,337 in 2021-2022. At San Diego Unified, the second largest with 112,790 students, the figure was $90,641. And at Sacramento City Unified, with 43,066 students, average pay was $87,329.
Teacher pay varies by years of experience, and averages reflect experience levels across districts. At Oakland Unified, pay ranged from $51,905 for starting teachers to a high of $97,980 for veteran educators. At San Francisco Unified, the range was $54,289 to $110,750, while at San Jose Unified, it ranged from $61,515 to $114,597, and at Piedmont it started at $59,480 and topped out at $107,315.
The Oakland district has offered a 10% retroactive raise for OEA members, a one-time bonus of $5,000 as well as salary increases ranging from 13% to 22% going into next school year. That would raise first-year teachers’ pay to $63,604, and veteran teachers’ salaries would reach $109,746.
Districts negotiate pay raises for teachers and other staff typically over multi-year contracts.
Oakland Unified teachers saw an increase last year of 2.5% compared with 4% for San Jose Unified, 3% for Palo Alto Unified, according to the Department of Education. There were no reported increases last year for San Francisco or West Contra Costa unified school districts.
Benefits also are a factor in teacher compensation. Oakland Unified pays an annual maximum per employee for health benefits ranging from $9,188 for single coverage to $24,439 for a family plan. At San Francisco Unified, those figures range from $8,750 for single to $13,235 for family coverage. San Jose Unified pays $13,428 for single coverage and $32,992 for family, while at Piedmont Unified, that yearly health contribution is just $1,788 for all plans.
Nationally, the statewide average California public school teacher pay of $87,275 for the 2021-2022 school year was third-highest in the country, behind $88,903 in Massachusetts and $92,222 in New York, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The U.S. average was $66,397. The statewide average in Texas was $58,887 and in Florida it was $51,230.
California’s average public school teacher salary also outpaces average private schoolteacher pay, which ZipRecruiter.com reports to be $34,198 statewide, $36,829 in San Jose, $36,572 in Oakland and $38,718 in San Francisco.
California Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi has introduced a bill sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers calling for raising California teacher pay 50% by 2030.
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