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School district · California · LEAID 0601414

Santa Barbara Unified

Santa Barbara Unified is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable California districts (12,579 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Santa Barbara Unified come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$102,341
Est. avg teacher salary

Below benchmark

$22,037
Per-pupil spending
12,579
Students enrolled
36th
Pct. in CA
$102,341

Santa Barbara Unified is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable California districts (12,579 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort). Estimated average teacher salary is $102,341, above the national average of $70,245, serving 12,579 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Smaller enrollment scale: Santa Barbara Unified is in the smallest third by enrollment among comparable California districts (12,579 students in the NCES CCD F-33 cohort).
  • 36th percentile for California
  • 92nd percentile nationally
  • 29% 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.
  • Santa Barbara Unified ranks #478 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #277 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
  • +29.6% 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, Santa Barbara Unified's instructional payroll puts 4.5% into vocational programs , 4.5 points above the state median of 0.0%. That heavier vocational share usually means career/technical programs claim more of the teacher-salary pool than at a typical California peer.

Program Santa Barbara CA median Gap
Regular program 82.0% 85.8% -3.8 pp
Special education 13.6% 10.8% +2.8 pp
Vocational programs 4.5% 0.0% +4.5 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 0601414 · FY2023.

LEAID 0601414 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Santa Barbara F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-BELOW -7% vs state RANK-ST-LOW P36 in state RANK-NAT-TOP P92 national PPE-HIGH $22K/pupil ENR-LARGE 12.6K students INSTR-LOW 29% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Corcoran FY-2023-MID FY2023 book

FY2023: $102,341 estimated average teacher salary · P36 in California · P92 nationally · 29% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: West ($239est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Santa Barbara

Salary neighbourhood · Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Unified's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$102,341 Top 8% higher than 92% 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%). This entry sits in this band. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). Above this entry. $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. Santa Barbara 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

Santa Barbara in California's lower-third pay band

Same 750 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Santa Barbara Unified ranks #478 of 750 California districts by estimated teacher salary and #277 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

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Santa Barbara Unified is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Beverly Hills Unified leads spending at $61,843 per pupil; Calaveras County Office of Education leads pay.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

What stands out about Santa Barbara Unified

  • It ranks in the top 10% of US districts for estimated teacher pay, higher than 92% of the 10,684 reliable-salary districts nationally.
  • Estimated teacher pay here rose +29.6% between FY2019 and FY2023, outpacing California's statewide +25.3% by 4.4 points, a growth rate faster than 70% of the 856 California districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • Enrolment fell from 13,757 to 12,579 students (8.6% 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.

California prices absorb part of this salary

Nominal district estimate
$102,340.878

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
$91,217

-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 Santa Barbara Unified

What the Numbers Say About Santa Barbara Unified

Santa Barbara Unified is a mid-sized school district in California, serving 12,579 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $22,037. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $102,341, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 0601414 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the California statewide average of $110,546, teacher pay in Santa Barbara Unified runs materially below the state benchmark, a 7.4% gap, and above the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (45.7% differential). Among enrolling districts in California, it pays more than 36% 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, Santa Barbara Unified reports $277.2M in total expenditure against $298.2M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 29% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $55.2M, special-education teacher pay is $9.1M.

How does Santa Barbara Unified compare?

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

Santa Barbara Unified $102,341
Los Angeles Unified $103,820
California avg $110,546
National avg $70,245

Santa Barbara Unified pays -1.4% less than Los Angeles Unified · per-pupil $22,037 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, Santa Barbara Unified sits closest to Corcoran Joint Unified; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is Moreno 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. Corcoran Joint Unified
  2. Morongo Unified
  3. West Contra Costa Unified
  4. Clovis Unified
  5. Escondido Union High
  6. Santa Rita Union Elementary
  7. Ripon Unified
  8. Ramona City Unified
  9. Fairfield-Suisun Unified
  10. Oakley Union Elementary
  11. Jefferson Union High
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. Moreno Valley Unified
  2. San Ysidro Elementary
  3. Novato Unified
  4. Ukiah Unified
  5. Hemet Unified
  6. Escondido Union
  7. Burlingame Elementary
  8. Davis Joint Unified
  9. Atwater Elementary
  10. Modesto City Schools
  11. Pajaro Valley Unified

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Santa Barbara Unified's smaller enrollment

Two out-of-state peer sets for Santa Barbara Unified: closest on enrollment (12,579 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($102,341 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

$298.2M
Total Revenue
$277.2M
Total Expenditure
$79.9M
Instruction Salaries
29% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$55.2M
Regular Program
$9.1M
Special Education
$3.0M
Vocational

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 3 programs in Santa Barbara Unified: the regular program, special education and vocational programs. It reports no separate figure for other programs. Together they are 84% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 16% 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. Santa Barbara Unified places 454 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

Smaller-district sample from 776 California peers; bar length shows pay magnitude within this enrollment band.

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified
$110,706
10,402 students
Vacaville Unified
$90,492
12,574 students
San Dieguito Union High
$129,122
12,589 students
Dublin Unified
$130,606
12,525 students
Paramount Unified
$134,598
12,698 students
Victor Elementary
$126,276
12,415 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 Santa Barbara Unified
What is the average teacher salary in Santa Barbara Unified?

The average teacher salary in Santa Barbara Unified is $102,341 (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 Santa Barbara Unified teacher pay compare to the California average?

Santa Barbara Unified pays 7.4% less than the California state average of $110,546. The district's average is $102,341.

How does Santa Barbara Unified teacher pay compare to the national average?

Santa Barbara Unified pays 45.7% above the national average of $70,245. The district average is $102,341.

What is the per-pupil spending in Santa Barbara Unified?

Santa Barbara Unified spends approximately $22,037 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

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

Instructional salaries account for 29% of Santa Barbara Unified's total expenditure of $277.2M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Santa Barbara 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. Santa Barbara 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.