Which Richmond-area officials make the most money
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Some local government workers make bank.
Why it matters: Local taxpayers fund those salaries.
Driving the news: Metro Richmond's three biggest localities collectively spent more than $1 billion on salaries last year, per a review of salary databases published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
- The RTD's Samuel Parker also laid out how many workers Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico each employ.
Zoom in: Chesterfield County administrator Joseph Casey, who is set to retire this summer, is the highest-paid local government employee both in the Chesterfield and the metro areas, earning $411,327 last year.
- Henrico County manager John Vithoulkas is only the sixth-highest-paid worker in his county. He made $359,007.
- And in Richmond, Mayor Danny Avula brought in $180,687, less than what 71 other city workers each earned.
By the numbers: Chesterfield taxpayers are getting the most bang for the buck, per the data.
- The region's largest locality (just under 400,000 residents), Chesterfield paid its 4,757 county workers around $332.5 million in total last year.
- Henrico, the second-largest, spent more than Chesterfield on fewer workers to support its 335,000 residents. Henrico employed around 4,500 workers, who together earned about $362 million.
- And it pays to work in Richmond. To serve its roughly 230,000 residents, the city paid 3,978 employees $332 million, the same amount Chesterfield spent on its significantly larger workforce.
Context: The city started working in 2021 to beef up its pay in an effort to attract and retain better talent, Axios reported.
- The result: City Hall spent $70 million more on wages between 2023 and 2024. Last year, Council approved across-the-board 3.25% increases.
The intrigue: While Henrico spends around $30 million more a year on salaries than each of Chesterfield and Richmond, it also has more workers who annually earn $200,000+ than its sister localities do.
- In Henrico, 41 workers make $200,000 or more, including seven employees who earn $300,000 or more.
- In Chesterfield, 37 people make at least $200,000, and seven make at least $300,000.
- In Richmond, 31 employees make $200,000 and up, with just two — chief administrative officer Donald Odie and city attorney Laura Drewry — earning $300,000 a year or more.
The bottom line: It may pay to work for the city of Richmond, but for taxpayers, Chesterfield is the winner.