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Santa Barbara Unified School District salary estimate

$39,328yearly

$18.91 hourly rate

Entry-level salary
$28,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Salaries at Santa Barbara Unified School District

The Santa Barbara Unified School District maintains a salary average of $39,328 per year, reflecting its commitment to competitive compensation within the education sector. The highest paying roles typically include specialized teaching positions and administrative roles, offering salaries that cater to experienced professionals.

Salary Insights by Department

Each department within the district showcases varying salary scales, influenced by factors such as role complexity and experience level. For instance, educators in specialized subjects may earn significantly more than those in general education. Administrative positions also tend to offer higher salaries, making them desirable for career advancement.

Career Opportunities

Whether you’re interested in teaching or administration, the Santa Barbara Unified School District provides a range of career paths. By understanding the salary landscape and department-specific compensation, you can make informed decisions about your career trajectory.

Highest paying jobs at Santa Barbara Unified School District

The highest paying jobs at Santa Barbara Unified School District are purchasing manager, school principal, director of special education, and occupational therapist. Purchasing manager jobs at Santa Barbara Unified School District earn an average yearly salary of $82,267, Santa Barbara Unified School District school principal jobs average $79,402, and Santa Barbara Unified School District director of special education jobs average $70,272.

The lowest paying Santa Barbara Unified School District roles include program lead and volunteer. Santa Barbara Unified School District program lead average salary is $29,639 per year. So while the average Santa Barbara Unified School District salary is $39,328 there is a big variation in pay depending on the role.

Highest paying jobs at Santa Barbara Unified School District

RankJob titleAverage Santa Barbara Unified School District salaryHourly rate
1Purchasing Manager$82,267$39.55
2School Principal$79,402$38.17
3Director Of Special Education$70,272$33.78
4Occupational Therapist$66,505$31.97
5Facilities Administrator$61,912$29.77
6Practicum Student$50,050$24.06
7Math Teacher$47,159$22.67
8Curriculum Specialist$46,690$22.45
9Licensed Practical Nurse$45,622$21.93
10Educator$45,473$21.86
11Instructor$44,611$21.45
12Safety Supervisor$42,127$20.25
13Children's Librarian$42,059$20.22
14Head Coach$42,028$20.21
15School Coordinator$41,791$20.09
16Educational Interpreter$41,659$20.03
17Administrator Secretary$39,129$18.81
18Head Basketball Coach$39,003$18.75
19Youth Services Specialist$37,714$18.13
20Counselor$37,611$18.08

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Santa Barbara Unified School District salaries by department

Salaries at Santa Barbara Unified School District vary depending on the department you work in. Santa Barbara Unified School District salaries in the marketing department are the highest with an average salary of $55,451. Employees in the engineering department at Santa Barbara Unified School District receive relatively high salaries as well, with an average salary of $51,297 per year. Departments that don't pay as well at Santa Barbara Unified School District include the hospitality/service and the facilities organizational functions, with employees earning average salaries of $33,376 and $35,955, respectively.

Average Santa Barbara Unified School District salary by department

RankDepartmentAverage Santa Barbara Unified School District salaryHourly rate
1Marketing$55,451$26.66
2Engineering$51,297$24.66
3Healthcare$46,615$22.41
4IT$44,727$21.50
5Education$40,355$19.40
6Non Profit/Government$38,219$18.37
7Administrative$37,786$18.17
8Customer Service$36,801$17.69
9Facilities$35,956$17.29
10Hospitality/Service$33,377$16.05

How much does Santa Barbara Unified School District pay by department?

Best paying Santa Barbara Unified School District education salaries

RankPositionAverage Santa Barbara Unified School District salaryHourly rate
1School Principal$79,402$38.17
2Math Teacher$47,159$22.67
3Curriculum Specialist$46,690$22.45
4Educator$45,473$21.86
5Instructor$44,611$21.45
6Children's Librarian$42,059$20.22
7Head Coach$42,028$20.21
8School Coordinator$41,791$20.09
9Educational Interpreter$41,659$20.03
10Head Basketball Coach$39,003$18.75
11Substitute Teacher$37,212$17.89
12Library Technician$36,611$17.60
13Student Mentor$36,047$17.33
14Teaching Assistant$35,941$17.28
15Tutor$35,684$17.16
16Site Coordinator$35,489$17.06
17Special Education Paraeducator$35,350$17.00
18Artist-In-Residence$35,273$16.96
19Special Education Instructional Assistant$35,037$16.84
20Instructional Aide$32,263$15.51

Best paying Santa Barbara Unified School District administrative salaries

RankPositionAverage Santa Barbara Unified School District salaryHourly rate
1Facilities Administrator$61,912$29.77
2Practicum Student$50,050$24.06
3Administrator Secretary$39,129$18.81
4Administrative Technician$37,477$18.02
5Administrative Assistant$36,904$17.74
6Library Technician$36,611$17.60
7Clinical Secretary$35,583$17.11
8Office Assistant$34,063$16.38
9File Clerk$33,379$16.05
10Library Page$29,125$14.00

Best paying Santa Barbara Unified School District healthcare salaries

RankPositionAverage Santa Barbara Unified School District salaryHourly rate
1Occupational Therapist$66,505$31.97
2School Psychologist$66,066$31.76
3School Nurse$51,437$24.73
4Nutritional Consultant$47,632$22.90
5Licensed Practical Nurse$45,622$21.93
6Food Service Director$40,263$19.36
7Counselor$37,611$18.08
8Health Technician$34,568$16.62
9Health Assistant$33,491$16.10

Santa Barbara Unified School District competitors’ average salaries

Average salaries at Santa Barbara Unified School District competitors, like The Orchard School, Harvard-Westlake School, and St. Mary's High School - Stockton, vary. The Orchard School employees earn the highest salaries, with an average yearly salary of $55,611. The average salary at Harvard-Westlake School is $55,265 per year, and the average salary at St. Mary's High School - Stockton is $54,027 per year.

Highest paying Santa Barbara Unified School District competitors

RankCompany nameZippia scoreAverage salary
1The Orchard School4.0$55,611
2Harvard-Westlake School4.5$55,265
3St. Mary's High School - Stockton4.1$54,027
4Mater Dei High School3.8$52,782
5Palo Alto High School3.9$50,238
6Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory4.0$50,052
7Oakland Technical High School3.8$49,808
8Saint David's School3.4$48,182
9Archbishop Mitty HS3.6$47,661
10Charter Schools USA4.6$46,335
11St. Ignatius College Preparatory3.7$45,863
12Chicago Public Schools4.2$45,068
13Washington Elementary School District4.6$44,849
14Rainbow Station3.7$44,045
15Westfield High School3.3$42,029
16Saint Joseph’s School3.8$41,981
17COMPTON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT3.7$41,771
18Newhall School District3.7$41,274
19Buncombe County Schools4.2$37,145
20Santa Barbara County4.2$36,965

Recently added Santa Barbara Unified School District salaries

JobLocationDate addedSalary
Substitute Teacher School Year (Pre-School, Tk-12, Afterschool)Ione, CA06/26/2025$49,566
English Teacher-Secondary School YearIone, CA06/26/2025$64,099
Math Teacher-Junior High School YearIone, CA06/22/2025$64,099
Instrumental Music Teacher-Junior High School YearIone, CA06/20/2025$64,099
Steam Art and Design Teacher-Elementary FTE School YearIone, CA06/20/2025$64,099

What employees say about salary at Santa Barbara Unified School District

Employee reviews
profile
3.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019
Pros of working at Santa Barbara Unified School District

The Students make every aspect of the position worthwhile.

Cons of working at Santa Barbara Unified School District

The lack of systems and support for growth in the school district is disheartening despite concerted efforts.

Santa Barbara Unified School District benefits

Health care Has been beneficial for my family.

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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Santa Barbara Unified School District, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Santa Barbara Unified School District. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Santa Barbara Unified School District. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Santa Barbara Unified School District. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Santa Barbara Unified School District and its employees or that of Zippia.

Santa Barbara Unified School District may also be known as or be related to SANTA BARBARA HIGH SCHOOL, Santa Barbara Elementary School District, Santa Barbara High School and Santa Barbara Unified School District.