Santa Barbara Unified salary schedule, 2026-27

Certificated base pay, 186 days (Exhibit B-6, 2026-27). The grid below is the schedule as published, every cell; pick a class and step to see the annual, monthly and per-day figure and the next five steps.

Santa Barbara Unified's 2026-27 salary schedule starts at $68,842.32 (Class I (BA < 45 units), step 1) and tops out at $129,281.16 (Class III (BA + 60 units), step 23), per Santa Barbara Unified School District (effective July 1, 2026).
The schedule is built on 186 work days, which makes the starting cell about $370.12 per day.
The grid has 3 class columns and 20 step rows; the highest cell is reached at step 23.
Santa Barbara Unified enrolled 12,491 students in 2023-24, the 117th-largest district in California by NCES enrollment.

Certificated base pay, 186 days (Exhibit B-6, 2026-27)

Official sourceDocumentSanta Barbara Unified School DistrictSchool year2026-27EffectiveJuly 1, 2026Work days186

Step \ Class	Class I (BA < 45 units)	Class II (BA + 45 units)	Class III (BA + 60 units)
1	$68,842.32	$72,158.70	$76,574.34
2	$71,611.86	$74,918.94	$79,890.72
3	$74,368.38	$77,675.46	$83,199.66
4	$77,128.62	$80,435.70	$86,517.90
5	$79,890.72	$83,199.66	$89,817.54
6	$83,199.66	$86,506.74	$93,128.34
7	$86,517.90	$89,815.68	$96,442.86
8	$89,817.54	$93,128.34	$100,317.24
9	$93,128.34	$96,442.86	$104,173.02
10	$97,380.30	$100,698.54	$108,041.82
11	$97,380.30	$100,698.54	$112,838.76
12	$97,380.30	$100,698.54	$112,838.76
13	$99,260.76	$102,580.86	$114,715.50
14	$99,260.76	$102,580.86	$114,715.50
15	$102,071.22	$105,387.60	$117,527.82
16	$102,480.42	$105,932.58	$118,344.36
17	$102,616.20	$106,070.22	$118,614.06
18	$102,751.98	$106,206.00	$118,887.48
19-22	$108,834.18	$112,171.02	$124,367.04
23	$113,127.06	$116,597.82	$129,281.16

highest celllowest cell20 step rows x 3 class columnshover or tap a cell to trace its row and column

Find my cell

Class

Step

Annual salary

$68,842.32

Per month (12)

$5,736.86

Per work day

$370.12 / 186 days

Next 5 steps in this class

Step	Salary	vs. selected
2	$71,611.86	+$2,769.54
3	$74,368.38	+$5,526.06
4	$77,128.62	+$8,286.30
5	$79,890.72	+$11,048.40
6	$83,199.66	+$14,357.34

Worked example as rendered: Class I (BA < 45 units), step 1 = $68,842.32 a year, $5,736.86 a month spread over 12 months, $370.12 per work day on a 186-day year. Monthly and daily figures are arithmetic on the published annual cell, before any supplement, stipend or deduction.

Exhibit B-6, Certificated Base Pay: 186 Days, 7/1/26 - 6/30/27, published as an HTML table on the district's 2026-27 Salary Schedules page.

Separate exhibits (B-7 TOSA 200 days, B-8 social worker, B-9 program specialist, B-18 Ed Specialist/Special Education 188 days) and advanced-degree stipends (B-1) are not included.

Step '19-22' is one printed row covering steps 19 through 22.

Soft spot: Every cell is an exact multiple of 186 days to the cent (daily rate x 186), which is the arithmetic check used.

How this schedule moves

On the Class I (BA < 45 units) column a teacher moves from $68,842.32 at step 1 to $113,127.06 at step 23: 19 step increases worth $2,331 each on average, 64% in total.

The largest single increase on that column is $6,082, between step 18 and step 19-22.

3 of the 19 step moves on that column carry no increase: the schedule prints the same figure for consecutive steps.

The highest-paid column, Class III (BA + 60 units), starts at $76,574.34 and tops out at $129,281.16, 14% above the top of the Class I (BA < 45 units) column.

Among the 825 California district schedules indexed here, Santa Barbara Unified's starting pay ranks 126th and its top cell ranks 256th; 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 96th percentile and the top cell at the 90th percentile.

Column by column

Class	First step	Top	Step moves to top	Growth
Class I (BA < 45 units)	$68,842.32	$113,127.06	19	64%
Class II (BA + 45 units)	$72,158.70	$116,597.82	19	62%
Class III (BA + 60 units)	$76,574.34	$129,281.16	19	69%

Against California districts of similar size

District	Students	Year	Starting	Master's start	Top cell
Santa Barbara Unified	12,491	2026-27	$68,842.32	–	$129,281.16
Victor Elementary	12,402	2024-25	$69,210	–	$148,547
San Dieguito Union High	12,364	2026-27	$74,434	–	$152,386
Chico Unified	12,317	2026-27	$60,813	$62,460	$131,154
Vacaville Unified	12,708	2026-27	$64,329	–	$123,172
Menifee Union	12,195	2024-25	$65,021	–	$135,681

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 Santa Barbara Unified schedule?

$68,842.32 at step 1 on Class I (BA < 45 units), per the 2026-27 schedule (Santa Barbara Unified School District).

What is the top of the Santa Barbara Unified salary schedule?

$129,281.16, at step 23 on Class III (BA + 60 units) (2026-27). 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 Santa Barbara Unified salary schedule?

On the Class I (BA < 45 units) column the top figure, $113,127.06, is reached at step 23, 19 step increases after step 1 (2026-27 schedule).

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