Los Angeles County / Public Social Services Department / Payroll Clerk I

Job-title file

Payroll Clerk I

Provide administrative support — record-keeping, scheduling, correspondence, and customer service.

13 employees hold this title in Public Social Services Department. Median total compensation for the role is $115,489, above the department median of $111,187.

Employees: 13
Total payroll: $1.2M
Role median: $115,489
Agency median: $111,187
Comparison: Above

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$12,367$119,475+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 13 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Compared with the local labor market

Payroll Clerk I pay vs. the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area

Across all employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, the median wage for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks — about 6,600 people — is $65,040. Public Social Services Department pays a median base salary of $63,145 for this role, 3% below that figure — about the 41st percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Public Social Services Department sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$48,970

$59,810

$65,040

$78,160

$88,640

Public Social Services Department median · $63,145

The bar is the range of annual wages for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks across every employer in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Public Social Services Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks — about 153,140 people — is $58,260. Public Social Services Department’s median base salary is 8% above that national figure, about the 61st percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$39,500

$47,990

$58,260

$69,600

$81,350

Public Social Services Department median · $63,145

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA range relative to the national one.

Computed over the 12 of 14 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at Public Social Services Department is $115,586, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

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.

Compare departments

This role across Los Angeles County

Payroll Clerk I is held in 13 Los Angeles County departments. In Public Social Services Department, the median of $115,489 ranks #3 of 13.

Highest-paying departments for this role

La County Library

$118,415 · 2

Fire Department

$118,062 · 2

Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk

$114,016 · 2

Children & Family Services

$112,646 · 5

Mental Health

$111,866 · 1

Public Health

$111,608 · 2

Sheriff

$108,536 · 4

Internal Services Department

$106,597 · 4

Public Works Department

$105,482 · 3

Child Support Services

$102,359 · 3

District Attorney

$101,461 · 1

Auditor-Controller

$89,436 · 1

Median total compensation for the Payroll Clerk I role in other Los Angeles Countydepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Payroll Clerk beyond Los Angeles County

This role is reported in 3 jurisdictions. In Los Angeles County, the median of $118,670 ranks #1 of 3. See Payroll Clerk across all of Los Angeles County →

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

New York Public Authorities

$71,845 · 10

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

$42,205 · 7

Median total compensation for comparable Payroll Clerk roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.

Record list