Who makes the most at Modesto city hall? Here’s what every employee earned
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- Fifty of 56 employees earning over $300,000 worked in police or fire.
- Overtime pushed 13 public safety workers to earn more than their base pay.
- Median 2025 government pay was $118,212, above the city’s $79,891 household income.
Of the 56 Modesto city employees who earned more than $300,000 in total compensation last year, 50 worked in the police or fire departments. Their total pay rivals — and in some cases exceeds — that of city attorneys, department directors and elected officials.
Much of that compensation stems from substantial overtime. Thirteen public safety employees earned more in overtime last year than with their regular pay.
The Bee analyzed compensation data for every full-time Modesto government employee in 2025, including overtime, additional pay and benefits.
City Manager Joe Lopez was paid the most, including benefits, which brought his total compensation to about $451,000.
Police Sgt. Frank Jr. Inacio and Fire Capt. Theodore Luis Davis ranked next, each earning more in total compensation than the city’s police and fire chiefs.
City Council members each earned about $29,000, while Mayor Sue Zwahlen received $52,875.
Christina Alger, the city’s director of human resources, said that for many years, Modesto’s wages lagged — at 15% below market in 2018. Over the course of the past five years, wages have increased on average by about 8%.
“Now we’re finally at market, and that has increased our retention with the city employees, and so they kind of go hand in hand,” Alger said.
She said voter-approved Measure H has also allowed the city to add positions, contributing to rising wages.
In addition to negotiating with its five unions, the city conducts salary studies comparing 10 similar agencies to ensure its pay remains competitive. Those agencies include cities such as Bakersfield, Turlock and Sacramento, though the comparisons vary for police and fire roles.
Alger said most departments now fill vacancies relatively quickly. The Police Department previously struggled with recruitment as it competed with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
Engineering positions have been particularly difficult to fill, she said, citing a broader shortage in the field and higher pay in the private sector. Recruitment challenges though, she added, tend to rotate between departments.
The median total compensation for a Modesto government employee in 2025 was $118,212. By comparison, the city’s median household income in 2024 was $79,891, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Why so much overtime?
Ayuba Seidu, associate professor of applied economics at Stanislaus State, said he was initially blown away by the data. “But if you look and dig deeper into it, it makes sense, given the unique staffing needs and regulation for fire,” Seidu said. “The fire captain or somebody has to step in to do the job.”
The Fire Department operates under mandated minimum staffing levels, meaning crews must meet a set number of personnel at all times. If someone calls in sick or takes vacation, overtime is required to maintain that baseline.
And because captains earn seniority and greater flexibility to take time off, their absences can trigger overtime for other captains covering shifts. Who qualifies for overtime can also be dictated by collective bargaining agreements.
Alger said the reason for high overtime among the Police Department is due to the city’s grant-funded organized retail theft program. Top earners among the police often work special assignments or projects connected to such programs.
“Because we’ve been very active combating the retail theft, it has incurred a lot of overtime,” Alger said.
Due to the nature of their roles, fire captains and police sergeants can out-earn their department chiefs by generating significant overtime.
While hiring more employees seems like the easy solution to combat high overtime, Alger said that the city cannot over-hire for certain positions without having a place to put them.
Seidu added that paying overtime can be more cost-effective than hiring an additional full-time employee, since new hires come with added benefits. Still, he cautioned that excessive overtime can lead to employee burnout.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
