Press Releases

SACRAMENTO — Which positions received the highest salaries at state government agencies, California State Universities (CSU), and county courts last year? The answers are on State Controller Betty T. Yee’s Government Compensation in California website, updated today with 2016 self-reported salary data for more than 385,000 positions and $21 billion in wages.

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;
• Quickly see lists of top paid elected officials; and
• Export custom reports or raw data.

The newly published data include 247,177 positions in 149 state departments; 119,475 positions in 24 CSU institutions and the CSU chancellor’s office; and 18,782 positions in 53 superior courts.

For example, the new data show the average annual wages in state government grew by close to 3 percent to $67,601 and in CSUs by nearly 4 percent to $27,226. The average retirement and health care costs for an employee in state government increased by nearly 8 percent to $28,139 and by 9 percent to $10,907 in CSUs, according to the self-reported data.

California law requires cities, counties, and special districts to annually report compensation data to the State Controller. The State Controller also maintains and publishes state and CSU salary data. No such statutory requirement exists for superior courts; their reporting is voluntary. A list of entities that did not file or filed incomplete reports is available here.

The Government Compensation in California website launched in 2010. The website contains information on more than 2 million government jobs in California.

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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