Police Sergeant Is Top Paid Berkeley Employee in 2021

BERKELEY, CA — A Berkeley police sergeant was the highest paid government employee in the city in 2021, according to numbers released by the California State Controller's Office.

Coming in at $331,507 with base pay and benefits, the position, a police sergeant 12.5, out-earned the city manager by more than $46,000 to become the highest paid city official.

The position paid more than double the $137,849 – $156,930 average pay range for the role, according to the State Controller's Office.

The top four municipal employees were all police sergeants coming in behind the leader at $330,421, $330,006 and $323,543, respectively.

Police department-related roles made up nine of the city's 10 highest employee wages. A firefighter rounded out the top 10.

The highest paid city council members in the state belonged to the city of Los Angeles, with wages sitting above $200,000. The highest paid mayor in the state belonged to San Francisco, with a wage of $353,802, followed by Los Angeles. The ranking did not differentiate between full- and part-time employees.

View all the local statewide data using this link.

Emily Rahhal contributed to this story.