US County Salaries: A Data-Driven Deep Dive into Pay Structures, Trends, and Equity

County governments in the United States employ millions of workers in every category of job from office clerks and accountants through sheriff’s deputies, public school teachers, and hospital nurses. These workers are the backbone of city and town public services. To be precise as of 2023, local governments (counties, cities, and school districts) had approximately 14.2 million employees – nearly 73% of all state and local government employees. This in-depth analysis surveys how pay scales in counties differ by job category and also by region (coastal and central versus rural), including recently released 2023–2024 salary range and median statistics, regional variations (coastal and central versus rural), highest-paying counties, issues of pay equity, compensation structures and reforms underway.

Overview of County Employee Categories and Pay

County workforces encompass multiple significant categories of employees with unique pay structures and economic forces:

• Administrative Staff: Clerical employees, administrative assistants, finance and HR employees, and other office support employees in the county agencies.
• Law Enforcement Officers: Mostly sheriff’s deputies and other public safety personnel (in most states, sheriffs’ offices are at the county level).
• Educators (Public K-12): In most locations, public school employees including teachers are hired by school districts which usually correspond to county lines (Maryland, Florida, Virginia) or are otherwise the largest public employer in an area.
• Healthcare Personnel: Counties can run hospitals, clinics, or health departments with nurses, physicians, technicians, and support personnel (such as large Los Angeles and Cook County hospitals).

Salary Ranges and Median Pay by Role

Let’s start by examining general salary ranges and medians for each main category of county employees. Keep in mind that salary can vary greatly from small rural counties to large metro counties. In general, city and affluent counties tend to pay higher, whereas rural counties having lower tax bases pay lower. Also, some positions (such as law enforcement and medical professionals) tend to have higher salaries than either administration or support functions because of the skills and hazards involved.

Administrative and Office Staff

County office administrators – including office clerks, administrative assistants, and support employees – typically command low salaries for the work they do but which can rise with experience, years of service on the job, and in line with general conditions in the area. In most regions, new office clerk employees may begin in the $30,000-$40,000 range each year, while seasoned administrative professionals in costly metro counties can exceed $50,000 or more in annual salary. For instance, an office assistant at the Maricopa County (Phoenix area) courthouse receives an average salary of around $62,600 each year (with median range from approximately $23,000 to $78,000) – well above the national median for comparable positions in recognition of higher salary scales in a large metro area. On the other hand, in an remote rural area, the same job may pay perhaps $30,000-$35,000 if both the area’s budget and cost-of-living factors are low (usually somewhere in the range of $15–$18 an hour).

In governments at the county level, pay for administration also varies by job and level of responsibility. Those professionals who have financial administration positions (budget analysts, accounting employees, etc.) receive higher pay than general office clerks. For example, for New York State’s counties (beyond NYC), the statewide average salary for finance administration employees was roughly $71,400 as of 2022. In the same dataset, the lowest-paid grouping of functions was for public welfare employees (many of whom are social service or administration staff), at an average of roughly $59,133 yearly. These numbers confirm that administrative/support functions, as much as they are needed, fall at the lower end of the salary scale in counties.

To be competitive and to fill job openings, most counties have been gradually increasing these support staff wages. Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are standard. Marion County, Oregon, for instance, granted a 5% COLA in 2023 for employees to keep their wages on parity with inflation. Still, even with such raises, administrative compensation in most counties continues to fall short of private sector offerings and leads to recruitment issues in some counties.

Law Enforcement (Sheriff’s Offices)

County-level law enforcement officers – sheriff’s deputies, patrol officers, and correction officers in the county’s jails – usually earn higher salaries than general administrative employees, again with significant regional disparity. Locally, the nationalaverage salary for police/sheriff’s officers in 2023 was close to $72,000, but the nationwide number obscures significant disparities between high- and low-compensating regions.

At the top end, counties in high cost-of-living metro areas pay their law enforcement exceptionally well. California leads the nation – police officers in California had a median salary of $113,460 in 2023, the highest of any state. In fact, the San Jose/Santa Clara County metro in California recorded the nation’s highest median pay for police and sheriff’s officers at $145,340 per year. Similarly, many suburban counties around major cities offer six-figure salaries to experienced deputies. For example, Los Angeles County, CA lists base annual ranges for deputy sheriffs from roughly $84,800 up to $143,100 depending on rank and tenure. In Monmouth County, NJ (a New York City suburban area), new sheriff’s deputies start around $50,000 and can reach about $134,000 at top step after 11 annual increases under their union contract.

By contrast, rural and less affluent counties pay far less. The state of Mississippi had the lowest median law enforcement pay in 2023 at about $41,080 per year. In small Southern counties, it’s not uncommon for a rookie deputy to earn in the $35k–$40k range. For instance, several small metro areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama report average police salaries in the mid-$40,000s or below – e.g. Hammond, LA averages around $42,600 (cost-of-living adjusted) for officers. These regional gaps persist even after adjusting for living costs: even on a purchasing-power basis, officers in states like Mississippi and Arkansas remain the lowest paid.

To illustrate the range of law enforcement pay, below is a table of some of the top-paying counties or areas for county law enforcement:

Top law enforcement pay tends to cluster in high-cost tech and coastal regions (California, Northeast). In lower-cost regions like the South, salaries are much lower, often under $50k.

These figures show how urban counties can pay several times more than rural counties for essentially the same public safety job. Unionization and collective bargaining also play a role (more on that later): many high-paying jurisdictions have strong police unions and negotiated step increases, whereas in states with weaker bargaining rights, pay scales are often flatter. Regardless, law enforcement remains one of the better-paid categories in county governments – for instance, in New York counties, police protection employees had the highest average salary of any function (about $104,700 on average).

Educators (Public K-12 Teachers)

Public K-12 educators are sometimes employed directly by county school systems (as in Maryland, Florida, Virginia, etc.), or by independent school districts that might still be analyzed at a county level for comparisons. Teachers’ salaries are typically determined by experience and education level on a salary schedule negotiated through collective bargaining. Nationally, teacher pay has been rising slowly in recent years, with the average public school teacher salary around $69,500 in 2023. But as with other fields, there are huge differences across regions.

Affluent suburban counties and coastal urban areas tend to have the highest teacher salaries. For example, New York and Massachusetts are consistently the top-paying states for teachers (even after adjusting for cost of living). In New York, a remarkable number of districts now boast median teacher salaries in six figures. According to state data for 2022–23, five New York counties had median classroom teacher pay above $117K. The highest were in the downstate NYC suburbs – Putnam, Westchester, Nassau, and Rockland counties – all averaging roughly $119K–$125K median for teachers. Suffolk County (Long Island) was close behind at about $118K median. Below is a table of these top counties for teacher pay:

Top-paying counties for teachers are often affluent suburban areas with strong unions. (New York’s suburbs lead the nation, with median salaries well into six figures.)

In other parts of the country, teacher pay is far less generous. Florida, for instance, ranks at the bottom for average teacher salary by state – about $54,875 in 2023–24, placing it 50th nationally. States like Mississippi and South Dakota have also historically been among the lowest. In cost-adjusted terms, Florida’s average teacher pay (around $50.5K when adjusted) was the lowest in the nation as of 2021–22. Many rural counties in the South and Midwest have typical teacher salaries in the $40k–$50k range, which is tens of thousands less than the big-city suburbs. For example, while a mid-career teacher in suburban New York might earn $120k, a similarly experienced teacher in a small Midwestern or Southern county might earn around $50k – a striking gap.

Within a given state, urban vs. rural disparities also emerge. In Florida, an interactive map of 2023 teacher salaries by county showed urban districts like Miami-Dade averaging around $57k, while some rural north Florida counties averaged in the low $40k range. Such differences often reflect local funding capacity (property tax bases) and state-level pay initiatives. It’s worth noting that due to union-negotiated step schedules, tenure significantly boosts teacher pay: the median pay in a district is often driven by having many veteran teachers at the top of the scale. A district’s median “reflects the pay scale set by the union contract and where its teachers (based on seniority and degrees) fall on that scale”. Thus, counties with older, more experienced teacher workforces (often affluent suburbs with low turnover) will show higher medians than those with many new teachers.

Healthcare Personnel (County Hospitals and Health Departments)

County governments also employ a range of healthcare personnel, especially in locales that operate public hospitals (e.g. large counties like Los Angeles, Cook, Harris, etc.) or health clinics and nursing facilities. Healthcare is arguably the category with the widest pay span – from modest-wage support staff to highly paid specialized physicians – even within the same county system.

At the frontline, registered nurses (RNs) in county hospitals earn competitive wages, often comparable to the private sector due to nationwide demand. In a large county facility, an RN can earn on the order of $70,000 to $100,000 annually. For example, the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center (a major county hospital) pays its RNs about $88,000 per year on average, a solid middle-class wage. Similarly, allied health professionals (lab technologists, therapists, etc.) in big counties often earn in the high $60k–$80k range.

On the other hand, physicians and surgeons working for county hospitals are among the top earners in local government. Big counties must compensate doctors to attract talent away from private practice, and these roles often come with six-figure salaries. In some cases, they are the highest-paid individuals on the county payroll. For instance, in 2022 a chief neurosurgeon at LAC+USC (Los Angeles County) earned about $812,561 in total wages, reflecting both a high base salary and significant on-call or overtime pay. Other physician specialists in that system also make well into the high six figures. It is not unusual for chief physicians, hospital directors, or county medical examiners in large jurisdictions to have compensation packages exceeding $300–$500K.

Of course, not all healthcare roles are paid so handsomely. Many counties employ public health nurses, social workers, and support staff whose salaries can be closer to the general government average or lower. And not every county runs a hospital – many rural counties do not, or they have separate healthcare districts. Those that do (often large urban counties) must budget a substantial portion for these salaries. In New York’s county data, the category “public hospitals and health care fields” had an average salary of about $80,000 in 2022 – indicating that, on average, health workers were relatively well paid, second only to police and fire in that state’s local government sectors.

Another healthcare compensation dynamic is the increasing minimum wage for healthcare workers. In response to staffing shortages and the essential nature of these occupations, some regions have proceeded to increase compensation for the lowest-paid healthcare employees. California recently enacted a law for an increase in the healthcare worker’s minimum wage (including at the state’s county-operated facilities) to $25/hour (approximately $52,000/year on a full-time basis) in 2025. This reform should bring pay for hospital orderlies, custodians, nursing assistants, and other lower-level positions higher. The counties in California will have to finance these raises in line with how overall healthcare workforce patterns directly influence California salary levels.

Regional Pay Variations: Urban vs. Rural, Coastal vs. Central

Geography is one of the strongest determinants of county salary levels. Generally, urban and coastal counties pay significantly higher salaries than rural and inland counties, driven by differences in cost of living, tax revenue, and labor market competition. Several data points illustrate this pattern:

• In New York State, downstate counties (the New York City metro area suburbs) not only pay their teachers more, as noted, but have higher local government pay across the board. The average annual salary of a local government employee in downstate NY was about $91,119 in 2022, compared to $65,053 in upstate counties. This 40%+ gap is partly due to the higher cost of living near NYC, as well as stronger unions and more professionalized workforces downstate. Cost of living aside, downstate governments saw slightly stronger pay growth since 2007 than upstate. In short, a county worker in suburban NYC makes on average ~$26k more per year than one in rural upstate NY for similar work.
• In California, a similar contrast exists. Wealthy coastal counties (San Francisco, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, etc.) offer much higher pay than inland or rural counties. A striking example: the small city of La Puente, CA (L.A. County) had an average city employee wage of only $23,000 in 2022, whereas nearby Hayward in Alameda County averaged about $126,000 – five times higher. Hayward’s average was in fact the highest among California cities, even above upscale Beverly Hills (avg ~$112,000). This illustrates that even within one state, local government pay can differ drastically. The Hayward example likely reflects a full-service city with well-paid police and utility workers, while La Puente’s low average suggests many part-time staff or a contracted-out service model. The broader point for counties is analogous: affluent, urban counties (often on the coasts) can afford generous pay scales, whereas small counties often struggle to match those levels.
• Looking nationally, coastal vs. central divides are evident in many professions. Law enforcement again is a good indicator: after California, the next highest-paying states for police in 2023 were Washington ($99,510 median), Illinois ($98,430), New Jersey ($91,850), and **Alaska ($90,060)】 – all significantly above the U.S. average. Meanwhile, states like Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and South Carolina are at the bottom (median police pay in the $41k–$50k range). These trends hold for other county roles too: for example, a county social worker or nurse in New York or California will generally earn far more than one in a low-cost Midwest or Southern state.
• Urban vs. rural: Counties encompassing major cities or suburbs often have higher-paid workforces than sparsely populated rural counties. Not only is the cost of living higher in metro areas, but unions are often stronger and labor markets tighter (forcing higher wages to attract talent). Additionally, some rural county governments are part-time or low-service (leading to lower averages). A telling metric from California: the city-county of San Francisco spent about $6,700 per resident on payroll – far above other areas – in part because it performs both city and county functions and has many high-cost departments. In contrast, a small rural county may have only a few employees per 1,000 residents and correspondingly low payroll outlays per capita.

In short, geography has a strong impact on compensation. Coastal, city, and suburban counties – particularly counties which have strong tax bases – have the highest salary figures in each category of employees. Rural and economically distressed counties usually pay significantly less, potentially making it harder to attract qualified employees to these locations.

Pay Equity: Gender and Racial Gaps in County Compensation

If we consider salaries at the county level in terms of race and sex, we must note a distinction between salary equity in comparable positions and more generally who occupies the higher-paid positions. More salary equity has been found in public sector employment historically (due to standard pay grades and union scales) than in certain private sector occupations, but gaps remain in aggregate.

A recent internal audit in Deschutes County, Oregon (2024) provides a candid snapshot of racial and gender pay disparities within a county workforce. It found that on average, White male employees earned more in total compensation than other groups in 2022. When all county jobs were considered, the audit reported that for every dollar earned by White men in Deschutes County, Non-white men earned about $0.90, White women earned $0.81, and Non-white women earned only $0.72. In other words, there was a significant pay gap, with women of color earning roughly 72% of what White male colleagues did on average. This gap accounted for factors like overtime and premium pay, and it highlights the intersectional disadvantage faced by women of color. Importantly, the auditors noted this doesn’t necessarily indicate overt pay discrimination for equal work (the county was conducting a deeper equal-pay analysis to check compliance with equal pay laws). Rather, it reflects occupational segregation – White men were more likely to occupy the higher-paying positions or have longer tenure, whereas women and minorities were overrepresented in lower-paid roles or had fewer years of service. The county’s response included plans for a formal pay equity study and adjustments to hiring and promotion practices to narrow these gaps.

Deschutes County is not an isolated case. Larger studies suggest women and people of color bear the brunt of low pay in the public sector. Women and Black workers across the nation are more likely to be in government employment compared to White men, so when public-sector compensation lags in comparison to the private sector, these individuals bear the brunt of it. In 2023, the Economic Policy Institute reported that “Low pay for public-sector workers disproportionally burdens women and Black workers who are more likely to be working in government positions.” Across counties, women are predominantly in the lowest-paid categories of positions such as clerical, library, or social services, while men are in strongly majority positions of higher-paid ranks of police, fire, and management. Even if the pay scales for the same job are equal by law or by contract, the distribution of occupations leads to gender pay gaps.

On a positive note, the public sector’s structured pay systems and unions can help reduce inequities. Many counties have formal pay grades where each job title has a fixed salary range applied irrespective of who holds the job. Additionally, some counties have undertaken pay equity audits (like Allegheny County, PA’s gender and race audit) and created pay equity commitments (e.g., Hamilton County, OH’s initiative to encourage employers to close gender/race wage gaps). These efforts aim to ensure that women and minority employees have equal opportunity to advance into higher-paying positions and that starting salaries are set fairly.

Another area of equity is the public-sector compensation disparity with the private sector. Employees at state and local governments who have the same education make less on average compared to their private-sector counterparts, though at times having superior benefits. This compensation disparity has the consequence of counties losing highly skilled women and minority professionals to private corporations offering higher compensation. One of the ways to close the disparity is through strengthening collective bargaining rights: studies indicate where public-sector unions are strong in the state, the compensation disparity (with the private sector) is lower, which also closes racial and gender wage disparities in the workforce.

In short, although county governments generally have open and standardized pay scales in place, gender and racial disparities remain in terms of who occupies the highest positions and how career advancement occurs. To reverse these disparities takes active efforts – from periodic pay audits to fair hiring, promotions, and compensation policies – to allow all employees equal opportunity to attain high salaries, not merely members of historically privileged categories.

Structural Trends in County Compensation

Several structural factors shape how county pay is determined and how it grows over time. Key among these are tenure-based pay scales, union influence, and cost-of-living adjustments. Understanding these can shed light on the trends observed in county salaries:

• Tenure-Based Pay (Step Increases): Most county positions have a step-and-grade system where employees get periodic salary increases for years of experience and/or education. For instance, teachers advance on a salary scale with “steps” for each year of experience and “lanes” for higher education credits or degrees. This means a teacher’s salary might start around $45,000 and automatically rise to perhaps $60,000+ after 10 years even without promotions, assuming negotiated raises each year. The impact of this is seen in places like the aforementioned New York school districts, where median pay is high largely because many teachers are at the top of their scale. Similarly, a sheriff’s deputy or a county nurse often has a contract with guaranteed step increases annually or biannually for, say, the first 5–15 years of service. The Monmouth County, NJ sheriff’s contract cited earlier (starting $50k and reaching $134k after 11 yearly steps) is a prime example. Tenure-based increases reward employee loyalty and experience, and they help counties retain staff (as leaving resets one’s step progress). However, they also mean that county payroll costs tend to rise each year even if the workforce size doesn’t change, due to these built-in raises.
• Collective Bargaining and Union Influence: Unions are a major force in county compensation, especially for teachers, police, firefighters, and many administrative workers. About half of states grant collective bargaining rights to local government employees, and in those areas unions negotiate multi-year contracts covering salaries, benefits, and raises. Union contracts often secure not only step increases but also general across-the-board raises and COLAs. Research indicates that strong unions correlate with higher pay for government workers: states that expanded bargaining rights have seen public-sector wages rise closer to private-sector parity. Conversely, in states with weak or no bargaining rights, public employees tend to earn significantly less (relative to their education/experience) and have seen stagnating wages. For instance, collective bargaining can narrow pay gaps – EPI notes it benefits not only workers but also helps governments recruit and retain quality staff by keeping pay competitive. One trend in recent years is some previously anti-union states reconsidering bargaining: e.g., Virginia in 2021 allowed localities to bargain with public-sector unions for the first time in decades. At the county level, union influence is evident in things like longevity pay (extra pay for long service), generous overtime rules (which can boost effective pay, as seen with some deputies earning large OT), and negotiated premium pay (like higher rates for night shifts or advanced certifications). These provisions contribute to overall compensation beyond base salary.
• Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs): To match salaries with inflation and living costs in the area, many counties use COLAs or inflation-indexed raises. COLAs can be established in labor contracts or via HR policy. For instance, a county could offer a COLA equal to the area’s Consumer Price Index increase each year (typically with some cap). In times of low inflation this would be ~2%, but in 2022–2023 some counties experienced 7–8% inflation and hence had larger raises or one-time payouts. We observed Marion County, OR offering a 5% COLA in 2023; similarly, Montgomery County, MD bases its overall wage adjustments on the DC-Baltimore CPI, which resulted in a significant increase in FY2023. COLAs allow employees’ purchasing power to be maintained (particularly important for low-paid employees) and keep turnover in check. High COLAs can be budget-busters, however, so not all counties pay full inflation adjustments – some negotiate reduced raises in lean years to gradually erode real wages. The recent inflation spike has put COLAs in the limelight: counties who had all pay frozen or offering 1-2% raises are now under pressure to make more competitive adjustments in order to keep employees. For example: Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) debated offering ~7% raises to recruit teachers in light of high living expenses.
• Merit Pay and Bonuses: While unions support across-the-board raises, some counties have begun implementing merit pay for non-union employees or management. This can be in the form of performance bonuses or pay-for-performance. These are more prevalent for heads of departments or in more business-like public compensation in some states.. The prevalence is limited, but it’s a trend in certain areas trying to incentivize productivity.
• Tenure vs. New Hire Compression: A structural issue many counties face is salary compression – long-tenured employees’ pay grows via steps, but starting salaries may lag market rates, causing new hires to come in at almost the same pay as veterans (or conversely, forcing higher starting pay that narrows the gap with incumbents). Some counties periodically adjust pay scales upward for new hires (which can cause equity issues with existing staff). This is part of structural reform discussions: how to reward experience while also attracting fresh talent with competitive offers.

In sum, county compensation is often a product of structured systems: years-of-service grids, union-negotiated raises, and adjustments for inflation or market conditions. These systems have generally ensured steady if modest pay growth – for example, the NY data showed every local government function’s average salary rose at least ~35% from 2007 to 2022 (nominally), which roughly kept pace with inflation in many cases. Certain functions (such as hospitals and corrections) experienced 50-70% growth, in part caused by union contracts and increased demand from the workers. But structures can also be resistant to change: an ever-shifting labor market may pressure rapid larger adjustments (such as the sudden police and teacher shortages we have just seen). Counties are currently struggling with how best to update pay structures to be more flexible and yet continue to be fair and transparent.

Evolving Challenges and Reforms in County Pay

As we head through the mid-2020s, county governments face a number of challenges in their pay structures – as well as initiatives aiming to reform and improve how public employees are compensated. Key issues include:

• Workforce Shortages and Competitive Pressures: Counties are having trouble filling positions in fields such as law enforcement, education, and healthcare. A principal reason given is uncompetitive pay. Thousands of public employees left or retired during the COVID-19 pandemic and its wake; bringing in new recruits has been tough in competition with private employers who are typically increasing wages. For instance, public schools across the nation have teacher shortages and counties have insufficient nurses, EMTs, and even school bus drivers. Low compensation has been found to be the primary factor in these staffing shortfalls in schools and other local government agencies. A few counties just can’t keep up with private hospitals’ signing fees or nearby well-heeled districts’ higher compensation. These have prompted demands for across-the-board pay hikes. In fact, some governments have responded with selective raises – e.g. higher starting salary for police officers, one-time retention payouts for teachers, or mid-year wage hikes for healthcare workers. The challenge is keeping these hikes within the constraints of tight county budgets.
• Budget Restraints and Sustainability: County budgets (primarily property taxes, sales taxes, and state/federal funding) may be volatile and governed by limits. Salaries (via COLAs or new union contracts) can stretch budgets and present trade-offs. Salaries and benefits, which increase along with salaries, must be paid by counties. For example, recently, Baltimore County, MD experienced a looming budget shortfall threatening promised teacher raises. Weaker counties have to resort to hiring freezes or even reductions to staffing if compensation expenses balloon. One solution is improved long-term planning: performing compensation studies and projecting the effect of raises on pension costs, etc., to make them sustainable. Restructuring benefits (such as providing tiered healthcare options or wellness incentives) to contain costs and freeing direct pay dollars is being looked at by some counties.
• Equity and Pay Reform Initiatives: As discussed, there is growing attention to pay equity by gender and race. Reforms in this area include revising job evaluation systems to remove bias, increasing outreach to underrepresented groups for higher-paying jobs, and adjusting salary offers to avoid perpetuating past inequities. A number of counties have established “equity officers” or task forces that, among other duties, review compensation practices. The example of Hamilton County, Ohio’s Pay Equity Commitment (a pledge for employers to work toward closing gender/race wage gaps) highlights a collaborative approach to reform. Additionally, compliance with laws like many states’ equal pay acts (which often prohibit asking about salary history and require equal pay for comparable work) is driving changes in county HR practices. Some are instituting structured hiring salaries to ensure new hires are brought in at rates that don’t undervalue women or minorities (Deschutes County’s audit recommended revising rules for setting starting salaries to be more equitable).
• Minimum Wage and Living Wage Ordinances: Beyond California’s health worker minimum wage, various counties (or states affecting county workers) have implemented higher minimum wages or “living wage” requirements for government employees and contractors. For example, counties in states like Maryland and Florida have adopted living wage ordinances ensuring even the lowest-paid county jobs pay above a certain threshold (often pegged to local cost of living). This raises the floor of the pay scale and is a reform aimed at reducing poverty among government workers such as janitors, aides, and maintenance staff.
• Merit Pay and Restructuring: Another contentious reform movement is the movement in some jurisdictions to implement merit raises or pay-for-performance in the public sector. Supporters suggest it would increase efficiency and reward high-performing employees; critics fear it would open the door to bias or undermine the equity of step systems. A few counties have piloted bonus programs for exceptional performance or to reward teams that meet certain targets (common in areas like economic development or revenue collection). The jury is still out on how widespread or successful these will be, but it reflects a changing conversation about government HR – trying to borrow private-sector ideas to motivate and retain talent, especially younger employees who may expect faster salary growth tied to performance.
• Collective Bargaining Changes: Legislative reforms can also change county compensation structures. New laws in some of the jurisdictions are enlarging or reinstating collective bargaining rights, which tend to increase compensation. For example, as mentioned earlier, Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, and several other jurisdictions recently granted additional bargaining authority to municipal employees, leading to new contracts with raises. On the flip side, some states (like parts of the Midwest earlier in the 2010s) curtailed public bargaining, which tempered wage growth. The pendulum may be swinging back now in favor of bargaining, given workforce shortages and political pressure to better compensate “essential” public workers.
• Transparency and Public Pressure: The advent of public salary databases (most states have open records or websites such as Transparent California, SeeThroughNY, etc., reporting all employees’ compensation) has caused higher scrutiny of county wages. Taxpayers react adversely at times to very high wage levels (such as a county administrator or hospital CEO at $300k). The issue can pressure county boards to explain wages or in some cases limit them. Transparency also has the ability to uncover underpayment problems (such as discovering many employees are paid less than a living wage). In general, increased transparency is a reform encouraging counties towards sensible, evidence-based pay policies, knowing the public eye is on them.

Conclusion

County workers do the core work keeping communities functioning – educating children, patrolling streets, providing justice, fixing roads and parks, treating the sick, and more. This deep dive has uncovered significant variation and complexity in county salaries as a function of job type, regional economy, union contracts, and changing policy decisions. We found administrative workers typically take home modest salaries in the $40k range (dependent on location), while law officers and healthcare workers can command strong pay, particularly in big counties. Educators’ salaries continue to increase gradually, some counties paying six-figure means while others fall significantly behind. There’s a clear regional trend for higher pay in city/shoreline counties and lower pay in rural/hearthland counties, both equity concerns and concerns of capacity for these counties to recruit talent.

We also examined pay equity concerns, observing that although county salary scales are ostensibly equal, women and minorities tend to be paid less on average as the result of positional discrepancies – something counties are now dealing with through auditing and pledges of equitable pay practices. The structural mechanisms of county pay – tenure-based raises, union influences, COLAs – show why pay progresses as it does and why public-sector wages don’t always keep up with private sector. Yet, these mechanisms also provide stability and a measure of fairness that are hallmarks of public service employment.

Ultimately, the reforms and challenges on the horizon mean county compensation will continue to shift. When labor markets become tighter, counties will be forced to increase salaries (many are already doing just that) in order to remain competitive. Increased government worker minimum wages, performance pay initiatives on the cutting edge of pay-for-performance experimentation, and enhanced collective bargaining rights are all in the arsenal being used to help counties recruit and retain qualified employees. And at the same time, there are strict budget limitations, so each increase in pay must be weighed against other public demands – a delicate balancing act for county policy makers.

Sources:

• U.S. Census Bureau – Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll, 2023: data on local government employment and payroll.
• New York State Comptroller – Local Government Workforce Trends in NY, 2023: analysis of full-time county and school district salaries by function.
• Economic Policy Institute, 2023 – Public-sector pay gap report: findings on how unionization and pay intersect, and impact on women and Black workers.
• Empire Center (SeeThroughNY) – Teacher pay analysis, 2024: New York counties’ median teacher salaries (Putnam $125k, etc.).
• USAFacts, 2025 – Police salaries analysis: state and metro comparisons (e.g. San Jose police $145k median; Mississippi $41k).
• SF Standard, 2023 – California local pay report: examples of variation (Hayward avg $126k vs La Puente $23k).
• Deschutes County, OR Audit, 2024 – Wage Equity Audit: gender/race pay gap findings (women of color ~$0.72 on the dollar).
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. – official salary schedule (deputy $84k–$143k).
• Monmouth County (NJ) Sheriff’s Office – recruitment info (deputy $50k starting to $134k max).
• Indeed.com salary data – examples for county positions (Maricopa County admin assistant $62k) and LA County hospital nurse ($88k).
• Marion County, OR – FY2023 budget COLA document (5% cost-of-living raise).
• Hamilton County, OH – Pay Equity Commitment documentation.

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