Santa Monica water operator salary, 2025

Santa Monica is a city in Los Angeles County. 16 people worked as water operators for Santa Monica in 2025. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $139,081, overtime included.

What is the average water operator salary at Santa Monica?

Official pay range, water treatment operators1

$80,544 to $120,336

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

Average total pay, full-year water operators1

$139,081

average base pay $109,218

Water operators
16
11 of them worked the full year
Starting salary
$80,544
bottom of the 3074 Water Prod & Treat Plant Op I range
Median total pay
$147,422
the middle water operator: half earned more, half less
Average pay rank
61st
of 300 California employers

What does each water operator title at Santa Monica 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 treatment operators

  1. 3074 Water Prod & Treat Plant Op I$80,544 to $99,432 · 8 people
    fewer than 5
  2. 3091 Water Prod & Treat Plant Op II$88,596 to $109,380 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5
  3. 3087 Senior Water Prod & Treat Plant Op$97,476 to $120,336 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5

Wastewater treatment operators

  1. 3070 Wastewater Treat Plant Op I$85,788 to $105,912 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5
  2. 8054 Wastewater Supervisor$104,904 to $129,504 · fewer than 5 people
    fewer than 5

Water distribution operators

  1. 8082 Water Distribution Supervisor$111,696 to $137,892 · 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 Santa Monica pay water operators more than other employers in Los Angeles County?

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

Full-year water operators at Santa Monica earned $1,272 more than the Los Angeles County average and $15,355 more than the California average.

Where does Santa Monica rank among California employers?

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

All 300 California employers

Santa Monica ranks 61st of 300, above the middle employer.

Santa Monica
$50k$100k$150k$200k

Middle employer: $116,210

The 26 employers in Los Angeles County

Santa Monica ranks 7th of 26, above the middle employer.

Santa Monica
$100k$150k$200k

Middle employer: $113,552

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 Monica

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 Monica's water operators
Employer pension contribution
$12,948
average per year
Health, dental and vision
$18,050
average paid by the employer per year

Questions about water operator pay at Santa Monica

What is the average water operator salary at Santa Monica?

Water operators at Santa Monica who worked the full year earned an average of $139,081 in 2025, overtime included. The middle water operator earned $147,422: half earned more, half less. The official pay range across its water operator titles runs from $80,544 to $120,336.

How much overtime do water operators at Santa Monica earn?

Full-year water operators were paid an average of $20,042 in overtime in 2025. The middle one was paid $15,609: a few people with a lot of overtime pull the average up.

What pension do water operators at Santa Monica get?

The most common pension formula among Santa Monica's water operators is 2% at 62, as reported by the city. The employer paid an average of $12,948 a year into the pension plan.

More salaries in Los Angeles County

Sources for the Santa Monica figures

Every person who held a water operator position at Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica.

How we read the data