City of San Jose / Public Works / Painter
Job-title file
Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.
3 employees hold this title in Public Works. Median total compensation for the role is $135,243, above the department median of $132,393.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area, the median wage for Painters, Construction and Maintenance — about 2,410 people — is $61,970. Public Works pays a median base salary of $93,382 for this role, 51% above that figure — about the 87th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Painters, Construction and Maintenance across every employer in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Public Works’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Painters, Construction and Maintenance — about 225,190 people — is $49,400. Public Works’s median base salary is 89% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Public Works is $135,243, 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
Painter is held in 2 City of San Jose departments. In Public Works, the median of $135,243 ranks #1 of 2.
Median total compensation for the Painter role in other City of San Josedepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 28 jurisdictions. In City of San Jose, the median of $135,243 ranks #2 of 28. See Painter across all of City of San Jose →
Median total compensation for comparable Painterroles 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
Page 1
Painter/Public Works
Source-specific fields
Isaac Lopez works as a Painter for Public Works. Isaac earned $138,555 in 2025.
Painter/Public Works
Source-specific fields
Philip Johnson works as a Painter for Public Works. Philip earned $135,243 in 2025.
Painter/Public Works
Source-specific fields
At Public Works, Jose Melendez serves as a Painter. Their 2025 pay totaled $132,048.