California · 2026 pay · 1,165 people
How much does a program specialist make in California?
$89,349typical pay for a program specialist in 2026
$42,443 – $111,621what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2026, including part-year workers. Each employer counts with its latest published year (2025 or 2026). Typical pay rose 5.0% from the same employers' year before.
✓ Official data from 7 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 ↗
- SF Controller's Office · sf.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 ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where program specialists work
Typical pay at each employer, 2026 (everyone paid).
- San Diego County184 people$106,063
- San Bernardino County142 people$77,021
- Alameda County129 people$124,144
- San Francisco120 people$129,450
- City of Torrance76 people$12,208
- City of Sacramento72 people$108,186
- City of Antioch71 people$4,440
- Kern County51 people$64,445
- City of Irvine27 people$104,440
- Allan Hancock Joint Community College District24 people$6,435
- Kings County22 people$86,006
- West Valley-Mission Community College District18 people$120,786
- Kern County Hospital Authority12 people$66,304
- City of Claremont12 people$19,856
- Yuba County11 people$96,652
- City of Anaheim11 people$11,847
- City of Santa Clarita11 people$65,803
- San Jose-Evergreen Community College District11 people$86,994
- City of Oceanside11 people$66,105
- City of Pleasanton11 people$20,590
- City of El Monte10 people$20,030
- Tuolumne County10 people$64,488
- Riverside County10 people$73,999
- City of Baldwin Park9 people$27,927
- City of Fairfield8 people$53,639
- City of Dublin8 people$17,061
- City of Santa Rosa7 people$120,127
- Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County6 people$86,636
- Solano County6 people$113,251
- City of Alameda5 people$108,702
- Town of Danville4 people$14,733
- Sonoma County4 people$109,898
- Santa Clarita Community College District4 people$78,956
- Special District Risk Management Authority (Sacramento)3 people$75,086
- City of Arcata3 people$9,304
- City of Downey3 people$23,841
- City of Garden Grove3 people$31,963
- City of Riverbank3 people$7,781
- Sonoma Clean Power Authority3 people$73,870
- Marin Community College District3 people$64,185
- Riverside County First 53 people$86,843
- Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District2 people$67,480
- Tahoe Resource Conservation District2 people$62,879
- Glenn County Resource Conservation District2 people$68,219
- Mariposa County2 people$71,183
- Santa Clara County2 people$158,404
- City of Redlands2 people$74,524
- City of La Habra2 people$102,237
- City of San Fernando2 people$71,619
- City of Sierra Madre2 people$10,221
- Beach Cities Health District1 person$27,913
- City of Desert Hot Springs1 person$103,808
- Alameda County Superior Court1 person$125,768
- Yuba County First 51 person$114,178
- San Mateo County Community College District1 person$95,421
- City of Burbank1 person$73,507
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Program Specialist (Part-Time)11 people$17,108
- Program Specialist I122 people$71,464
- Program Specialist729 people$90,533
- Program Specialist II299 people$100,012
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).
- Senior Program Specialist$43,717 (everyone)
- Associate Program Specialist$86,199 (everyone)
- Program Specialist (this page)$89,349 (everyone)
- Supervising Program Specialist$140,808 (everyone)
Highest-paid program specialists, 2026
- 1Christine ValenciaProgram Specialist · San Francisco$244,159
- 2Christina ChenProgram Specialist · San Francisco$232,414
- 3Shannon HaskinProgram Specialist · San Francisco$141,092
- 4Jane HuangProgram Specialist · San Francisco$139,881
- 5Marlen SanchezProgram Specialist · San Francisco$135,436
Common questions
How much does a program specialist make in California?
The typical program specialist was paid $89,349 in 2026; most earned between $42,443 and $111,621. This counts all 1,165 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 1.6% of all pay for program specialists in 2026.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Program Specialist, at any level (for example "Program Specialist (Part-Time)"). 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