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Jurisdiction file

City of Charlotte employee compensation

Source file: City of Charlotte — Employee Pay / ingested Jun 19, 2026

In 2026, City of Charlotte reported 8,539 employees across 115 departments, with a total payroll of $733.3M. The highest-paid distinct record was Marcus Jones (City Manager - Administration) at $499,210.

Latest year
2026
Total payroll
$733.3M
Departments
115
Employees
8,539
Top record
$499,210

What the records show

Department analytics

Median pay and headcount show where payroll dollars concentrate and which agencies define the jurisdiction’s compensation profile.

Largest departments

The 12 departments employing the most people in 2026. Bar length is headcount. These departments drive most of the payroll and set the overall pay mix.

Highest-paying departments

Departments ranked by median total compensation — the typical employee's pay. High medians usually signal specialized or professional workforces (e.g. medical, legal, or public-safety agencies) rather than across-the-board higher pay.

Compared with the local labor market

City of Charlotte pay vs. the surrounding job market

Across 48 roles that match a standard occupation, City of Charlotte’s median base salary runs 38% above the median wage for the same work in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC. 30 of those roles pay above the local median and 18 pay below it.

Roles compared
48
Above local median
30
Below local median
18
Typical gap
+38%

This covers the 2,979 employees (35% of the workforce) in roles whose job titles map to a standard occupation. Titles that are too generic to match one — broad classification series, and job families the survey reports by academic field — are left out rather than guessed at, so the figure describes the comparable subset, not the entire payroll.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Department index

Open an agency file

Department pages break down pay distributions, common job titles, and the employees behind the latest published payroll.

115 departments

Cmpd Patrol Service Group1,292$87,360
Cfd Operations1,079$87,975
Air Operations416$62,358
Charlotte Water Field Operations371$61,069
Cmpd Support Service Group310$73,008
Cats Rail Operations267$76,891
Cmpd Special Service Group259$76,960
Air Facilities224$81,770
Sws Operations-Collections171$60,847
Cdot Street Maintenance164$58,225
Cmpd Investigative Service Group154$91,886
Charlotte Water Engineering148$86,726
Cmpd Administrative Service Group144$65,460
Charlotte Water Emd128$75,611
Cats Bus Operations128$57,886
Charlotte Water Administration126$102,163
Gs Main Engineering125$93,852
Gs Fleet Management122$77,884
Charlotte Water Customer Srv117$57,034
Cdot Engineering & Operations106$73,948
Charmeck 31198$56,805
Animal Care and Control88$54,152
Sws Operations-Special Service86$58,402
Cfd Aviation83$101,171
Air Administration73$89,363
Cmpd Office of the Chief72$81,734
Charlotte Water Maintenance71$74,506
Technology Communication Service67$94,815
Hns Code Enforcement64$73,060
Marketcomm Custsvc & Technician63$82,226
Stw Engineering and Design61$106,002
Charlotte Water-Wt58$69,677
Cfd Prevention57$82,451
Gs Landscape Management57$71,163
Stw Construction and Utilities57$82,389
Stw Regulatory56$90,391
Technology Operations54$112,714
Procurement Management52$92,498
Air Technology51$115,705
Stw Strategic Planning49$87,900
Charlotte Water-Lab Services48$76,628
City Attorney48$145,000
Air Development48$112,344
Land Development45$81,534
Enterprise Application Management40$120,034
Cats Executive and Administrat40$89,854
Gs Buildings Spratt Street39$92,352
Cdot Development Services37$91,300
HR Executive Administration35$101,066
Cfd Communications34$68,682
Air Business33$96,300
Cfd Administration33$86,840
Modeling, Analysis, & Design31$110,302
Cats Transit Development30$109,717
Air - Compliance Services30$89,093
Charlotte Communications29$88,116
Sws Director's Office28$73,757
Cats Safety and Security27$100,798
Stw Business25$88,967
Finance Risk Management24$84,197
Hns Housing Services22$79,731
Air Finance21$95,401
Innovation & Experience21$94,592
Finance Financial Reporting21$84,357
Finance Financial Services20$65,146
Cats Training Operations20$92,350
Economic Development20$97,471
Pplorgdev,Civrghts,&Sustgovaff19$81,026
HR Systems & Services Integration18$98,809
Community Tree Canopy Preservation (Ctcp)18$82,283
Long Range Planning18$95,324
Cr Administration17$75,449
Gs Real Estate17$87,216
Cats Transportation Services17$83,319
Technology Business Services16$111,331
Cats Planning and Special Operations16$82,576
Finance Revenue16$63,232
Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (Crtpo)15$93,618
Cfd Training15$123,325
Gs Cmgc14$75,421
Strategy & Budget14$118,449
Cfd Logistics14$67,415
Entitlement Services14$97,457
Hns Community Engagement13$78,111
Business Engagement Services13$131,103
Center for Data & Analytics13$112,350
Design & Preservation13$91,960
Air - Strategy13$92,000
Mobility Planning Division12$91,076
Business & Executive Services12$97,422
Office of Youth Opportunity12$77,268
Cdot Administrative12$109,758
Hns Administrative - Director's Office11$114,113
Cfd Investigations/Education11$95,014
City Manager - Administration11$269,363
City Clerk10$74,870
Internal Audit10$108,495
Sws Contracted Services9$66,914
Charlotte Business Inclusion9$79,256
Hns Business Support9$91,000
Sws Administration8$90,492
HR Organizational Development & Learn8$94,231
Cfd Emergency Management8$85,833
Finance Internal Control8$113,261
Workforce Development6$94,948
Finance Treasury6$114,277
Finance Administration5$103,798
Sustainability5$101,000
Sws Operations Overhead4$91,238
Finance Firefighters Ret4$76,188
Asset Recovery and Disposal2$74,693
Americans with Disabilitiesact2$81,994
Hns Zoning Enforcement2$72,735
HR Management & Strategy Integration2$74,708
Strategic Mobility1$247,095