Highest-paid government leaders in Miami-Dade County
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It pays to be in politics, but Miami's elected leaders are often not the highest-paid officials in local government.
The big picture: Unelected government employees — like city attorneys, city managers and police chiefs — typically out-earn the mayors and council members they report to.
The latest: The Miami New Times compiled the compensation of government leaders in almost every city, town and village across Miami-Dade County.
- Axios completed the dataset and ranked them in order from highest paid to lowest paid, not including retirement benefits.
Here are the top five highest-paid government leaders in Miami-Dade County as of May 2025, per New Times data:
1. Miami city manager Arthur Noriega: $471,714 (Population 487,000)
2. Miami Beach city manager Eric Carpenter: $375,000 (Pop. 83,000)
3. Cutler Bay town manager Rafael Casals: $323,842 (Pop. 46,000)
4. Miami Gardens city manager Cameron Benson: $317,207 (Pop. 116,000)
5. Golden Beach town manager Alexander Diaz: $314,754 (Pop. 919)
Takeaways: City managers and strong mayors — who run the day-to-day operations of a local municipality — make the most money among government leaders.
- Elected officials' base salaries often seem low, but their total compensation is much higher when accounting for fringe benefits.
Here's the full list, via the Miami New Times:
Aventura
Mayor: $10,000 salary plus $18,414 expense allowance
City manager: $237,500 salary.
Bal Harbour
Mayor: $30,000
Village manager: $222,847
Bay Harbor Islands
Elected officials: $1
Interim town manager/police chief: $265,000
Biscayne Park
Elected officials: No salary
Village manager: $176,000
Coral Gables
Mayor: $47,908
City manager: $294,137
- Commissioners voted in May to lower their pay after a 2023 pay raise hiked the mayor's overall compensation to $87,000 and commissioner pay to over $80,000.
Cutler Bay
Mayor: $21,112 plus a $2,400 travel allowance and $1,800 phone stipend.
Town manager: $323,842
Doral
Mayor: $80,690 plus $10,000 travel allowance.
City manager: $259,047
El Portal
Elected officials: $3,000 plus $2,000 each in discretionary funds and $5,000 for travel.
Village manager: $145,683.
Florida City
Strong mayor: $250,328 plus a $5,600 expense account, government cell phone and car.
Golden Beach
Elected officials: $1
Town manager: $314,754
Hialeah
Strong mayor: $150,000 plus $40,000 expense account.
Hialeah Gardens
Strong mayor: $157,864, plus $7,519 expense allowance and cellphone reimbursement.
Homestead
Mayor: $6,000 plus $12,500 car benefit, $22,500 expense allowance, $7,500 travel budget and $9,600 public relations account.
City manager: $273,000 plus $750 monthly car allowance
Indian Creek Village
Elected officials: $0
Village manager: $150,000
Key Biscayne
Elected officials: $0
Village manager: $252,847
Medley
Strong mayor: $230,872
Miami
Mayor: $97,000, plus a $2,500 expense allowance and $300 cell phone benefit.
City manager: $471,714
Miami Beach
Mayor: $10,000, plus $37,800 in fringe benefits
City manager: $375,000
Miami-Dade County
Strong mayor: $200,000
- Mayor Daniella Levine Cava cut her pay by $50,000 in 2020.
Miami Gardens
Mayor: $80,000 plus $6,000 car allowance, $552 telephone stipend and $15,000 travel budget.
City manager: $317,207
Miami Lakes
Mayor: $25,147 plus $600 monthly car allowance
Town manager: $226,986
Miami Shores
Elected officials: $0
Village manager: $290,000
Miami Springs
Mayor: $7,800 plus cellphone reimbursement
City manager: $185,400
North Bay Village
Mayor: $7,800 plus a work cell phone and travel reimbursement
Village manager: $175,000
North Miami
Mayor: $89,880 plus $200 monthly cell phone allowance and $750 monthly car allowance or assigned government car
City manager: $283,569
North Miami Beach
Mayor: $89,880 plus a $1,200 expense fund
City manager: $241,363 plus $150 monthly cell phone allowance and use of city vehicle
Opa-locka
Elected officials: $6,600 plus $300 monthly expense allowance.
City manager: $190,000
Palmetto Bay
Elected officials: $12,000 for commissioners, $24,000 for the mayor — plus varying taxable fringe benefits
Village manager: $210,968 plus a monthly $150 phone allowance.
- New this year, elected officials may now opt into a $400 monthly car allowance after the village manager offered them the option.
- Vice Mayor Mark Merwitzer — who argued the village charter requires that residents vote on pay increases — unsuccessfully tried to repeal the car allowance in May.
Pinecrest
Elected officials: No salary, but reimbursed for travel.
Village manager: $277,095
South Miami
Mayor: $14,000, plus $1,150 phone allowance, $500 car allowance and $2,000 in discretionary funds.
City manager: $275,286
Sunny Isles Beach
Mayor: $28,158, plus annual expense stipend of $6,000.
City manager: $276,894
Surfside
Elected officials: $1 a year, plus work phones.
Town manager: $250,000
Sweetwater
Strong mayor: $195,000
Virginia Gardens
Strong mayor: $15,503, plus a cell phone allowance and $4,920 travel budget.
West Miami
Elected officials: $1,200, plus expense allowances between $3,000-$5,000.
City manager: $236,000