Press Releases

SACRAMENTO — State Controller Betty T. Yee has updated her Government Compensation in California website to include 2014 self-reported data for cities and counties. The data covers 602,377 positions and a total of more than $36 billion in wages in 2014 for 54 counties and 468 cities.

Users of the site can:

• View compensation levels on maps and search for compensation by region;
• Narrow results by name of entity or by job title;
• Build charts and trend graphics; and
• Export custom reports or raw data.

For instance, the new data show that the three counties with the highest average government salaries in 2014 were Santa Clara ($78,486), Alameda ($70,808), and Los Angeles ($69,608). For cities in 2014, Vernon led the way ($103,601), followed by Hayward ($94,041), and Palm Desert ($89,582). Average wages in city governments fell by more than 3 percent from 2013 to 2014, from $61,583 to $59,614. Average wages increased by almost 3 percent in county governments, from $59,309 to $60,993.

The new data show that average retirement and health care costs declined by about 1 percent in cities to $17,810 while increasing almost 11 percent for counties to $25,130. City governments with the highest average retirement and health care costs were Industry, San Jose, and Burlingame. For county governments, it was Alameda, Kern, and Santa Barbara.

Since the website was launched in 2010, it has registered nearly 9 million page views. The site now contains information on more than 2 million jobs in California, as reported by each government entity.

About 2.5 percent of cities failed to file or provided incomplete or late information. For counties, it was 5.3 percent. A list of noncompliant entities is available here.

Special districts compensation data for 2014 will be added in February.

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Yee is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller also safeguards many types of property until claimed by the rightful owners, and has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. She is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation's two largest public pension funds. Elected in 2014, Controller Yee is the tenth woman elected to a statewide office in California’s history. Follow the Controller on Twitter at @CAController and on Facebook at California State Controller’s Office.

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