Santa Ana water operator salary, 2025
Santa Ana is a city in Orange County. 10 people worked as water operators for Santa Ana in 2025. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $131,270, overtime included.
What is the average water operator salary at Santa Ana?
Official pay range1
$61,500 to $97,344
from the lowest entry salary to the top of the highest water operator title
Most of Santa Ana's water operators (6 of 10) hold the title Water Systems Operator I, with an official range of $61,500 to $82,476. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $114,462, $31,986 above the top of the range.
- Water operators
- 10
- 10 of them worked the full year
- Starting salary
- $61,500
- bottom of the Water Systems Operator I range
- Median total pay
- $123,578
- the middle water operator: half earned more, half less
- Average pay rank
- 98th
- of 300 California employers
What does each water operator title at Santa Ana 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
- Water Systems Operator I$114,462
- Water Systems Operator IIfewer than 5
- Water Systems Operator IIIfewer than 5
official range average total pay, full year. "Fewer than 5" means too few full-year people in that title to show.
Does Santa Ana pay water operators more than other employers in Orange County?
Average total pay of full-year water operators: Santa Ana next to every employer in the county together, and the whole state.1
- Santa Ana$131,270
- All employers in Orange County$128,661
- All employers in California$123,726
Full-year water operators at Santa Ana earned $2,609 more than the Orange County average and $7,544 more than the California average.
Where does Santa Ana rank among California employers?
Every employer with at least 5 full-year water operators, by average total pay.1
All 300 California employers
Santa Ana ranks 98th of 300, above the middle employer.
Middle employer: $116,210
The 19 employers in Orange County
Santa Ana ranks 9th of 19, above the middle employer.
Middle employer: $131,027
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 Santa Ana
As reported by the city. Contributions are what the employer paid per full-year water operator, on top of wages.1
- Pension formula
- 2% at 62
- the most common formula among Santa Ana's water operators
- Employer pension contribution
- $10,081
- average per year
- Health, dental and vision
- $19,706
- average paid by the employer per year
Questions about water operator pay at Santa Ana
What is the average water operator salary at Santa Ana?
Water operators at Santa Ana who worked the full year earned an average of $131,270 in 2025, overtime included. The middle water operator earned $123,578: half earned more, half less. The official pay range across its water operator titles runs from $61,500 to $97,344.
How much overtime do water operators at Santa Ana earn?
Full-year water operators were paid an average of $48,052 in overtime in 2025. The middle one was paid $46,331: a few people with a lot of overtime pull the average up.
What pension do water operators at Santa Ana get?
The most common pension formula among Santa Ana's water operators is 2% at 62, as reported by the city. The employer paid an average of $10,081 a year into the pension plan.
More salaries in Orange County
- Mesa Water District (Orange)$137,655 average total pay
- Irvine Ranch Water District$137,144 average total pay
- Orange County Water District$131,619 average total pay
- Anaheim$131,027 average total pay
- Yorba Linda Water District$130,259 average total pay
- Santa Margarita Water District$127,143 average total pay
- Highest water operator salaries in CaliforniaThe best-paying employers, ranked
- Teacher salaries in Orange CountyEvery school district's salary schedule
Sources for the Santa Ana figures
Every person who held a water operator position at Santa Ana 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.
- State Controller's Office, Government Compensation in California, 2025: positions, official pay ranges, wages, pension formula and employer contributions as reported by Santa Ana.