Press Releases

SACRAMENTO — State Controller Betty T. Yee today published 2021 self-reported payroll data for cities and counties on the Government Compensation in California website. The data cover 666,421 positions and a total of more than $53.15 billion in 2021 wages.

Users of the site can:

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

The newly published data include 460 cities and 51 counties. The City of Hayward had the highest average city employee wage in California, followed by Fairfield, Pleasant Hill, Atherton, and Sand City. Topping the list for highest average county employee wage were the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, and Marin. The highest-salaried city employee in California was the CEO of retirement services for the City of San Francisco, while the top 25 highest-paid county employees work in health care professions.

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. Six counties and 22 cities failed to file or provided incomplete or late information. San Francisco is both a city and a county; the website reports San Francisco as a city.

Since the website launched in 2010, it has registered more than 14 million page views. The site contains pay and benefit information on more than two million government jobs in California, as reported annually by each entity.

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Yee is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller 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 and reelected in 2018, 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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