New California payroll data reveals city employee pay across Greater Sacramento region
California Controller Malia M. Cohen released on Thursday the state's annual payroll report that provides a comprehensive look at salary compensation data in the local government workforce.
As a whole, California cities and counties reported approximately 751,117 filled positions and nearly $94.4 billion in total government compensation in the calendar year 2025.
CBS News Sacramento provides a data breakdown of compensation numbers, average employee wages, and total employee wages within city governments across the Greater Sacramento region.
Stockton and Yuba City are not included in the report because they failed to submit the required information or provided incomplete data.
By major city - number of employees; average wages
Of the major cities of the Greater Sacramento region, Fairfield has the highest average wage at $115,615. Placerville has the lowest average wage at $42,034.
- Citrus Heights: 258; $88,857
- Davis: 868; $53,765
- Elk Grove: 580; $102,983
- Fairfield: 810; $115,615
- Folsom: 946; $62,623
- Grass Valley: 135; $97,883
- Lodi: 741; $82,668
- Manteca: 717; $88,013
- Marysville: 112; $61,985
- Modesto: 1,897; $83,823
- Placerville: 199; $42,034
- Rancho Cordova: 163; $87,799
- Rocklin: 378; $86,514
- Roseville: 2,240; $79,127
- Sacramento: 5,827; $81,228
- South Lake Tahoe: 355; $80,813
- Tracy: 735; $95,671
- Turlock: 744; $63,046
- West Sacramento: 800; $77,064
- Woodland: 602; $63,565
By county - number of employees; total wages
Sacramento County has the highest number of city employees at 8,410. It also has the highest total wage at $647,109,638, which nearly doubles the county that follows, Solano County, which has a total wage of $331,870,147.
- El Dorado County: 554; $37,053,481
- Nevada County: 456; $35,991,623
- Placer County: 3,716; $248,624,281
- Sacramento County: 8,410: $647,109,638
- San Joaquin County: 2,693; $233,674,879
- Solano County: 3,458; $331,870,147
- Stanislaus County: 3,584; $258,595,573
- Yolo County: 2,377; $151,772,499
- Yuba County: 149; $9,032,439
By major city - number of employees; total wages
The city with the most government employees is Sacramento, and the city with the fewest government employees is Marysville. Sacramento City has 52 times more government employees than Marysville, which has 112 city employees. Sacramento City also has a total wage roughly 62 times higher than that of Marysville.
- Citrus Heights: 258; $22,925,190
- Davis: 868; $46,668,397
- Elk Grove: 580; $59,729,956
- Fairfield: 810; $93,647,984
- Folsom: 946; $59,241,496
- Grass Valley: 135; $13,214,145
- Lodi: 741; $61,256,619
- Manteca: 717; $63,105,503
- Marysville: 112; $6,942,358
- Modesto: 1,897; $159,012,856
- Placerville: 199; $8,364,755
- Rancho Cordova: 163; $14,311,274
- Rocklin: 378; $32,702,429
- Roseville: 2,240; $177,244,768
- Sacramento: 5,827; $473,317,838
- South Lake Tahoe: 355; $28,688,726
- Tracy: 735; $70,317,982
- Turlock: 755; $46,906,028
- West Sacramento: 800; $61,651,322
- Woodland: 602; $38,265,850
By major city - total wages for city managers
The average total wage for city managers in the cities listed below is $290,491.
- Citrus Heights: $296,782
- *Davis: $144,491; $78,260
- Elk Grove: $366,887
- Fairfield: $343,759
- Folsom: $257,227
- Grass Valley: $257,456
- Lodi: $437,425
- Manteca: $338,282; $18,000
- Marysville: $224,497
- Modesto: $371,171
- *Placerville: $185,345; $178,499
- Rancho Cordova: $331,871
- Rocklin: $277,319
- Roseville: $396,772
- Sacramento: $363,620
- South Lake Tahoe: $261,657
- Tracy: $414,351
- Turlock: $109,320
- West Sacramento: $302,092
- Woodland: $326,217
*These cities appointed a city manager during the 2025 calendar year.
K-12 education - number of employees; average wages
The average wage among employees at the school districts listed below is $48,410.
- Sacramento City Unified School District: 7,689; $59,606
- Twin Rivers Unified School District: 4,624; $55,035
- Folsom-Cordova Unified School District: 4,181; $50,732
- Manteca Unified School District: 4,314; $50,481
- Yuba City Unified School District: 2,323; $48,797
- Roseville City School District: 2,064; $50,964
- Woodland Joint Unified School District: 2,266; $43,651
- Stanislaus County Office of Education: 1,821; $48,267
- Western Placer Unified School District: 1,458; $44,595
- El Dorado Union High School District: 1,213; $47,132
- Grass Valley Elementary School District: 482; $33,246
By major city - wages for city mayors
The average total wage for mayors in the cities listed below is $23,882.
- Citrus Heights: $22,800
- Davis: $17,172
- Elk Grove: $31,800
- Fairfield: $23,180
- Folsom: $10,427
- Grass Valley: $7,200
- Lodi: $19,200
- Manteca: $26,400
- Marysville: $3,600
- Modesto: $52,875
- Placerville: $9,636
- Rancho Cordova: $14,385
- Rocklin: $8,220
- Roseville: $7,800
- Sacramento: $168,189
- South Lake Tahoe: $13,784
- Tracy: $24,304
- Turlock: $6,000
- West Sacramento: $31,068
- Woodland: $3,000
By major city - average retirement and health contributions per employee
Employees in Folsom City have the highest average retirement and health contribution, at $30,845 annually. Employees in Marysville have the lowest average retirement and health contribution, at $13,733 annually.
- Citrus Heights: $23,850
- Davis: $29,692
- Elk Grove: $30,299
- Fairfield: $28,920
- Folsom: $30,845
- Grass Valley: $29,547
- Lodi: $17,159
- Manteca: $21,341
- Marysville: $13,733
- Modesto: $20,483
- Placerville: $13,769
- Rancho Cordova: $24,641
- Rocklin: $22,215
- Roseville: $23,844
- Sacramento: $21,582
- South Lake Tahoe: $23,301
- Tracy: $29,011
- Turlock: $18,568
- West Sacramento: $22,709
- Woodland: $19,793
