Bakersfield water operator salary, 2025

Bakersfield is a city in Kern County. 26 people worked as water operators for Bakersfield in 2025. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $81,572, overtime included.

What is the average water operator salary at Bakersfield?

Official pay range, wastewater treatment operators1

$49,924 to $93,882

from the lowest entry salary to the top of the highest title for wastewater treatment operators, the largest group

Average total pay, full-year water operators1

$81,572

average base pay $75,739

The largest group of Bakersfield's water operators (12 of 26) hold the title W W Treatment Plant Opr III, with an official range of $73,545 to $89,411. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $96,782, $7,371 above the top of the range.

Water operators
26
22 of them worked the full year
Starting salary
$49,924
bottom of the W W Treatment Plant Opr I range
Median total pay
$75,849
the middle water operator: half earned more, half less
Average pay rank
277th
of 300 California employers

What does each water operator title at Bakersfield pay?

Each bar is the official range for one title, lowest first. The dot marks the average total pay of full-year staff in that title, where at least 5 people stand behind it.1

Wastewater treatment operators

  1. W W Treatment Plant Opr I$49,924 to $60,695 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5
  2. W W Treatment Plant Opr II$56,214 to $68,342 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5
  3. W W Treatment Plant Opr III$73,545 to $89,411 · 12 people
    $96,782
  4. Senior Ww Treatment Plant Opr$77,222 to $93,882 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5

Wastewater collection operators

  1. Sewer Maintainer II$53,208 to $64,688 · 8 people
    $68,570
  2. Sewer Maintainer III$58,458 to $71,070 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5

official range average total pay, full year. "Fewer than 5" means too few full-year people in that title to show.

Does Bakersfield pay water operators more than other employers in Kern County?

Average total pay of full-year water operators: Bakersfield next to every employer in the county together, and the whole state.1

Full-year water operators at Bakersfield earned $17,595 less than the Kern County average and $42,154 less than the California average.

Where does Bakersfield rank among California employers?

Every employer with at least 5 full-year water operators, by average total pay.1

All 300 California employers

Bakersfield ranks 277th of 300, below the middle employer.

Bakersfield
$50k$100k$150k$200k

Middle employer: $116,210

The 10 employers in Kern County

Bakersfield ranks 9th of 10, below the middle employer.

Bakersfield
$80k$100k$120k$140k

Middle employer: $92,144

Each bar counts the employers whose average total pay falls in a $5,000 band. The dashed line marks the middle employer.

Pension and health cover at Bakersfield

As reported by the city. Contributions are what the employer paid per full-year water operator, on top of wages.1

Pension formula
3% at 60
the most common formula among Bakersfield's water operators
Employer pension contribution
$8,710
average per year
Health, dental and vision
$15,419
average paid by the employer per year

Questions about water operator pay at Bakersfield

What is the average water operator salary at Bakersfield?

Water operators at Bakersfield who worked the full year earned an average of $81,572 in 2025, overtime included. The middle water operator earned $75,849: half earned more, half less. The official pay range across its water operator titles runs from $49,924 to $93,882.

How much overtime do water operators at Bakersfield earn?

Full-year water operators were paid an average of $4,484 in overtime in 2025. The middle one was paid $4,197: a few people with a lot of overtime pull the average up.

What pension do water operators at Bakersfield get?

The most common pension formula among Bakersfield's water operators is 3% at 60, as reported by the city. The employer paid an average of $8,710 a year into the pension plan.

More salaries in Kern County

Sources for the Bakersfield figures

Every person who held a water operator position at Bakersfield at any point in 2025 counts toward the headcount. Pay figures use only people who worked roughly the full year: those whose regular pay reached at least 90% of the bottom of their official range. Total pay is gross wages before tax, including overtime, lump sums and other pay. Averages lead; the median total pay is the middle person's, with half above and half below, and is less pulled by a few people with a lot of overtime. Every figure covers at least 5 people.

  1. State Controller's Office, Government Compensation in California, 2025: positions, official pay ranges, wages, pension formula and employer contributions as reported by Bakersfield.

How we read the data