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School district · California · LEAID 0628050

Oakland Unified

Oakland Unified spends $28,871 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable California districts with a reliable figure. Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Oakland Unified come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$114,869
Est. avg teacher salary

Above benchmark

$28,871
Per-pupil spending
34,043
Students enrolled
61st
Pct. in CA
$114,869

Oakland Unified spends $28,871 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable California districts with a reliable figure. Estimated average teacher salary is $114,869, above the national average of $70,245, serving 34,043 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • High per-pupil spending: Oakland Unified spends $28,871 per pupil, in the highest third among comparable California districts with a reliable figure.
  • 61st percentile for California
  • 95th percentile nationally
  • 23% 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.
  • Oakland Unified ranks #282 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #70 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
  • +44.4% 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, Oakland Unified's instructional payroll puts 79.5% into regular program , 6.3 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 Oakland Unified CA median Gap
Regular program 79.5% 85.8% -6.3 pp
Special education 14.9% 10.8% +4.1 pp
Vocational programs 2.3% 0.0% +2.3 pp
Other programs 3.3% 0.4% +2.9 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 0628050 · FY2023.

LEAID 0628050 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Oakland Unified F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-ABOVE +4% vs state RANK-ST-MID P61 in state RANK-NAT-TOP P95 national PPE-HIGH $29K/pupil ENR-LARGE 34.0K students INSTR-LOW 23% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Walnut FY-2023-HEAVY FY2023 book

FY2023: $114,869 estimated average teacher salary · P61 in California · P95 nationally · 23% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Bakersfield (+$858est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Oakland Unified

Salary neighbourhood · Oakland Unified

Oakland 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).

est. salary
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey As of FY2023
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Oakland Unified

Oakland Unified's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$114,869 Top 5% higher than 95% of 10,684 US districts

Show national distribution $30,000–$40,000: 155 US districts (1%). Below this entry. $40,000–$50,000: 1,360 US districts (13%). Below this entry. $50,000–$60,000: 2,382 US districts (22%). Below this entry. $60,000–$70,000: 2,402 US districts (22%). Below this entry. $70,000–$80,000: 1,633 US districts (15%). Below this entry. $80,000–$90,000: 1,097 US districts (10%). Below this entry. $90,000–$100,000: 662 US districts (6%). Below this entry. $100,000–$110,000: 371 US districts (3%). Below this entry. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). This entry sits in this band. $120,000–$130,000: 156 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $130,000–$140,000: 112 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $140,000–$150,000: 57 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $150,000–$160,000: 25 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $160,000–$170,000: 13 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $170,000–$180,000: 10 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $180,000–$190,000: 0 US districts (0%). Above this entry. Oakland Unified $30,000 $190,000 every reliable-salary US district, bucketed by value

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

What stands out about Oakland Unified

  • It ranks in the top 10% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 95% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
  • Estimated teacher pay here rose +44.4% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing California's statewide +25.3% by 19.1 points, a growth rate faster than 92% of the 856 California districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • Enrolment fell from 36,373 to 34,043 students (6.4% down) across FY2019–FY2023 while the instructional salary pool per teacher went up. Districts on that path are usually holding staffing steady against a falling roll, which lifts the per-teacher figure without anyone getting a raise, so read this page's salary estimate alongside the enrolment line rather than on its own.
  • Its per-pupil spending of $28,871 is among the highest in the nation.

California prices absorb part of this salary

Nominal district estimate
$114,868.743

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

California price level
112.2 / 100

BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.

National-price equivalent
$102,383

-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 Oakland Unified

What the Numbers Say About Oakland Unified

Oakland Unified is a mid-sized school district in California, serving 34,043 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $28,871. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $114,869, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 0628050 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the California statewide average of $110,546, teacher pay in Oakland Unified runs roughly in line with the state benchmark, a 3.9% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (63.5% differential). Among enrolling districts in California, it pays more than 61% 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, Oakland Unified reports $982.8M in total expenditure against $1087.4M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 23% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $165.1M, special-education teacher pay is $31.0M.

How does Oakland Unified compare?

Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the California average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.

Oakland Unified $114,869
Los Angeles Unified $103,820
California avg $110,546
National avg $70,245

Oakland Unified pays +10.6% more than Los Angeles Unified · per-pupil $28,871 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, Oakland Unified sits closest to Walnut Valley Unified; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Covina-Valley 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.

Closest on estimated pay
  1. Walnut Valley Unified
  2. Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified
  3. East Side Union High
  4. Rocklin Unified
  5. Saddleback Valley Unified
  6. Roseville Joint Union High
  7. Torrance Unified
  8. Los Banos Unified
  9. Beaumont Unified
  10. Tracy Joint Unified
  11. Bakersfield City
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Covina-Valley Unified
  2. San Diego Unified
  3. Alhambra Unified
  4. Dublin Unified
  5. San Mateo-Foster City
  6. Oxnard Union High
  7. San Leandro Unified
  8. Berkeley Unified
  9. Hayward Unified
  10. Whittier Union High
  11. San Francisco Unified

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Nationwide districts with profiles like Oakland Unified

Two out-of-state peer sets for Oakland Unified: closest on enrollment (34,043 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($114,869 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

$1087.4M
Total Revenue
$982.8M
Total Expenditure
$229.4M
Instruction Salaries
23% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$165.1M
Regular Program
$31.0M
Special Education
$4.9M
Vocational
$6.8M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 4 programs in Oakland 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 91% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 9% 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. Oakland Unified places 274 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

The bar behind each salary shows its magnitude within this California sample (including Oakland Unified). Hover or focus a value for the exact comparison.

West Contra Costa Unified
$102,101
25,626 students
Chino Valley Unified
$118,302
25,618 students
Kern High
$111,489
42,667 students
San Jose Unified
$119,695
25,351 students
Clovis Unified
$102,623
42,771 students
Orange Unified
$115,788
24,740 students

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 Oakland Unified
What is the average teacher salary in Oakland Unified?

The average teacher salary in Oakland Unified is $114,869 (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 Oakland Unified teacher pay compare to the California average?

Oakland Unified pays 3.9% more than the California state average of $110,546. The district's average is $114,869.

How does Oakland Unified teacher pay compare to the national average?

Oakland Unified pays 63.5% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $114,869.

What is the per-pupil spending in Oakland Unified?

Oakland Unified spends approximately $28,871 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Oakland Unified's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 23% of Oakland Unified's total expenditure of $982.8M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Oakland 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

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Editorial standards & source notes

According to the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, PlainTeacher's figures are computed directly, no number is typed in by an editor. Oakland Unified's salary and finance figures are computed directly from its FY2023 F-33 submission, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of FY2023.