The median full-time Seattle city-government employee earned $122,217 in base pay (2024 payroll, in 2026 dollars) against a private-sector median of $111,747 in the metro, a gap of +9%. At the 90th percentile, city pay was $187,965 against $307,305 privately (-39%).
By domain, city pay trails the private sector most in Software and IT (-18%), Legal (+1%), and Skilled trades (+1%) and leads in Admin and clerical (+65%) and Education (+57%). The payroll file covers 14,194 employees; 71.1% of titles map to a domain.
Seattle city pay by occupation domain
| Occupation domain | City median | Private median (metro) | Gap at median | City 90th pct | Private 90th pct | Gap at 90th | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All occupations | $122,217 | $111,747 | +9% | $187,965 | $307,305 | -39% | 14,194 |
| Admin and clerical | $110,657 | $67,048 | +65% | $145,137 | $134,493 | +8% | 2,697 |
| Education | $120,600 | $76,992 | +57% | $136,611 | $111,747 | +22% | 207 |
| Engineering | $161,059 | $156,446 | +3% | $206,230 | $279,368 | -26% | 969 |
| Finance | $119,604 | $111,747 | +7% | $175,519 | $252,705 | -31% | 506 |
| Legal | $176,516 | $175,015 | +1% | $225,830 | $446,989 | -50% | 150 |
| Management | $187,965 | $156,446 | +20% | $244,367 | $363,179 | -33% | 987 |
| Protective service | $137,851 | no private comparator | $187,721 | 2,302 | |||
| Skilled trades | $84,039 | $83,017 | +1% | $154,969 | $156,010 | -1% | 1,398 |
| Software and IT | $164,934 | $201,145 | -18% | $192,593 | $391,116 | -51% | 877 |