2025 Public Sector Pay Intelligence

Your Peers Already Know What the Market Pays. Now You Can Too.

Benchmark pulls verified salary data from 14,000+ municipal payrolls, school districts, and state agencies — so you walk into that board meeting with numbers, not estimates.

14,000+ verified government payrolls
680+ job classifications tracked
Updated quarterly from public records

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Six public HR professionals around a conference table with laptops open, lanyards on, one person mid-laugh pointing at a printed salary report, warm overhead lighting, whiteboard in background
FY25 COMP STUDY — IN PROGRESS
Deputy Sheriff · Median
$72,480
+4.2% vs. private sector
911 Dispatcher · P75
$61,200
↑ 3.8% YoY
Water Operator · P25
$48,950
Verified · 1,240 agencies
14,200+
Agencies
680+
Classifications
4.1M
Data Points
50
States Covered
Deputy Sheriff
Water Treatment Operator
Assistant City Manager
911 Dispatcher
Civil Engineer III
Budget Analyst
Public Health Nurse
Firefighter/Paramedic
Transit Operator
Parks & Recreation Director
IT Systems Administrator
Snowplow Operator
Court Clerk
Building Inspector
Library Director
Animal Control Officer
HR Generalist
Fleet Maintenance Technician
Planning Commissioner
Assessor
Records Manager
Social Worker II
Deputy Sheriff
Water Treatment Operator
Assistant City Manager
911 Dispatcher
Civil Engineer III
Budget Analyst
Public Health Nurse
Firefighter/Paramedic
Transit Operator
Parks & Recreation Director
IT Systems Administrator
Snowplow Operator
Court Clerk
Building Inspector
Library Director
Animal Control Officer
HR Generalist
Fleet Maintenance Technician
Planning Commissioner
Assessor
Records Manager
Social Worker II

Where the data comes from

Verified public records. Not surveys. Not estimates.

8,400+
Municipal Payroll Disclosures
3,100+
School District Records
2,700+
State Agency Filings
14,200+
Government agencies
680+
Job classifications
4.1M
Individual pay records
Quarterly
Update cadence
Public Safety Classifications

Law Enforcement & Emergency Services

Median annual salaries across 1,240 counties. Adjust by jurisdiction size, region, and agency type.

Job Classification25th %ileMedian ★75th %ileSample (n)
ClassificationJurisdiction Type25th %ileMedian75th %ilen
Police Officer / Deputy SheriffCounty (500k–1M pop)$58,200$72,480$84,1001,240
Detective / InvestigatorCounty (500k–1M pop)$68,400$81,300$94,500412
Sergeant / CorporalCounty (500k–1M pop)$74,800$88,200$101,400389
LieutenantCounty (500k–1M pop)$88,100$103,600$118,200218
CaptainCounty (500k–1M pop)$101,300$118,900$136,500142
911 DispatcherCounty (500k–1M pop)$48,200$58,400$68,100876
Emergency Management Coord.County (500k–1M pop)$62,400$74,800$88,300301

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Real Outcomes from Real Jurisdictions

Find someone who manages a jurisdiction like yours.

"
We were losing paramedics to hospital systems paying $18,000 more. I pulled the Benchmark report at 10pm, built the slide deck by midnight, and the commissioners approved the range adjustment unanimously.
Paramedic turnover dropped 62% in 18 months
Renata Kowalski, HR Director at Cuyahoga County Ohio, professional woman smiling
Renata Kowalski
HR Director · Cuyahoga County, OH
"
I used to dread the comp study season. Now I actually look forward to it.
Saved 40 hrs per classification study
Priya Venkataraman, Classification Analyst at Colorado CDOT, professional woman
Priya Venkataraman
Classification Analyst · State of Colorado, CDOT
"
I was writing a classification study at midnight before a legislative session. Benchmark had the state agency comp data I needed in two minutes.
Classification study submitted on time
James Thibodeau, Deputy Secretary of Administration for State of Maine, professional man
James Thibodeau
Deputy Secretary of Administration · State of Maine
"
The classified staff raise passed 7-0. Every trustee had the same data I had. That's never happened before.
Board vote: unanimous
Darnell Okafor, CFO at Lewisville ISD Texas, professional man with warm smile
Darnell Okafor
CFO · Lewisville ISD, TX
"
Snowplow drivers. We were competing with private contractors paying $8 more an hour. The data gave our city manager the ammunition to act before winter.
Zero plow operator vacancies heading into winter 2024
Marcus Delacroix, City Manager in Duluth Minnesota, professional man
Marcus Delacroix
City Manager · City of Duluth, MN
"
The P25-to-P75 spread for 911 dispatchers told us we were at the floor. That single number changed the conversation with our finance director.
Dispatcher starting pay raised $6,400
Sonia Marchetti, HR Manager at Clark County Nevada, professional woman
Sonia Marchetti
HR Manager · Clark County, NV

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Operations & Trades Classifications

Public Works & Infrastructure Operations

From CDL drivers to water treatment operators — the classifications hardest to retain against private contractors.

Job Classification25th %ileMedian ★75th %ileSample (n)
ClassificationJurisdiction Type25th %ileMedian75th %ilen
Water Treatment Operator IMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$42,100$51,800$62,4002,104
Water Treatment Operator IIMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$48,300$58,900$70,2001,876
Wastewater Treatment TechMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$44,600$54,200$64,8001,432
CDL Driver / Snowplow OperatorMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$40,800$49,600$58,9003,218
Streets Maintenance WorkerMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$37,200$45,400$54,1002,890
Fleet Maintenance TechnicianMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$46,800$56,300$67,1001,104
Public Works SupervisorMunicipal (25k–100k pop)$62,100$74,600$88,400642

This data is waiting for you.

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Full comparison table: P25, median, P75 by jurisdiction type

Regional peer analysis: counties your size, your state

YoY trend: how your classifications moved vs. 2024

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