4 Coachella Valley cities rank among top 10 highest average city employee wages

City employees in Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Indian Wells and Palm Springs were among the top 10 earners statewide in terms of average salary in 2015, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Controller’s Office.

Self-reported data from last year indicated that the four desert cities paid average salaries of more than $84,000 to their employees.

Palm Desert ranked third, with $97,997 in average wage, while Cathedral City ranked fourth at $94,000, Indian Wells was eighth with $88,583 and Palm Springs at 10th with $84,846.

Palm Desert’s $97,997 average salary was bested only by Vernon in Los Angeles County at $107,848 and Hayward in Alameda County at $103,607. Palm Desert and Palm Springs were also in the top 10 for highest average retirement and health benefits, with Indian Wells just outside the top 10.

Riverside County as a whole ranked 13th among California counties, with an average county employee salary of $60,773.

Among city managers in the state, Palm Springs City Manager David Ready ranked ninth with a salary of $333,708. Palm Springs has the second-lowest population out of the cities with the top 10 earning city managers.