Mayor salaries range widely across the US, from some in smaller towns earning as little as a couple of thousand dollars a year to the six-figure salaries many major city leaders earn.
Since mayors' salaries are set at the local level by city councils and local legislatures, there are no centralized reports on what mayors earn across all cities and towns.
And a larger city doesn't always mean a bigger payday for its mayor. Some high-earning enclaves with as few as 1,000 residents pay their mayors higher salaries than those in some of the nation's largest cities.
We compiled recent reports on local mayors' salaries to identify those earning more than $200,000 a year. We also identified the size of the cities they lead using the latest US Census population estimates.
Here are 20 of the highest-paid mayors in the country.
Salary: $285,000, after a pay raise approved by the City Council in 2024, WBUR reported. The mayor proposed a lower raise to $225,000 in October 2025 after backlash from residents, WCVB reported.
Oxnard, California
APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images
Population: 199,651
Mayor: Luis A. McArthur
Salary: $323,282 as of 2024, per California state records.
McArthur's predecessor, John C. Zaragoza, was in office at the time of the reported salary. McArthur was sworn into office on December 11, 2024.
Los Angeles
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Population: 3,869,089
Mayor: Karen Bass
Salary: $328,395 as of 2024, per California state records. Local reporting in 2025 put the number at $301,000.
San Francisco
Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Population: 826,079
Mayor: Daniel Lurie
Salary: $393,097 as of 2024, according to California state records.
However, Lurie decided to take a $1 salary from the city, as reported by local outlet KQED in 2024. At the time of the reported 2024 salary, Lurie's predecessor, London Breed, was in office.
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