Compared with the local labor market
Senior Wastewater Treatment Operator 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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators — about 2,230 people — is $82,460. Public Works - Sanitation pays a median base salary of $150,674 for this role, 83% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Public Works - Sanitation sits in the local pay range
$54,240
$67,150
$82,460
$101,930
$116,900
Public Works - Sanitation median · $150,674
The bar is the range of annual wages for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators 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 Works - Sanitation’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators — about 128,490 people — is $60,020. Public Works - Sanitation’s median base salary is 151% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$39,110
$48,040
$60,020
$74,780
$91,060
Public Works - Sanitation median · $150,674
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.
Median total compensation for this role at Public Works - Sanitation is $220,544, 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.