Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in California earn a median of $99,650 a year (56% above the U.S. median of $63,970), based on about 155,160 jobs. Pay for the same job differs a lot by employer, experience, industry and city within California. These are wages of employees in the occupation, not a forecast for any individual.
Median annual pay
$99,650
56% above the U.S. median of $63,970
Average annual pay
$95,670
Mean wage
Pay range
$61,940–$127,070
10th to 90th percentile
Jobs in the state
155,160
Employees, May 2025
The state's price level is 110.7 (U.S. average = 100), so a median of $99,650 here equals roughly $90,018 after adjusting for the state's price level.
Explore more: elementary school teachers, except special education salary in every state · about this career · California earnings by education and major · California counties
Fields of study linked to this career by the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk (U.S. Department of Education, NCES, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics; a classification crosswalk, and many workers entered by other routes): Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Social Sciences, General
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, state estimates (employees only; self-employed workers are not included); price-level adjustment uses the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (where 100 is the U.S. average; MajorPays' calculation). Wages are for an occupation in a state as a whole and vary widely by employer, experience, industry and place within the state. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; neither agency has approved or endorsed this presentation. See Data sources for each dataset's terms.