The 10 Highest-Paid American Mayors, Ranked

Working as a mayor is a significant job, so you might not be surprised to learn that it typically comes with a six-figure salary to reflect their seven-figure population.

But you may not expect where these mayors end up on the list. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani could be making less than you expect, considering he oversees the biggest city in the U.S. by population, while mayors of smaller towns earn big salaries, including one who oversees a city of less than 4,000 residents.

Check out the top 10 salaries for mayors in the United States, based on data collected by Business Insider and reported by Visual Capitalist, to see if your mayor made the list and who shows up on top.

1. Daniel Lurie (San Francisco, California): $393,097

The California city by the bay is led by Daniel Lurie, who took over in 2025. He's a San Francisco native with deep roots in the area as he is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune—the company was founded in the city in the 19th century. While he does have an official salary, Lurie has an estimated net worth of more than $30 million and has decided to donate most of his salary back to the city, except for the $1 that he keeps.

2. Karen Bass (Los Angeles, California): $328,395

Karen Bass is a Los Angeles native who has been serving as the city's mayor since 2023. Before being elected mayor, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2022, so her job as mayor also meant a pay raise. As a House member, she would've made around $175,000 per year.

3. Luis McArthur (Oxnard, California): $323,282

California makes up the top three best-paid mayors, with Oxnard Mayor Luis McArthur also making the list. McArthur serves 200,000 residents as mayor, a role he was elected to in 2024. He previously served for 35 years with the Oxford Police Department.

4. Thomas Koch (Quincy, Massachusetts): $285,000

The city of Quincy is part of the greater Boston area, but Mayor Thomas Koch actually makes more overseeing the 103,000 residents than the mayor of Boston. However, his salary of $285,000 may not last long. After controversy surrounding his pay raise in 2024, the city council is now reviewing the cost, while Mayor Koch deferred the salary increase due to public complaints. 

5. Cherelle Parker (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): $269,708

Mayor Cherelle Parker is in her first term as mayor of Philadelphia after assuming office in 2024. The Philly native serves 1.5 million residents in the city, making it the third-biggest among the top 10 highest-paid mayors. She previously represented the City of Brotherly Love in the state legislature and on the Philadelphia City Council.

6. Bradley Stephens (Rosemont, Illinois): $260,000

Bradley Stephens has served as the mayor of Rosemont since 2007, taking over the position from his father, who passed away that year. Stephens’s salary is higher than the mayor of nearby Chicago, who makes $221,000 serving a city of more than 2.7 million residents. In contrast, Rosemont has a population of almost 4,000 residents.

7. Zohran Mamdani (New York, New York): $258,750

Zohran Mamdani became the mayor of New York City in 2026, overseeing the largest U.S. city in population with more than 8.5 million residents. The city council voted to give Mamdani and other city officials a raise a few months after he took office, but Mamdani turned it down. “I haven’t knocked on anyone’s door in New York City and they’ve said that their concern is that the mayor makes too little," he told reporters at the time. 

8. Otis Wallace (Florida City, Florida): $250,328

Florida City, near South Miami-Dade, recently said goodbye to its mayor after he served the city for 42 years in that position. He was first elected in 1984. When Otis Wallace retired in 2026, his $250,328 salary was higher than even that of Governor Ron DeSantis, who makes $141,400 annually.

9. Michelle Wu (Boston, Massachusetts): $250,000

Michelle Wu has served as the mayor of Boston since 2021, winning her reelection in 2025. Her current salary of $250,000 is a $43,000 increase from when she was first elected to serve the city. Her 20% pay raise was passed the city council in 2022 but couldn't take effect until after her reelection due to state ethics laws.

10. Muriel Bowser (Washington, D.C.): $250,000

Muriel Bowser has the unique distinction of serving as a city mayor without a state governor due to the nature of the District of Columbia. Because she is the mayor of a federal district and not a state, the Washington, D.C. native, who has served as mayor since 2015, has to work with the United States Congress to finalize laws governing her city.