Capistrano Unified School District teacher salaries
Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) is a unified school district in Orange County, with its district office in San Juan Capistrano. Pay starts at $65,219 on the first step. The largest group (69%) is on the BA+75+MA column, which climbs to $130,638 by step 23.
What is the average teacher salary at Capistrano Unified?
Lowest
$65,219
BA, step 1
Average salary on the teacher schedule1
$107,787
- $5,454 below Orange County average
- $4,235 above California average
Highest
$130,638
BA+75+MA, step 23
Capistrano Unified average
AveragesCalifornia $103,552, Orange County $113,241
- Full-time equivalents on the schedule
- 2,080
- Starting salary
- $65,219
- BA, step 1
- Median salary
- $112,890
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Average pay rank in California
- 161st of 828 reporting
- of 828 reporting
Capistrano Unified's full salary schedule, 2024-252
Shading shows where teachers actually sit. 52% of Capistrano Unified's full-time equivalents are on step 15 or higher.
| Step | BA | BA+45 | BA+60 | BA+75+MA |
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| 23 |
Only BA+45, BA+60, BA+75+MA continue past step 11.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Tap any salary to see how many full-time equivalents are paid it and follow it on the chart above.
- 5+
- 561
What BA+98, steps and credentials mean at Capistrano Unified
Two things place a teacher on Capistrano Unified's grid: years of service (the step) and college units since the bachelor's degree (the column). How we read the schedules.
- Step
- One per year of service; step 5 on Capistrano Unified's BA column pays $74,841. Experienced teachers joining Capistrano Unified can be placed as high as step 11.
- Column, such as BA+98
- A bachelor's plus 98 semester units since. Capistrano Unified's columns run from BA to BA+75+MA, 4 in all.
How fast does a teacher's salary grow at Capistrano Unified?
On the BA+75+MA column, pay passes $100,000 at step 9, with $102,402. Pick a column and a step to see the salary, and how far it is from the top.
$105,986
a year at step 10. This column tops out at $130,638 on step 23.
Does Capistrano Unified pay teachers more than the median California district?
Line up all 828 reporting California districts from the lowest average salary to the highest. The one in the middle is the median district: half the districts pay a lower average, half pay a higher one. A median isn't pulled up or down by a few unusually high- or low-paying districts, so it shows what a typical district pays.
Yes
Capistrano Unified's average of $107,787 is above the middle California district's $94,573.
All 828 reporting districts in California
Capistrano Unified ranks 161st of 828.
Middle district: $94,573
The 29 reporting districts in Orange County
Capistrano Unified ranks 21st of 29, below the middle district.
Middle district: $111,191
Each bar counts the districts whose average salary falls in a $5,000 band. The dashed line marks the median district.
Bonuses, health cover and work days at Capistrano Unified
Bonuses are paid on top of the schedule, in the amounts the district reported.2 Teachers are exempt from federal overtime pay.3 Extra pay for coaching, clubs and similar duties isn't part of this report.
- Health insurance, family planUp to $20,978paid by the district each year
- Master's degree bonus$2,4461,531 full-time equivalents eligible
- Doctorate bonus$2,44644 full-time equivalents eligible
- Bilingual teaching bonus$2,250100 full-time equivalents eligible
- National Board Certification bonusNot reported
- Special education bonusNot reported
- Summer school pay$50 an hour
- Work days a year185 days180 of them with students
- Schedule raise on last year0%can also mean not reported
- Highest starting step for experienced hiresStep 11
Questions about teacher pay at Capistrano Unified
How much do Capistrano Unified teachers make?
The average salary on Capistrano Unified's teacher schedule is $107,787 a year (2024-25). The salary schedule runs from $65,219 (BA, step 1) to $130,638 (BA+75+MA, step 23).
What does a new teacher earn at Capistrano Unified?
The schedule starts at $65,219 (BA, step 1). Teachers who bring experience from another district can start as high as step 11.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Capistrano Unified pay scale?
On the BA+75+MA column, where 69% of full-time equivalents are paid, pay keeps rising until step 23, where it reaches $130,638. Steps go up with years of service.
Does a master's degree raise pay at Capistrano Unified?
Yes, in two ways. The college units from a master's move you to a higher column on the schedule, and Capistrano Unified reports a master's bonus of $2,446 on top. For a doctorate it reports $2,446.
Is Capistrano Unified teacher pay high for California?
Capistrano Unified's average salary on the teacher schedule ranks 161st of the 828 California school districts and county offices of education that reported and 21st of 29 in Orange County. Across all of them, the average salary on teacher schedules is $103,552 statewide and $113,241 in Orange County.
Keep exploring teacher pay in Orange County
- Compare all 29 Orange County districtsStarting, average and top pay side by side, sortable
- Highest teacher salaries in CaliforniaThe top 25 districts by average, starting pay and top of the scale
- All public jobs in Orange CountyPolice, firefighters, 911 dispatchers and more in the county
- Fullerton Elementary$109,030 average salary on the schedule
- La Habra City Elementary$108,657 average salary on the schedule
- Lowell Joint$107,980 average salary on the schedule
- Saddleback Valley Unified$107,416 average salary on the schedule
- Fountain Valley Elementary$107,063 average salary on the schedule
- Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified$106,892 average salary on the schedule
Sources for the Capistrano Unified figures
Salaries are the annual amounts on the district's certificated salary schedule. Following the state's definitions, they leave out extended-year pay, bonuses and extra-curricular pay such as coaching. Counts are full-time equivalents, so two half-time teachers count as one, and they can include counselors, nurses and librarians paid on the same schedule. County averages, ranks and percentages are our own arithmetic on these figures; our statewide average matches the state's published $103,552.
- California Department of Education, Selected Certificated Salaries and Related Statistics, 2024-25, Table I: average salary paid, raise on last year, highest starting step. The median salary is our own calculation from source 2.
- Capistrano Unified's report to the California Department of Education, Form J-90 database, 2024-25: salary schedule, full-time equivalents per cell, bonuses, health contributions, work days.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #17D: Exemption for Professional Employees Under the FLSA: teachers are exempt from federal overtime pay.