School district · California · LEAID 0614550
Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable California districts (69,424 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Fresno Unified come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $109,992
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $23,079
- Per-pupil spending
- 69,424
- Students enrolled
- 52nd
- Pct. in CA
Near benchmark
Fresno Unified is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable California districts (69,424 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $109,992, above the national average of $70,245, serving 69,424 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Large enrollment scale: Fresno Unified is in the largest third by enrollment among comparable California districts (69,424 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
- 52nd percentile for California
- 94th percentile nationally
- 27% of spending reaches instructional salaries
- California ranks #2 of 49 on the salary estimate and #1 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- Fresno Unified ranks #353 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #217 of 750 by per-pupil spending. Calaveras County Office of Education pay #1 at $178,519 is not Beverly Hills Unified spending #1 at $61,843 per pupil
- +26.9% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)
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Instructional payroll mix vs California median
Among 954 California districts that break out F-33 program salary totals, Fresno Unified's instructional payroll puts 79.8% into regular program , 6.0 points below the state median of 85.8%. The mix below is the district's own F-33 program split against the in-state median, not a quality score.
| Program | Fresno Unified | CA median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 79.8% | 85.8% | -6.0 pp |
| Special education | 14.4% | 10.8% | +3.6 pp |
| Vocational programs | 1.3% | 0.0% | +1.3 pp |
| Other programs | 4.5% | 0.4% | +4.1 pp |
Shares are of this district's reported F-33 teacher-salary program totals (Z35–Z38), compared with the median share across 954 in-state peers with a positive program sum. NCES LEAID 0614550 · FY2023.
LEAID 0614550 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
Fresno Unified F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $109,992 estimated average teacher salary · P52 in California · P94 nationally · 27% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Twin (+$12est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for Fresno Unified
Salary neighbourhood · Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified sits mid-pack among in-state peers; the chart brackets it between the top and bottom pay poles (NCES F-33 FY2023, not a full state reprint).
- Modesto · low pole
Modesto · low pole
$79,793 est. salary
- Lodi · near
Lodi · near
$109,617 est. salary
- Sweetwater · near
Sweetwater · near
$109,933 est. salary
- Fresno · this district
Fresno · this district
$109,992 est. salary
- Twin · near
Twin · near
$110,004 est. salary
- San · top pay
San · top pay
$147,163 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$109,992 Top 6% higher than 94% of 10,684 US districts
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $10K-wide band; taller bars hold more US districts. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 · FY2023
Fresno Unified in California's lower-third pay band
Same 750 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)
- Calaveras County Office of Education
Calaveras County Office of Education
$178,519 est. avg salary
- Beverly Hills Unified
Beverly Hills Unified
$123,673 est. avg salary
- Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified
$109,992 est. avg salary
What this shows Fresno Unified ranks #353 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #217 of 750 by per-pupil spending. Calaveras County Office of Education pay #1 at $178,519 is not Beverly Hills Unified spending #1 at $61,843 per pupil
The same districts by per-pupil spending
Fresno Unified is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar
- Beverly Hills Unified
Beverly Hills Unified
$61,843 per pupil
- Calaveras County Office of Education
Calaveras County Office of Education
$50,753 per pupil
- Fresno Unified $23,079
Fresno Unified
$23,079 per pupil
What this shows Beverly Hills Unified leads spending at $61,843 per pupil; Calaveras County Office of Education leads pay.
What stands out about Fresno Unified
- It ranks in the top 10% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 94% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
- With 69,424 students, it is the 52nd-largest school district by enrollment among the 13,149 US districts reporting enrollment data.
- Its total annual revenue of $1.87B puts it among just 26 US districts operating a budget of this size or larger, out of the 13,149 districts in the NCES CCD F-33 survey, a scale that brings dedicated budget offices, multi-year capital planning, and district-wide procurement contracts that a small district's single-person business office cannot replicate.
Scale composition for Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified enrolls 69,424 students (0.15% of the 46,412,683 students across 13,149 US districts that report enrollment in the NCES CCD F-33 survey). Only 88 districts clear the 50,000-student threshold used here - sparse districts in the 500-5,000 band cannot show a national-share read of this kind because their headcount is too small for the percentage to mean anything. Total annual revenue is $1.87B, putting it among 26 districts at this budget scale or larger.
Reported teacher FTE is 3,496, about 19.9 students per teacher (mega-cohort median 16.0; denser staffing than 13 of the 87 mega-districts with a usable FTE count, rank 74th densest) . At this enrollment the ratio is an aggregate across many campuses, so a single-school class-size story is the wrong read - use it to place Fresno Unified among other large systems, not against a 1,000-student district whose FTE is a handful of classrooms.
Instructional salaries take 27% of total expenditure on a $1.60B budget . Large systems carry central offices, transportation, and facilities lines that dilute the classroom share relative to a small district whose budget is almost entirely payroll - comparing that percentage across the enrollment cliff without this scale note misreads both ends.
Nearest mega-district peers by enrollment (same 50k+ cohort):
| District | Enrollment | Est. avg salary | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guilford County Schools · North Carolina | 68,894 | $49,373 | $971M |
| Conroe ISD · Texas | 70,783 | $63,390 | $899M |
| Milwaukee School District · Wisconsin | 67,500 | $80,043 | $1.50B |
| Frisco ISD · Texas | 66,916 | $63,858 | $869M |
| Seminole · Florida | 66,680 | $61,649 | $798M |
California prices absorb part of this salary
- Nominal district estimate
- $109,991.62
- California price level
- 112.2 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $98,036
The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.
BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.
-11% versus the nominal figure.
Prices in California run above the national average, so this salary has roughly the buying power of the national-price equivalent above. Comparing it with a district in a cheaper state without this adjustment overstates its relative value.
Regional price parity: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2023 all-items RPP by state. The adjustment applies a statewide index to a district figure, so it captures how California compares nationally, not how this district compares with others in its own state. Compare every state on this basis.
How this salary figure is calculated
Full NCES reading for Fresno Unified
What the Numbers Say About Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified is a large urban school district in California, serving 69,424 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $23,079. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $109,992, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 0614550 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.
Relative to the California statewide average of $110,546, teacher pay in Fresno Unified runs slightly below the state benchmark, a 0.5% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (56.6% differential). Among enrolling districts in California, it pays more than 52% of them. California itself ranks #2 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.
On the budget side, Fresno Unified reports $1602.2M in total expenditure against $1868.9M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 27% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $306.9M, special-education teacher pay is $55.4M.
How does Fresno Unified compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the California average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
Fresno Unified pays +5.9% more than Los Angeles Unified · per-pupil $23,079 vs $26,962
Derived from NCES F-33 teacher salary expenditure (Z35-Z38) and CCD Staff Universe teacher FTE (FY2023); a small minority use the documented fallback. Unreliable service entities are excluded.
Data-derived comparison paths
Find comparable California districts
On pay, Fresno Unified sits closest to Twin Rivers Unified; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is West Contra Costa Unified. These are not simply nearby districts: each group is selected from the same NCES FY2023 dataset using a matching salary or per-pupil-investment signal and a comparable enrollment range.
Similar estimated teacher pay
Similar per-pupil investment
Out-of-state districts near Fresno Unified's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for Fresno Unified: closest on enrollment (69,424 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($109,992 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood.
Similar enrollment
Nearest other districts by NCES student count (floored at ≥200).
Similar estimated salary
Nearest other districts by F-33-derived average teacher salary, distinct from the enrollment row.
Enrollment and salaries from NCES CCD F-33; estimated teacher pay can diverge widely at the same student count because of state funding, cost of living, and local bargaining.
Revenue & Expenditure
Instructional Salary by Program
The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Fresno Unified: the regular program, special education, vocational programs and other programs. Every program category NCES breaks out separately carries a figure here. Together they are 88% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 12% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.
California Teacher Pay Overview
The highest average among comparably sized California districts belongs to San Bernardino County Office of Education at $178,265. Fresno Unified places 344 of 644 comparably sized districts, squarely in the middle band the state average actually represents. Because California prices run above the national average, this salary is worth less than the same number elsewhere; District of Columbia and Hawaii are the states it can be compared with directly on BEA's price parity.
View all California districts →Other California Districts
Large-district sample from 776 California peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.
This is a sample of 6 from 776 California districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Fresno Unified
What is the average teacher salary in Fresno Unified?
The average teacher salary in Fresno Unified is $109,992 (NCES CCD FY2023), from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by the district's reported teacher headcount (NCES CCD Staff Universe Survey).
How does Fresno Unified teacher pay compare to the California average?
Fresno Unified pays 0.5% less than the California state average of $110,546. The district's average is $109,992.
How does Fresno Unified teacher pay compare to the national average?
Fresno Unified pays 56.6% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $109,992.
What is the per-pupil spending in Fresno Unified?
Fresno Unified spends approximately $23,079 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of Fresno Unified's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 27% of Fresno Unified's total expenditure of $1602.2M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for Fresno Unified
Disclaimer & data sources
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher
| Publisher | PlainTeacher |
| Sources | Public official public datasets |