Austin's 2025 payroll snapshot: City Manager leads a high-earning lineup

An American-Statesman analysis of the City of Austin’s FY2025 payroll shows 13,567 full-time workers, a median regular pay of $86,711, and City Manager T.C. Broadnax at the top with $538,608 in total pay (no overtime). Overtime drives many top earners’ totals, especially in Police and Austin Energy, where 139 employees earned as much or more in overtime as in regular pay; Police Chief Lisa Davis received no overtime. Mayor Kirk Watson earned $151,443. Overall, overtime totals were $52.2M for Police, $22.2M for Fire, and $19M for Austin Energy, with Emergency Medical Services relying on overtime for ~27% of pay. The Information Security Office had the highest median regular pay at $147,530; the Law Department the second at $121,555. Data reflect FY2025 full-time, non-temporary staff as of Sept. 20, 2025, from public records.