California · 2025 pay · 93 people
How much does a division chief make in California?
$195,536typical pay for a division chief in 2025
$120,087 – $267,002what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay rose 15.7% 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 division chiefs work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
- Murphys Fire Protection District11 people$86,412
- Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority10 people$107,765
- Alameda County Superior Court7 people$142,916
- El Dorado County Fire Protection District6 people$186,174
- Alameda County6 people$294,462
- Sonoma County Fire District6 people$248,309
- Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District5 people$101,317
- City of Alameda5 people$277,844
- City of Monterey4 people$242,073
- North County Fire Protection District (Monterey)3 people$205,781
- City of Red Bluff3 people$157,968
- North Central Fire Protection District3 people$148,396
- Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District3 people$213,974
- City of El Segundo3 people$324,286
- Menlo Park Fire Protection District2 people$384,253
- Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County2 people$385,334
- City of National City2 people$267,005
- Montecito Fire Protection District2 people$261,424
- Truckee Fire Protection District1 person$203,427
- City of Fullerton1 person$238,927
- Lathrop-Manteca Fire Protection District1 person$192,110
- City of South Pasadena1 person$43,444
- Diamond Springs/El Dorado Fire Protection District1 person$233,574
- San Luis Obispo Council of Governments1 person$184,428
- City of Fremont1 person$251,998
- North County Fire Protection District (San Diego)1 person$257,291
- North Tahoe Fire Protection District1 person$344,165
- El Dorado Hills County Water District1 person$296,948
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Division Chief III5 people$114,311
- Division Chief II6 people$151,901
- Division Chief79 people$207,146
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 Division Chief$84,090 (everyone)
- Division Assistant$103,817 (everyone)
- Division Manager$176,380 (everyone)
- Division Chief (this page)$195,536 (everyone)
Highest-paid division chiefs, 2025
Common questions
How much does a division chief make in California?
The typical division chief was paid $195,536 in 2025; most earned between $120,087 and $267,002. This counts all 93 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 11.8% of all pay for division chiefs in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Division Chief, at any level (for example "Division Chief III"). 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