19 of the highest-paid mayors in the US, ranked by salary

Major city mayors like Zohran Mamdani earn more than their state governors.
Mayoral salaries vary widely, with some small towns paying more than large cities.
San Francisco mayor, Daniel Lurie, forgoes his $383,760 salary, the highest in the nation.

It pays big to lead a city — sometimes more than it does to lead the state.

Zohran Mamdani, the newly inaugurated mayor of New York City, is joining the exclusive ranks of mayors who outearn their governors' salaries.

Mayor salaries range widely across the nation, with some in smaller towns earning as little as a couple of thousand dollars a year, to the six-figure salaries that 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 mayor salaries to identify mayors who earn 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 19 of the highest-paid mayors in the country.

Dearborn, Michigan

Population: 106,377

Mayor: Abdullah Hammoud

Salary: $212,083 in 2026, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

Chicago

Population: 2,721,308

Mayor: Brandon Johnson

Salary: $221,052 in 2026, as reported by Block Club Chicago, after Johnson decided to skip an annual inflation raise to his compensation.

Oakland, California

Population: 443,554

Mayor: Barbara Lee

Salary: $222,312 as of 2024, according to California state records.

Lee's predecessor — Sheng Thao, who left office in November 2024 — was mayor at the time of the reported salary.

San Jose, California

Population: 997,368

Mayor: Matt Mahan

Salary: $226,479 as of 2024, per California state records.

Medley, Florida

Population: 1,036 (per the Miami New Times)

Mayor: Ana "Lily" Stefano

Salary: $230,872, as reported by the Miami New Times in 2025.

Houston

Population: 2,390,125

Mayor: John Whitmire

Salary: $236,189 as of 2022, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.

Whitmire's predecessor, Sylvester Turner, was in office at the time the salary was reported. Whitmire was sworn into office on January 2, 2024.

Bellingham, Washington

Population: 95,860

Mayor: Kim Lund

Salary: $237,000, as reported by Cascadia Daily News in 2025.

The mayor decided to forgo a cost-of-living raise in 2026.

San Diego, California

Population: 1,404,452

Mayor: Todd Gloria

Salary: $244,147 as of 2024, per California state records.

Maui, Hawaii

Population: 163,688

Mayor: Richard Bissen

Salary: $245,000, as reported by the Honolulu Civil Beat in 2025.

Washington, DC

Population: 702,250

Mayor: Muriel Bowser

Salary: $250,000, according to the District of Columbia law, effective since 2023.

Boston

Population: 673,458

Mayor: Michelle Wu

Salary: $250,000 in 2026, as reported by Boston.com.

Florida City, Florida

Population: 13,157

Mayor: Otis T. Wallace

Salary: $250,328, plus a $5,600 expense account, phone, and car, as reported by the Miami New Times in 2025.

Wallace has been the city's mayor since 1984, with a salary that reflects his combined responsibilities serving as both mayor and city manager.

New York City

Population: 8,478,072

Mayor: Zohran Mamdani

Salary: $258,750, as previously reported by Business Insider.

Rosemont, Illinois

Population: 4,145

Mayor: Bradley Stephens

Salary: $260,000, as reported by the local outlet the Daily Herald in 2024.

Philadelphia

Population: 1,573,916

Mayor: Cherelle Parker

Salary: $269,708, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2025.

Quincy, Massachusetts

Population: 101,607

Mayor: Thomas Koch

Salary: $285,000, after a pay raise approved by the City Council in 2024, WBUR reported.

Oxnard, California

Population: 200,616

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

Population: 3,878,704

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

Population: 827,526

Mayor: Daniel Lurie

Salary: $383,760 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.

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19 of the highest-paid mayors in the US, ranked by salary