California / State Public Defender

Agency file

State Public Defender

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

The State Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.

In 2025, this agency had 109 employees with median total compensation of $113,709; the highest distinct record was $224,017.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $12.9M
Employees: 109
Median total: $113,709
Highest record: $224,017

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

$1,796$207,360+

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

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 109 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($113,709) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $114,988 (97%)
Overtime — $11 (0%)
Other — $3,227 (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

$34,263

$74,538

$113,709

$177,588

$195,268

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $195,268 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $34,263. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

18 · $167,542

16 · $192,971

10 · $186,501

6 · $113,613

Staff Services Manager I

6 · $92,989

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	$11.7M —	104 —	$120,733 —
2024	$12.3M ▲ 5.5%	105 ▲ 1.0%	$108,863 ▼ 9.8%
2025	$12.9M ▲ 4.5%	109 ▲ 3.8%	$113,709 ▲ 4.5%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Office of Administrative Law California71% match
Office of Public Utility Counsel Texas58% match
Public Defender City and County of San Francisco55% match
Public Defender Council, Georgia Georgia53% match
District Attorney Allegheny County, Pennsylvania50% match
Attorney General's Office South Carolina48% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Cristina Najarro

Attorney III/State Public Defender

2025 total comp

$146,061

Base pay: $145,711
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $350
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $146,061
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R02
Work county: Alameda
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $13,200
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 4260155795066
Salary Total: $12,670
Total Pay: $146,061

Cristina Najarro works as a Attorney III for State Public Defender. Their status is full-time. Cristina earned $146,061 in 2025. They are represented by R02.

Loretta Johnson

Attorney III/State Public Defender

2025 total comp

$146,013

Base pay: $139,843
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $6,170
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $146,013
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R02
Work county: Alameda
Middle name: A

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $13,191
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 4260155795071
Salary Total: $12,671
Total Pay: $146,013

Loretta Johnson works as a Attorney III for State Public Defender. Their status is full-time. Loretta earned $146,013 in 2025. They are represented by R02.

Michael Hopper

Attorney III/State Public Defender

2025 total comp

$139,888

Base pay: $139,588
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $300
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $139,888
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R02
Work county: Alameda
Middle name: A

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $11,395
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 4260155795076
Salary Total: $12,122
Total Pay: $139,888

Michael Hopper holds the role of Attorney III at State Public Defender. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $139,888. Their bargaining unit is R02.