California · 2025 pay · 37 people
How much does an unit chief make in California?
$225,654typical pay for a unit chief in 2025
$85,822 – $257,065what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay rose 6.3% from 2024.
✓ Official data from California State Controller's Office · Matches the agency's latest release · sco.ca.gov ↗✓ Official data from California State Controller's Office · Matches the agency's latest release · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where unit chiefs work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
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).
- Unit Assistant$64,170 (everyone)
- Assistant Unit Manager$161,086 (everyone)
- Unit Manager$175,946 (everyone)
- Unit Chief (this page)$225,654 (everyone)
Highest-paid unit chiefs, 2025
Common questions
How much does an unit chief make in California?
The typical unit chief was paid $225,654 in 2025; most earned between $85,822 and $257,065. This counts all 37 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 1.3% of all pay for unit chiefs in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Unit Chief, at any level (for example "Unit 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