Median Earnings for Residents and City Staff of Los Angeles County Cities, 2014
| City Name | Median Earnings for City Residents | Medians Earnings for City Staff | City Earnings as % of Residents Earnings |
| Bell Gardens | $ 23,425 | $ 84,543 | 361% |
| El Monte | $ 27,115 | $ 86,973 | 321% |
| Azusa | $ 34,031 | $ 94,970 | 279% |
| Hawthorne | $ 35,942 | $ 97,071 | 270% |
| Los Angeles | $ 39,096 | $ 97,876 | 250% |
| San Gabriel | $ 41,517 | $ 103,590 | 250% |
| Compton | $ 30,272 | $ 75,530 | 250% |
| Inglewood | $ 35,224 | $ 82,942 | 235% |
| Downey | $ 41,676 | $ 97,944 | 235% |
| Baldwin Park | $ 32,335 | $ 75,500 | 233% |
| Irwindale | $ 34,333 | $ 80,053 | 233% |
| Monterey Park | $ 40,380 | $ 90,237 | 223% |
| Hawaiian Gardens | $ 27,771 | $ 62,039 | 223% |
| Santa Fe Springs | $ 42,738 | $ 91,945 | 215% |
| Paramount | $ 30,530 | $ 62,558 | 205% |
| Avalon | $ 31,469 | $ 63,952 | 203% |
| Rosemead | $ 32,511 | $ 65,608 | 202% |
| San Fernando | $ 35,038 | $ 68,969 | 197% |
| Long Beach | $ 45,182 | $ 85,909 | 190% |
| Alhambra | $ 42,224 | $ 79,290 | 188% |
| Carson | $ 42,447 | $ 79,165 | 187% |
| West Hollywood | $ 56,300 | $ 102,203 | 182% |
| Monrovia | $ 52,208 | $ 93,955 | 180% |
| La Verne | $ 61,254 | $ 107,924 | 176% |
| Bellflower | $ 37,055 | $ 64,924 | 175% |
| Glendale | $ 47,463 | $ 82,831 | 175% |
| Burbank | $ 54,252 | $ 93,670 | 173% |
| Commerce | $ 30,892 | $ 52,934 | 171% |
| Pico Rivera | $ 36,663 | $ 61,588 | 168% |
| Gardena | $ 40,515 | $ 67,829 | 167% |
| Pasadena | $ 54,425 | $ 88,211 | 162% |
| Lancaster | $ 42,768 | $ 69,247 | 162% |
| Palmdale | $ 43,982 | $ 71,091 | 162% |
| Whittier | $ 47,969 | $ 77,426 | 161% |
| Signal Hill | $ 55,255 | $ 87,064 | 158% |
| Arcadia | $ 58,036 | $ 87,628 | 151% |
| Norwalk | $ 38,997 | $ 58,127 | 149% |
| Torrance | $ 62,965 | $ 85,927 | 136% |
| Lakewood | $ 53,466 | $ 72,894 | 136% |
| Santa Clarita | $ 61,619 | $ 81,763 | 133% |
| Glendora | $ 54,798 | $ 72,288 | 132% |
| Beverly Hills | $ 75,368 | $ 93,846 | 125% |
| La Mirada | $ 54,952 | $ 67,049 | 122% |
| South Pasadena | $ 68,207 | $ 83,094 | 122% |
| Culver City | $ 65,277 | $ 77,006 | 118% |
| San Dimas | $ 58,340 | $ 68,370 | 117% |
| Redondo Beach | $ 80,414 | $ 92,318 | 115% |
| Santa Monica | $ 74,420 | $ 84,047 | 113% |
| Hermosa Beach | $ 82,234 | $ 81,888 | 100% |
| Sierra Madre | $ 75,320 | $ 72,911 | 97% |
| Manhattan Beach | $ 108,675 | $ 95,148 | 88% |
| Malibu | $ 96,127 | $ 78,332 | 81% |
| San Marino | $ 104,317 | $ 83,201 | 80% |
| Calabasas | $ 92,986 | $ 70,336 | 76% |
For more, visit www.TransparentCalifornia.com.
Our so-called leaders have created an elite class of public workers. With their over generosity and the folly of pay parity (comparing one out-of-line pay system with the next higher out-of-line pay ad infinitum), public service worker’s earnings are completely out of line with private sector jobs. Why should we pay public service workers more than the average pay of any particular place? No reason. We should not and the fact that we are is a danger to us all. Where will it end? Pay parity will drive those wages even higher. We must take a stand and stop the madness.
It would be more useful to see something that’s closer to an apples to apples comparison. Compare public sector engineers to private sector engineers, accountants to accountants, etc. I don’t see how you can make broad generalizations about the alignment of public sector earnings with private sector earnings without knowing the relative composition of job classifications of the two sets. For example, you wouldn’t be surprised if a comparison was made between the median earnings of state government workers with the median earnings of staff at a major hospital, and the results showed the hospital had higher salaries. Because you know the hospital is a smaller set of more specialized jobs. The private sector unfortunately has a large array of low paying jobs, like fast food worker, for which there is no analog on the public side, so why would you expect there to be alignment in the salaries? Would you want your County Health Inspector to make the same salary as the people flipping the burgers?
Hi Randal,
You are certainly correct about different job compositions in the private and public sector.
Our comparison does not adjust for that and, as you note, is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Nonetheless, I think there is value in assessing the compensation packages of public employees against the taxpayers who must bear the cost.
I did an analysis of the type you are requesting for the LADWP here: http://blog.transparentcalifornia.com/2015/03/19/examining-public-pay-in-california-the-los-angeles-department-of-water-and-power/
The premier experts on this issue, Andrew Biggs and Jason Richwine, did the most intellectually rigorous and methodologically sound study on this topic that adjusts for education, experience, and a host of other factors.
They found that the average California state worker earned 33% more in total compensation than a private worker holding the same qualifications and characteristics.
That study is here: https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/-biggs-overpaid-or-underpaid-a-statebystate-ranking-of-public-employee-compensation_112536583046.pdf
California’s local government workers earn about 10% more in wages and receive vastly richer benefits than state workers, however.
Based on their analysis of state workers, it is safe to assume the average local government worker receives compensation that is at least 45% more than the comparably skilled private worker.