California Payroll Data Reveals Stark Wage Gaps
California Controller Malia M. Cohen released the 2025 annual payroll report on Thursday, exposing massive compensation disparities across the Greater Sacramento region. The data reveals that city managers frequently earn over $400,000 annually, while K-12 educators average less than $50,000, underscoring systemic inequities in how local governments value public labor.
Which Greater Sacramento cities have the highest and lowest average wages?
The wage gap between neighboring municipalities is staggering. Fairfield reports the highest average wage for city employees at $115,615, while Placerville reports the lowest at $42,034. Across California, cities and counties reported approximately 751,117 filled positions and nearly $94.4 billion in total government compensation for 2025. Yet, these averages mask the lived reality of workers in different zip codes. A city employee in Fairfield takes home nearly three times the income of a counterpart in Placerville, a disparity that directly impacts housing security and community investment.
How much do city managers make compared to educators?
The most glaring revelation in the controller's report is the chasm between administrative leadership and frontline workers. The average total wage for city managers in the region is $290,491. In Lodi, the city manager earned $437,425, and in Tracy, the manager took home $414,351.
Contrast this with the people shaping our children's futures. The average wage among K-12 school district employees in the region is a mere $48,410. In the Grass Valley Elementary School District, the average drops to $33,246. We cannot pretend to value education while the adults staffing our classrooms are priced out of the middle class, and the adults managing the bureaucracy are earning executive salaries.
What does mayor compensation tell us about civic access?
Mayoral pay across the region also raises serious questions about who can afford to serve in public office. The average total wage for mayors is $23,882, but the range is vast. Sacramento's mayor earns $168,189, while the mayor of Marysville earns just $3,600. When civic leadership pays less than a part time minimum wage job, we effectively shut out working class people from participating in their own democracy. Low pay for elected officials is a barrier to entry that preserves political power for the already wealthy.
Are local governments meeting transparency requirements?
Transparency is the bedrock of participatory democracy, yet some cities are failing to show up. Stockton and Yuba City are excluded from this report because they failed to submit the required information or provided incomplete data. When local governments hide their payroll, they evade public accountability. Residents deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and state lawmakers should consider stronger penalties for municipalities that flout reporting rules.
Greater Sacramento regional compensation breakdown
Here is how total wages and employee counts stack up across the region's counties, based on the 2025 data.
- Sacramento County: 8,410 employees; $647,109,638 total wages
- Solano County: 3,458 employees; $331,870,147 total wages
- Stanislaus County: 3,584 employees; $258,595,573 total wages
- Placer County: 3,716 employees; $248,624,281 total wages
- San Joaquin County: 2,693 employees; $233,674,879 total wages
- Yolo County: 2,377 employees; $151,772,499 total wages
- El Dorado County: 554 employees; $37,053,481 total wages
- Nevada County: 456 employees; $35,991,623 total wages
- Yuba County: 149 employees; $9,032,439 total wages
Sacramento County's total wage payout nearly doubles that of Solano County, which ranks second. The city of Sacramento alone employs 5,827 people with total wages of $473,317,838, which is roughly 62 times higher than the total wages reported by Marysville.
Benefits and retirement contributions also vary wildly. Folsom provides the highest average retirement and health contribution at $30,845 per employee, while Marysville provides the lowest at $13,733. A worker's geographic location shouldn't determine whether they can afford decent healthcare in retirement.
What is the average wage for city employees in Sacramento?
The average wage for city employees in Sacramento is $81,228, based on 5,827 filled positions.
How much do Sacramento region city managers earn?
City managers in the Greater Sacramento region earn an average of $290,491, with individual salaries ranging from $109,320 in Turlock to $437,425 in Lodi.
What is the average pay for K-12 school district employees in the region?
The average wage for K-12 school district employees in the listed districts is $48,410, with averages as low as $33,246 in the Grass Valley Elementary School District.