California / Motor Vehicles

Agency file

Motor Vehicles

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

The Motor Vehicles plans, builds, and maintains transportation infrastructure — roads, bridges, transit, and motor-vehicle services.

In 2025, this agency had 9,009 employees with median total compensation of $65,028; the highest distinct record was $377,445.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $606.5M
Employees: 9,009
Median total: $65,028
Highest record: $377,445

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

-$19,281$146,366+

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

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 9,009 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($65,028) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $64,493 (96%)
Overtime — $1,079 (2%)
Other — $1,751 (3%)
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

$29,655

$53,069

$65,028

$79,595

$106,308

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $106,308 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $29,655. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Motor Vehicle Representative

3,912 · $56,730

Senior Motor Vehicle Technician

692 · $68,279

Licensing-Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles

629 · $69,164

Manager I Department of Motor Vehicles

613 · $79,401

Associate Governmental Program Analyst

311 · $78,449

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	$619.9M —	10,272 —	$59,486 —
2024	$605.6M ▼ 2.3%	9,495 ▼ 7.6%	$62,774 ▲ 5.5%
2025	$606.5M ▲ 0.1%	9,009 ▼ 5.1%	$65,028 ▲ 3.6%

Record list

Employees

Page 12

Michael Balderas

Motor Vehicle Representative/Motor Vehicles

2023 total comp

$1,502

Base pay: $1,445
Overtime: $57
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,502
Employment type: Intermittent
Union / bargaining unit: R04
Work county: Lake

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $3,295
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5258301897902
Salary Total: $19
Total Pay: $1,502

Michael Balderas holds the role of Motor Vehicle Representative at Motor Vehicles. Their status is intermittent. In 2023, their total compensation was $1,502. They are represented by R04.

Hilda Ellsworth

Assistant Division Chief/Program Manager Department of Motorvehicles/Motor Vehicles

2023 total comp

$1,500

Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,500
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,500
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: M01
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: R

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $10,952
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5252434621001
Salary Total: $10,952
Total Pay: $1,500

Hilda Ellsworth is a Assistant Division Chief/Program Manager Department of Motorvehicles at Motor Vehicles. They work full-time. 2023 total compensation came to $1,500. Their bargaining unit is M01.

Michael Ortega

Investigator/Motor Vehicles

2023 total comp

$1,500

Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,500
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,500
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R07
Work county: Orange

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $9,428
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5253538610005
Salary Total: $9,953
Total Pay: $1,500

Michael Ortega works as a Investigator for Motor Vehicles. Their status is full-time. Michael earned $1,500 in 2023. Union affiliation: R07.

Marilyn Mendez

Senior Motor Vehicle Technician/Motor Vehicles

2024 total comp

$1,496

Base pay: $1,205
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $291
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,496
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R04
Work county: Los Angeles
Middle name: B

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,778
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5252931890003
Salary Total: $4,778
Total Pay: $1,496

Marilyn Mendez holds the role of Senior Motor Vehicle Technician at Motor Vehicles. Their status is full-time. In 2024, their total compensation was $1,496. They are represented by R04.

Daniella Olivas

Motor Vehicle Representative/Motor Vehicles

2025 total comp

$1,489

Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,489
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,489
Employment type: Intermittent
Union / bargaining unit: R04
Work county: Los Angeles

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,779
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5256061897902
Salary Total: $28
Total Pay: $1,489

Daniella Olivas is a Motor Vehicle Representative at Motor Vehicles. They work intermittent. 2025 total compensation came to $1,489. Their bargaining unit is R04.

Diamond Andrade

Licensing-Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles/Motor Vehicles

2023 total comp

$1,470

Base pay: $1,363
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $107
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,470
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R07
Work county: San Mateo
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,276
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5255998758006
Salary Total: $4,276
Total Pay: $1,470

At Motor Vehicles, Diamond Andrade serves as a Licensing-Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles. They work full-time. Their 2023 pay totaled $1,470. Their bargaining unit is R07.

Susan Rodriguez

Motor Vehicle Representative/Motor Vehicles

2025 total comp

$1,464

Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,464
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,464
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R04
Work county: Orange
Middle name: R

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,271
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5256071897781
Salary Total: $5,521
Total Pay: $1,464

Susan Rodriguez works as a Motor Vehicle Representative for Motor Vehicles. Their status is full-time. Susan earned $1,464 in 2025. Their bargaining unit is R04.

Steven Chiu

Motor Vehicle Representative/Motor Vehicles

2024 total comp

$1,460

Base pay: $394
Overtime: $3
Other pay: $1,063
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,460
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R04
Work county: Marin

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,117
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5256861897006
Salary Total: $5,117
Total Pay: $1,460

Steven Chiu is a Motor Vehicle Representative at Motor Vehicles. They work full-time. 2024 total compensation came to $1,460. Union affiliation: R04.

Sarah Schroeder

Motor Vehicle Representative/Motor Vehicles

2024 total comp

$1,436

Base pay: $1,436
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $1,436
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R04
Work county: Nevada
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,308
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5255411897930
Salary Total: $4,308
Total Pay: $1,436

Sarah Schroeder works as a Motor Vehicle Representative for Motor Vehicles. Their status is full-time. Sarah earned $1,436 in 2024. They are represented by R04.