2022 City of LA Payroll Employee Residence Analysis

When it comes to payroll, where do your tax dollars “literally” go?

Payroll is one of the largest expenses of our City's budget. Some questions we get asked frequently are “How many City employees live in the City of LA?” and “What’s the potential amount of those dollars getting reinvested back into our city?”

Although City employees are not required to live in the City, some of the benefits of City employees living in the city they work in include:

  • • Reinvesting tax dollars back into the city (e.g. local spending / local taxes)
  • • Increases in our city budget due to more local revenue which means more spending on city resources and services
  • • More engagement with the local communities they serve as City employees
  • • Shorter commutes and faster response time in case of work emergencies
  • • Less traffic, greenhouse gas emissions and stress on workers and their families

Where people choose to live is the product of many factors – including affordability, lifestyle choices and family ties. But a close match between City staff and the communities they serve strengthens not only the economic health of Los Angeles, it also strengthens the bonds of connection and public trust.

Programs like “Targeted Local Hire” foster that relationship, but reform of the Civil Service system is needed to expand those opportunities beyond entry-level positions which are usually lower paying positions compared to other city jobs as evidenced by our analysis. This is especially important considering that our City suffers from chronic staffing vacancies where 1 out of every 6 jobs are unfilled. Other large cities have implemented incentives for employees, including first responders, to live in the communities they serve. Continued progress toward promoting additional affordable housing in our city, especially workforce housing and transit-oriented community projects, can offer more and better choices that are affordable to City workers.

Summary
Lived in City of LA# of Employees% of EmployeesTotal Payroll% of Total Payroll
NO32,06663.73%$3,635,090,60875.31%
YES18,24336.27%$1,191,730,26824.69%
Grand Total50,312100.00%$4,826,820,876100.00%

City of LA
Employee Resident #

Total # of Employees: 50,312

City of LA
Employee Resident Payroll $

Total Payroll: $4,826,820,876

Top 20 Outside Cities
City# of EmployeesPayroll Amount
Top 15 Out of State
Out of State# of EmployeesPayroll Amount
City Employees Making More Than $50K
Lived in City of LAPaid More Than $50K# of Employees% of GroupTotal Payroll% of Group
NOYES25,71680.20%$3,513,156,40596.65%
NONO6,35019.80%$121,934,2033.35%
YESYES9,23850.63%$1,052,846,65688.35%
YESNO9,00849.37%$138,883,61211.65%
Grand Total50,312$4,826,820,876

City Employees Outside of City of LA
Making More Than $50K

Total # of Employees: 32,066

City Employees Inside of City of LA
Making More Than $50K

Total # of Employees: 18,246

City Employees Making More Than $100K
Lived in City of LAPay More Than $100K# of Employees% of GroupTotal Payroll% of Group
NONO13,76742.93%$690,709,93519.00%
NOYES18,29957.07%$2,944,380,67381.00%
YESNO13,33573.08%$461,525,65838.73%
YESYES4,91126.92%$730,204,61061.27%
Grand Total50,312$4,826,820,876

City Employees Outside of City of LA
Making More Than $100K

Total # of Employees: 32,066

City Employees Inside of City of LA
Making More Than $100K

Total # of Employees: 18,246

Payroll Employee Analysis by Council District
CD## of EmployeesTotal Payroll
11,303$66,678,213
2910$54,961,671
3935$66,364,079
4843$60,431,772
5531$37,761,477
61,075$58,384,133
71,838$129,734,888
81,664$95,900,964
9879$38,564,640
101,317$76,359,934
11828$70,629,156
121,607$149,554,159
131,167$64,958,330
141,858$111,557,608
151,491$109,889,245
Grand Total18,246$1,191,730,268
City Employee Residence Analysis by Department
DepartmentLived in City of LA# of Employees% of Dept.Payroll Amount% of Dept. Payroll% of Total Payroll
City Employee Residence Analysis by Bargaining Unit
MOUBargaining UnitLived in City of LA# of Employees% of MOUPayroll Amount% of MOU Payroll% of Total Payroll