California · 2025 pay · 343 people
How much does an assistant chief make in California?
$221,527typical pay for a assistant chief in 2025
$180,635 – $273,463what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay rose 0.8% from 2024.
✓ Official data from 4 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where assistant chiefs work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
- Department of Forestry & Fire Protection294 people$224,460
- Orange County Fire Authority12 people$317,366
- Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District7 people$311,449
- Santa Clara County5 people$315,295
- Covelo Fire Protection District3 people$2,571
- Smartville Fire Protection District2 people$34,734
- Hamilton City Fire Protection District2 people$65,460
- Ferndale Fire Protection District2 people$5,808
- Vacaville Fire Protection District1 person$34,642
- Scott Valley Fire Protection District1 person$122,737
- Turlock Fire Protection District1 person$25,462
- Keyes Fire Protection District1 person$13,586
- City of Blythe1 person$14,007
- Bolinas Fire Protection District1 person$9,069
- Jackson Valley Fire Protection District1 person$9,405
- Pliocene Ridge Community Services District1 person$4,729
- Courtland Fire Protection District1 person$4,584
- City of Culver City1 person$435,478
- City of Dunsmuir1 person$3,600
- Gasquet Fire Protection District1 person$5,435
- Graeagle Fire Protection District1 person$11,336
- Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District1 person$2,519
- Murphys Fire Protection District1 person$226,280
- Ben Lomond Fire Protection District1 person$30,150
No employers match.
Related jobs and the next step up
Same line of work at a different rank, by typical pay (full-year employees where we can tell).
- Deputy Manager$108,253 (everyone)
- Assistant Manager$123,078 (everyone)
- Senior Manager$135,105 (everyone)
- Principal Manager$178,206 (everyone)
- Assistant Chief (this page)$221,527 (everyone)
- Deputy Chief$274,872 (everyone)
- Assistant Deputy Chief$382,494 (everyone)
Highest-paid assistant chiefs, 2025
Common questions
How much does an assistant chief make in California?
The typical assistant chief was paid $221,527 in 2025; most earned between $180,635 and $273,463. This counts all 343 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 3.3% of all pay for assistant chiefs in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Assistant Chief, at any level (for example "Assistant Chief"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this