The average California government worker is paid twice as much as the average private sector worker in California.

Judged as of 2022-11-09, using the latest data available then (around 2021–2022). Compare average pay of California government workers (all levels, or state and local if that is the only basis published) with average pay of California private-sector workers. Use average annual wages per employee from official statistics (BLS QCEW by ownership, BLS/Census) or credible compensation studies. 'Twice' is a rough figure. TRUE: the ratio is about 1.85–2.15. MOSTLY TRUE: ratio 1.7–1.85 or 2.15–2.3, or about 2 only on total compensation (wages plus benefits) rather than wages. MIXED: the ratio is about 2 on one reasonable measure (e.g. one level of government, or total compensation) but well below 1.7 on the standard all-government wage measure. MOSTLY FALSE: government workers are paid more on average but the ratio is roughly 1.15–1.7 on all reasonable measures. FALSE: the ratio is below about 1.15, or government workers are paid the same or less.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 California State Government Workers Earn $143,000, Twice As Much As Private Sector Workers Hoover Institution · 15 February 2022

   “In 2019, California state government workers earned an average of $143,000 per year, while local government employees earned nearly as much, averaging about $131,000 annually. But California’s private sector workers earned about $71,000, roughly half as much as their public sector counterparts.”

2. E2 Researchers examine California public, private workers’ pay, total compensation - Berkeley News UC Berkeley News (reporting on the Center on Wages and Employment Dynamics, IRLE) · 18 October 2010

   “Wages earned by California’s public employees are about 7 percent lower, on average, than those received by comparable private sector workers, according to the report.”

3. E3 California’s Government Workers Make TWICE As Much as Private Sector Workers California Policy Center · 24 January 2017

   “It examined state and local payroll data provided online by the California State Controller and proved that the average pay and benefits for a full-time state/local government employee in 2015 was $121,843.”

4. E4 2021 Total Compensation Report California Department of Human Resources (CalHR)

   “| Bargaining Unit | Occupational Title | Wage | Total Comp | |---|---|---|---| | BU 01 | Accountants and Auditors | -8.3% | 6.0% |”

E1, a Hoover Institution analysis from February 2022, reports that in 2019 California state government workers earned about $143,000 on average and local government workers about $131,000. Private-sector workers earned about $71,000. That gives ratios of about 2.0 for state workers and about 1.85 for local workers. The quote does not say whether these figures are wages alone or total compensation including benefits. Under the criteria, a ratio of about 2 that holds only on total compensation counts as mostly true, so that uncertainty, together with E1 being the only source on this measure, keeps the verdict below true. E2 (a 2010 report comparing comparable workers) and E4 (CalHR comparisons by occupation) use a different method from raw average pay. E3 gives only the government-side figure, so none of them settles the ratio.