How Salt Lake City mayor's proposed salary compares to other cities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
If Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall gets her proposed $43,698 raise, she'll outearn the mayors of bigger cities like Denver and Portland, according to an Axios analysis of municipal salaries.
Why it matters: The cost of living in Salt Lake has risen dramatically since Mendenhall took office in 2020 — but the same is true in other large western cities where mayors make less than her proposed salary.
State of play: Mendenhall's 2024-25 budget plan includes a 26% wage increase for herself, raising her annual salary from $168,067 to $211,765.
- That would surpass Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's base salary of $182,900.
- City rules require council members, who serve part-time and typically hold other jobs, to earn 25% of the mayor's salary. If council members approve her request, their annual wages would jump from $42,017 to $52,941.
- The mayor's budget also calls for a 5% market adjustment raise for city employees.
By the numbers: In Denver, where the population is more than three times the size of Salt Lake City (716,577 to 209,593), Mayor Mike Johnston's annual salary is $205,991.
- A Portland commission in 2023 approved raising the mayor's base salary to $175,463 starting next year. Portland's population size is 630,498.
Mendenhall's current base salary already exceeds the annual pay of the mayors of Phoenix and Sacramento, both cities with much larger populations.
- Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego receives an $88,000 salary.
- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg's annual pay was bumped from $158,652 to $164,205 last year.
Between the lines: Both Denver and Salt Lake City have a strong mayor-council form of government, while Phoenix and Sacramento each employ city managers to conduct executive responsibilities.
- Portland uses a commission form of government.
What they're saying: In a statement, Andrew Wittenberg, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, said "it's difficult to draw comparisons across cities with different forms of government."
- The mayoral position hasn't received a market adjustment in the last decade, he said. Residents would not face new costs with the change.
- "This compensation adjustment addresses a pay disparity both in comparison to cities and towns in the state and within Salt Lake City Corporation," he said, noting that the mayor's base pay is among the lowest for city director and cabinet-level positions.
Zoom in: Wittenberg said Mendenhall's salary is less than the amount city managers or city administrators make in smaller cities like Clinton, Pleasant Grove, Spanish Fork and Taylorsville.
- Base salaries for city managers and administrators in those municipalities ranged between $163,617 and $201,791 in 2023, per Transparent Utah.
What's next: The Salt Lake City Council has until June 30 to approve Mendenhall's budget plan.