California / Forestry and Fire Protection

Agency file

Forestry and Fire Protection

Source file: California — State Employee Compensation (SCO Payroll Data Warehouse, CPRA) / ingested Jul 4, 2026

The Forestry and Fire Protection provides fire protection and emergency response, including prevention, inspection, rescue, and medical aid.

In 2025, this agency had 13,250 employees with median total compensation of $111,787; the highest distinct record was $758,255.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $1.6B
Employees: 13,250
Median total: $111,787
Highest record: $758,255

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

-$17,871$275,989+

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 13,250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($111,787) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $67,565 (56%)
Overtime — $29,078 (24%)
Other — $24,792 (20%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$44,634

$77,363

$111,787

$162,642

$207,686

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $207,686 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $44,634. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Fire Fighter I

3,835 · $84,139

Fire Captain

2,312 · $178,347

Fire Apparatus Engineer

1,952 · $129,762

Battalion Chief

549 · $207,553

Fire Fighter II

418 · $114,080

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2023	$1.2B —	12,957 —	$81,412 —
2024	$1.4B ▲ 13.9%	12,674 ▼ 2.2%	$100,761 ▲ 23.8%
2025	$1.6B ▲ 13.6%	13,250 ▲ 4.5%	$111,787 ▲ 10.9%

Record list

Employees

Highest-paid first / page 466

Alexander Pika

Carpenter II/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

-$8,011

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: -$8,011
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: -$8,011
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R12
Work county: Sonoma
Middle name: N

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,007
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5411016475003
Salary Total: $5,257
Total Pay: -$8,011

At Forestry and Fire Protection, Alexander Pika serves as a Carpenter II within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled -$8,011. Union affiliation: R12.

Conner Calhoon

Fire Fighter I/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

-$8,068

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $646
Overtime: -$5,351
Other pay: -$3,363
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: -$8,068
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Merced
Middle name: H

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,737
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5424141083901
Salary Total: $4,737
Total Pay: -$8,068

Conner Calhoon holds the role of Fire Fighter I at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was -$8,068. Union affiliation: R08.

Keeler Busick

Fire Fighter I/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

-$17,871

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: -$17,871
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: -$17,871
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: San Luis Obispo

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,737
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423161083901
Salary Total: $4,737
Total Pay: -$17,871

At Forestry and Fire Protection, Keeler Busick serves as a Fire Fighter I within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled -$17,871. Their bargaining unit is R08.