School district · California · LEAID 0634320
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified sits in the highest third of California districts on estimated teacher pay at $147,163 (above 96% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for San Diego Unified come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).
- $147,163
- Est. avg teacher salary
- $29,302
- Per-pupil spending
- 93,694
- Students enrolled
- 96th
- Pct. in CA
Well above benchmark
San Diego Unified sits in the highest third of California districts on estimated teacher pay at $147,163 (above 96% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $147,163, above the national average of $70,245, serving 93,694 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Upper-third pay in state: San Diego Unified sits in the highest third of California districts on estimated teacher pay at $147,163 (above 96% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
- 96th percentile for California
- 99th percentile nationally
- 26% 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.
- San Diego Unified ranks #23 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #67 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
- +46.5% 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, San Diego Unified's instructional payroll puts 70.4% into regular program , 15.4 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 | San Diego | CA median | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular program | 70.4% | 85.8% | -15.4 pp |
| Special education | 20.7% | 10.8% | +9.9 pp |
| Vocational programs | 2.4% | 0.0% | +2.4 pp |
| Other programs | 6.5% | 0.4% | +6.1 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 0634320 · FY2023.
LEAID 0634320 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023
San Diego F-33 compensation desk
FY2023: $147,163 estimated average teacher salary · P96 in California · P99 nationally · 26% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Santa ($4,052est. salary).
Salary neighbourhood chart for San Diego
Salary neighbourhood · San Diego
San Diego already leads most of its in-state peer set; the chart plots it against the top and bottom pay poles for context (NCES F-33 FY2023, not a full state reprint).
- Modesto · low pole
Modesto · low pole
$79,793 est. salary
- Fremont · near
Fremont · near
$135,613 est. salary
- Garden · near
Garden · near
$142,592 est. salary
- Santa · near
Santa · near
$143,111 est. salary
- San
San · this district · top pay
$147,163 est. salary
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for San Diego
San Diego Unified's estimated salary vs. every US district
NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only
$147,163 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
San Diego in California's upper-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
- San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
$147,163 est. avg salary
- Beverly Hills Unified
Beverly Hills Unified
$123,673 est. avg salary
What this shows San Diego Unified ranks #23 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #67 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
San Diego 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
- San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
$29,302 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 San Diego Unified
- It ranks in the top 5% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 99% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
- Estimated teacher pay here rose +46.5% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing California's statewide +25.3% by 21.3 points, a growth rate faster than 94% of the 856 California districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
- Enrolment fell from 102,884 to 93,694 students (8.9% 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.
- With 93,694 students, it is the 30th-largest school district by enrollment among the 13,149 US districts reporting enrollment data.
- A district of this scale typically enrolls more students than several entire states' worth of smaller districts combined, which is part of why the per-pupil and per-teacher figures here should be read as an aggregate across many schools rather than a single-campus estimate.
- Its total annual revenue of $2.99B puts it among just 15 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.
- Its per-pupil spending of $29,302 is among the highest in the nation.
Scale composition for San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified enrolls 93,694 students (0.20% 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 $2.99B, putting it among 15 districts at this budget scale or larger.
Reported teacher FTE is 4,290, about 21.8 students per teacher (mega-cohort median 16.0; denser staffing than 7 of the 87 mega-districts with a usable FTE count, rank 80th 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 San Diego Unified among other large systems, not against a 1,000-student district whose FTE is a handful of classrooms.
Instructional salaries take 26% of total expenditure on a $2.75B 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinellas · Florida | 93,702 | $64,513 | $1.33B |
| Katy ISD · Texas | 92,667 | $64,100 | $1.33B |
| DeKalb County · Georgia | 92,368 | $74,911 | $1.79B |
| Jefferson County · Kentucky | 95,171 | $73,395 | $1.99B |
| Prince William County Public Schools · Virginia | 91,101 | $81,008 | $1.74B |
California prices absorb part of this salary
- Nominal district estimate
- $147,162.762
- California price level
- 112.2 / 100
- National-price equivalent
- $131,167
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 San Diego Unified
What the Numbers Say About San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified is a large urban school district in California, serving 93,694 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $29,302. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $147,163, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 0634320 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.
Relative to the California statewide average of $110,546, teacher pay in San Diego Unified runs meaningfully above the state benchmark, a 33.1% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (109.5% differential). Among enrolling districts in California, it pays more than 96% 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, San Diego Unified reports $2745.4M in total expenditure against $2993.0M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 26% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $444.3M, special-education teacher pay is $130.6M.
How does San Diego Unified compare?
Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the California average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.
San Diego Unified pays +41.7% more than Los Angeles Unified · per-pupil $29,302 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, San Diego Unified sits closest to Santa Ana Unified; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Oakland 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 San Diego Unified's enrollment scale
Two out-of-state peer sets for San Diego Unified: closest on enrollment (93,694 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($147,163 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 San Diego 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 90% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 10% 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. San Diego Unified sits in the upper quarter of that field at 25 of 644, nearer the ceiling than the floor. 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 San Diego Unified
What is the average teacher salary in San Diego Unified?
The average teacher salary in San Diego Unified is $147,163 (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 San Diego Unified teacher pay compare to the California average?
San Diego Unified pays 33.1% more than the California state average of $110,546. The district's average is $147,163.
How does San Diego Unified teacher pay compare to the national average?
San Diego Unified pays 109.5% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $147,163.
What is the per-pupil spending in San Diego Unified?
San Diego Unified spends approximately $29,302 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.
What percentage of San Diego Unified's budget goes to teacher salaries?
Instructional salaries account for 26% of San Diego Unified's total expenditure of $2745.4M (NCES FY2023).
Next read for San Diego 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 |