How much do teachers get paid in ?

Refreshed annually
Teachers made between $58,200 and $101,300 per year in 2025, depending on the role. These figures represent the annual median wage for California pre-K–12 teachers. Preschool teachers tend to be at the lower end of the range, while high school teachers tend to be at the higher end, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates. The median wage is the midpoint — half of teachers in each role earn more, and half earn less.
For comparison, in California, the median wage across all occupations was $58,200 in 2025 — about 0% higher than the median preschool teacher wage.

$58.2K

median annual wage for preschool teachers in California (2025)

$99K

median annual wage for middle school teachers in California (2025)
Among teachers working in elementary, middle, and high schools, annual pay varied by the grade level taught. In California in 2025, preschool teachers earned the least, earning around $58,170 annually. High school teachers made the most at around $101,310 per year. In other words, high school teachers earned about 74% more than preschool teachers.

High school teachers earn $101,300 annually, more than any other CA teachers

Median annual salary of elementary and secondary school teachers, excluding teachers of students with disabilities and technical teachers (CA, 2025)

Do California teachers make more or less than the US average?

Teacher salaries vary nationwide. In 2025, California teachers earned more than the national median for every grade level reported. The largest percentage difference was among elementary school teachers, who earned 56% more than the national median. High school teachers — typically the highest-paid group — earned about 40% more than their counterparts nationwide.

California teachers earn more than the national average at every level.

Median annual salary of elementary and secondary school teachers, excluding teachers of students with disabilities and technical teachers (CA, 2025)

How much do special education teachers make in California? What about technical education teachers?

Pay also varies by specialization. Teachers of students with disabilities (collected in the data as “special education”), earn about the same or less than general education teachers at all levels except preschool in California. In 2025, the median wages for teachers of students with disabilities ranged from 3% lower to 24% higher than those of other teachers at the same grade level.

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The largest difference for teachers of students with disabilities was at the preschool level, where they earned $72,400 per year compared to $58,200 for other preschool teachers, a 24% difference.
Some schools, primarily middle and high schools, also employ technical teachers. These teachers provide vocational and technical training in fields such as automotive repair, culinary arts, cosmetology, and information technology, to help students develop career skills. In California, their median wages were $80,600 at the high school level in 2025, 20% lower than those of general education teachers at the same level.

In California, teachers of students with disabilities earned more than other teachers at several grade levels.

Median annual salary of elementary and secondary school teachers (CA, 2025)

How does the government help low-income students?

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.