Annual salary
$66,197
California · salary schedule · 2025-26
Capistrano Unified salary schedule, 2025-26
Certificated salary schedule with base credential (2025-26). The grid below is the schedule as published, every cell; pick a column and step to see the annual, monthly and per-day figure and the next five steps.
- Capistrano Unified's 2025-26 salary schedule starts at $66,197 (A, step 1) and tops out at $132,594 (D, step 23), per Capistrano Unified School District (effective ).
- The grid has 4 column columns and 14 step rows; the highest cell is reached at step 23.
- Capistrano Unified enrolled 40,836 students in 2023-24, the 11th-largest district in California by NCES enrollment.
Certificated salary schedule with base credential (2025-26)
| Step \ Column | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $66,197 | $69,507 | $72,982 | $78,930 |
| 2 | $68,514 | $71,940 | $75,536 | $81,693 |
| 3 | $70,912 | $74,458 | $78,180 | $84,552 |
| 4 | $73,394 | $77,064 | $80,916 | $87,511 |
| 5 | $75,963 | $79,761 | $83,748 | $90,574 |
| 6 | $78,622 | $82,553 | $86,679 | $93,744 |
| 7 | $81,374 | $85,442 | $89,713 | $97,025 |
| 8 | $84,222 | $88,432 | $92,853 | $100,421 |
| 9 | $87,170 | $91,527 | $96,103 | $103,936 |
| 10 | $90,221 | $94,730 | $99,467 | $107,574 |
| 11 | $93,379 | $98,046 | $102,948 | $111,339 |
| 15 | $102,948 | $108,095 | $116,906 | |
| 19 | $109,125 | $114,581 | $123,920 | |
| 23 | $116,764 | $122,602 | $132,594 |
highest celllowest cell14 step rows x 4 column columnshover or tap a cell to trace its row and column
Find my cell
Per month (12)
$5,516.42
Next 5 steps in this column
| Step | Salary | vs. selected |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $68,514 | +$2,317 |
| 3 | $70,912 | +$4,715 |
| 4 | $73,394 | +$7,197 |
| 5 | $75,963 | +$9,766 |
| 6 | $78,622 | +$12,425 |
Worked example as rendered: A, step 1 = $66,197 a year, $5,516.42 a month spread over 12 months. Monthly and daily figures are arithmetic on the published annual cell, before any supplement, stipend or deduction.
Standard teacher schedule: 'Certificated Salary Schedule with Base Credential (Not applicable to Psychologist or Speech Pathologist)', effective 7/1/2025, adopted 6/18/2025; includes a 1.5% increase effective 7/1/2025. The district also publishes separate Without Credential and Career Technical Teacher schedules, not used here.
Columns: A = Bachelor's Degree + 0-44 semester units; B = BA + 45-59 units; C = BA + 60-74 units; D = BA + 75 semester units with Master's Degree.
Steps 15, 19 and 23 are longevity increments on the 15th, 19th and 23rd years of service to the District (Columns B-D only; Column A has none).
Master's degree stipend $2,482 and doctorate stipend $2,482 (each 3.75% of Cell A1) are paid on top; the document prints a Column D maximum of 135,076 including the Master's stipend, not included as a step row.
New hires may receive up to ten years of experience credit, to a maximum starting salary of Step 11.
- Soft spot: The landing page links Google Drive files; the 2026-27 schedule was not yet posted on 2026-09-26, so this is 2025-26.
- Soft spot: Contract work days are not stated on the schedule.
How this schedule moves
On the A column a teacher moves from $66,197 at step 1 to $93,379 at step 11: 10 step increases worth $2,718 each on average, 41% in total.
The largest single increase on that column is $3,158, between step 10 and step 11.
The highest-paid column, D, starts at $78,930 and tops out at $132,594, 42% above the top of the A column.
Among the 825 California district schedules indexed here, Capistrano Unified's starting pay ranks 178th and its top cell ranks 194th; the state medians are $59,726 to start and $120,047 at the top.
Across all 3,959 district grids indexed nationally, that starting figure sits at the 93rd percentile and the top cell at the 92nd percentile.
Column by column
| Column | First step | Top | Step moves to top | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $66,197 | $93,379 | 10 | 41% |
| B | $69,507 | $116,764 | 13 | 68% |
| C | $72,982 | $122,602 | 13 | 68% |
| D | $78,930 | $132,594 | 13 | 68% |
Against California districts of similar size
| District | Students | Year | Starting | Master's start | Top cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capistrano Unified | 40,836 | 2025-26 | $66,197 | – | $132,594 |
| Riverside Unified | 38,855 | 2026-27 | $74,796 | – | $144,274 |
| Kern High | 43,116 | 2025-26 | $64,147 | $64,147 | $137,529 |
| San Juan Unified | 38,488 | 2025-26 | $60,000 | – | $126,000 |
| Clovis Unified | 43,291 | 2026-27 | $61,487 | – | $127,049 |
| Sacramento City Unified | 38,268 | 2024-25 | $61,429 | – | $132,487 |
Starting pay is the first step of the bachelor's column where the schedule has one, otherwise the lowest first-step cell. Enrollment is NCES 2023-24. Years differ where districts publish on different cycles.
Questions people ask
What is the starting salary on the Capistrano Unified schedule?
$66,197 at step 1 on A, per the 2025-26 schedule (Capistrano Unified School District).
What is the top of the Capistrano Unified salary schedule?
$132,594, at step 23 on D (2025-26). That is the highest published cell before any stipend, longevity or supplement not printed on the grid.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Capistrano Unified salary schedule?
On the A column the top figure, $93,379, is reached at step 11, 10 step increases after step 1 (2025-26 schedule).
Other California districts with schedules
- Riverside Unifiedstarts $74,796
- Kern Highstarts $64,147
- San Juan Unifiedstarts $60,000
- Clovis Unifiedstarts $61,487
- Sacramento City Unifiedstarts $61,429
- Santa Ana Unifiedstarts $72,692
- Garden Grove Unifiedstarts $72,504
- Irvine Unifiedstarts $59,726
- San Bernardino City Unifiedstarts $71,039
- Sweetwater Union Highstarts $58,029
See every California district on the California page. Compare this district on the comparison pages or the rankings.