Press Releases

SACRAMENTO — State Controller Malia M. Cohen has released the 2024 self-reported payroll data for cities and counties on the Government Compensation in California website. This report covers 746,358 positions and a total of nearly $67.28 billion in 2024 wages. Twenty two cities and two counties failed to file or provided incomplete information.

“This report is a vital tool in promoting fiscal transparency and accountability in local government. Californians deserve to know how public funds are being spent and who is being paid with their tax dollars,” stated Controller Cohen. “The newly published data includes 461 cities and 55 counties. The City of Hayward had the highest average city employee wage in California, followed by the cities of Atherton, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, and Half Moon Bay. The counties with the highest average employee wages were Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Sonoma.”

California law requires cities, counties, and special districts to annually report compensation data to the State Controller’s Office (SCO). The SCO also maintains and publishes payroll data for state departments, University of California and California State Universities, as well as solicits compensation data voluntarily from superior courts, community college districts, K-12 education, First 5 Commissions, and Fairs and Expositions.

Since the website was launched in 2010, the SCO has published pay and benefit information on more than two million government jobs in California, as reported annually by each entity. 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.

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Cohen independently oversees and manages California’s financial resources with integrity and transparency to build trust. The Controller 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. Follow the Controller on X at @CAController and on Facebook at California State Controller’s Office.

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