JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new analysis of government salaries ranks Jacksonville as having the highest-paid public employees among several cities and counties, but a local political analyst says the comparison needs important context.
Our news partners at the Jacksonville Daily Record compared the compensation of the top 20 public employees in Jacksonville with counterparts in Northeast Florida and cities including Tampa, Orlando, San Antonio and Charlotte. Jacksonville ranked first, with an average salary of about $380,000 among its top 20 earners. San Antonio averaged about $298,000, followed by Orlando at about $265,000, Charlotte at about $262,000 and Tampa at about $221,000.
The Jacksonville Daily Record compared the city’s top earners with employees in four other Northeast Florida counties and cities, including Tampa, Orlando, San Antonio and Charlotte. (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)
The Jacksonville Daily Record compared the city’s top earners with employees in four other Northeast Florida counties and cities, including Tampa, Orlando, San Antonio and Charlotte. (Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)
But Jacksonville’s government structure is different from the other cities included in the comparison.
Jacksonville and Duval County have a consolidated government, meaning many employees have responsibilities that extend beyond what a typical city government handles.
“When you make comparisons, you need to make sure it’s apples to apples and oranges to oranges,” said Rick Mullaney, executive director of the Haskell Public Policy Institute at Jacksonville University.
Jacksonville is both a city and county government
Mullaney said comparing Jacksonville employees directly with employees of cities such as Tampa and Orlando can be misleading because those cities operate within larger counties with separate county governments.
Jacksonville, by contrast, consolidated its city and county governments in 1968.
“Jacksonville is a consolidated government, meaning that many of our public officials really are county officials as well as city officials,” Mullaney said.
Tampa is one city within Hillsborough County, while Orlando is one of 13 municipalities in Orange County.
“In Duval County, the city of Jacksonville is both a county and a city because of consolidated government,” Mullaney said. “To do a fair comparison you have to take into account the scope of the responsibilities as well as the people they serve.”
JEA, JaxPort, Jacksonville Aviation Authority also affect Jacksonville’s numbers
The Daily Record’s list also includes executives of independent authorities, including Jacksonville’s public utility and port.
The top two earners in the Daily Record’s Jacksonville analysis were JEA CEO Vickie Cavey, at about $721,000, and JaxPort CEO Eric Green, at about $566,000.
Cavey resigned as JEA’s CEO and managing director effective Sept. 25 after taking medical leave in July.
Mullaney said independent authorities should be evaluated separately from traditional city employees because of differences in the size and scope of their operations.
“There is a distinction between an independent authority, such as an airport authority, a seaport authority, or a public utility,” he said.
JEA is the largest municipal utility in Florida, according to Mullaney, making its top executive difficult to compare with a typical city employee.
Tampa’s port provides another comparison
Tampa does have a public port authority that operates similarly to JaxPort.
Port Tampa Bay CEO Paul Anderson’s compensation package climbed above $1 million, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Anderson was reported as the highest-paid port CEO in Florida.
Tampa Electric, meanwhile, is an investor-owned private utility rather than a government-run utility, so its CEO is not included in a comparison of government employees.
That illustrates one of the challenges of comparing government compensation across cities.
Why are public salaries increasing?
Mullaney, who previously worked for the city of Jacksonville for 20 years, including 13 years as the city’s general counsel, said rising public-sector compensation is not unique to Jacksonville.
He said increases can reflect inflation, population growth and competition for workers.
“Some of that is a response to inflation. Some of it is a response to population growth. And some of it a response of trying to be competitive in the marketplace for talent,” Mullaney said.
Jacksonville’s highest-paid traditional city employees
When independent authorities and certain professional positions are set aside, Jacksonville City Council attorney Jason Teal was among the city’s highest-compensated employees, at roughly $290,000 annually, according to the analysis.
He was followed by City Attorney Michael Fackler, Sheriff T.K. Waters and Mayor Donna Deegan.
Mullaney said that distinction is important when interpreting the headline that Jacksonville has the highest-paid city employees.
“To do a fair comparison, you need to make sure that you’re comparing it to counties and cities with comparable size and responsibilities,” Mullaney said. “Otherwise it may be a little bit, potentially a little bit misleading.”
The comparison has also sparked debate online, including criticism from Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond, who called for cuts to city employee pay.
Ultimately, Mullaney said Jacksonville’s compensation should be evaluated based not only on the size of an employee’s paycheck, but also on the size and scope of the government and services that employee is responsible for overseeing.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.