What’s the average salary in Los Angeles? (2024)

Learn about the average salary in Los Angeles, the highest-paying jobs, factors influencing your pay, and how much you need to earn to live comfortably.

Ivandzhelin

5 minute read

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Updated on 24 Sep 2024

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Working

Do you dream of building a career in the City of Angeles? Before you start packing and exploring homes for rent in Los Angeles, you need to make sure you can support the LA lifestyle. The first step is learning about the average salary in Los Angeles and what’s considered good pay so you can live comfortably.

In this article, we'll delve into the average salaries in LA, shedding light on the average income Los Angeles residents can expect, how it compares to the minimum wage in Los Angeles, and what factors influence your salary.

The annual average gross salary in Los Angeles is $87,498 ($7,293 monthly) in the city and $83,971 annually ($6,998 monthly) in the LA County.

The average salary is a useful indicator as it gives you an estimate of how well residents earn in the city and how it compares to the living expenses in LA. With an average cost of living of $3,099 for one person, the average salary in Los Angeles is proportionate to the living expenses.

Deducting taxes, the annual average net salary in Los Angeles is $71,594 ($5,966 monthly). This is after deducting federal and state income tax, social security, Medicare, and SDI (State Disability Insurance). Keep in mind that income tax rates in the state of California are progressive (you pay more, the more you earn), so net pay varies.

You can use this income tax calculator to see how much you earn after taxes in the state of California.

Average household income in Los Angeles

The average household income in Los Angeles is $120,272 yearly in the county and $117,701 in the City of LA. Average household incomes represent the earnings of the members of one household (e.g., family, roommates) during a given period, typically a year.

The annual median salary in Los Angeles is $56,769 ($4,730 monthly) in the city of LA and $57,247 ($4,770 monthly) in the County of LA. Median salaries represent the exact medium between the lowest and the highest salaries. They give a more accurate perspective of how much residents of Los Angeles earn, as median salaries aren’t offset by the highest or lowest number as much as the average salary.

Median household income in Los Angeles

The median household income in Los Angeles is $82,516 yearly in the county and $76,135 in the City of LA. Median household income is calculated similarly to median salary but at a household level.

What you earn depends on your job. Fields like IT, medicine, finance, law, and business generally offer higher salaries. Here's a glimpse of average salaries for different jobs in Los Angeles:

The federally mandated hourly minimum wage in Los Angeles is $16.78. People working in Los Angeles can negotiate their salary, and the boss can accept or reject the proposal, as long as they do not fall below the federally mandated amount.

Aside from that, there are a few regions with a different minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles as they have enacted a minimum wage ordinance of their own. These include and correspond with a minimum wage of:

• LAX: $18.78 per hour (+$5.95 health benefit)
• Hotel workers: $19.73 (hotels with 60+ rooms)
• Healthcare workers: $25 (from 2024)

Los Angeles County includes areas that aren’t part of the City of Los Angeles, and the minimum wage here is $16.90. Yet, these cities can have different minimum wages for some professions or overall:

• Downey (only healthcare workers): $25
• Inglewood (only healthcare workers): $25
• Long Beach (general): $15.50
• Long Beach(hotel workers): $16.73
• Long Beach (concessionaire workers): $16.55
• Long Beach (healthcare workers): $25
• Malibu: $16.90
• Monterey Park (healthcare workers): $25
• Pasadena: $16.93
• Santa Monica (general): $16.90
• Santa Monica (hotel workers): $19.73
• West Hollywood: $19.08

As a rule of thumb, a good salary in Los Angeles is between $100k and $200k gross per year. Based on the cost of living in Los Angeles, this should come down to a minimum of $76,710 yearly after taxes. This covers basic necessities like rent, food, and transportation, leaving you enough money to splurge on yourself occasionally.

1. Industry

The main factor influencing your salary is the industry you’re working in. Medicine, IT, TV and media, engineering, and architecture positions pay more in Los Angeles. Here’s a list of the highest-paying jobs in LA, according to Indeed:

• Psychiatrist: $297,689
• Surgeon: $297,227
• Optometrist: $230,349
• Veterinarian: $145,254
• Judge: $133,549
• Materials engineer: $125,912
• Pharmacist: $118,463
• Lawyer: $116,094
• Pilot: $100,014
• Architectural project manager: $95,874

Another thing to consider is whether your role is one of the fastest-growing occupations in Los Angeles. The growth rate is important as it tells you whether there’s a demand for people in your field, what’s the competition like, how much you can advance in your career, etc. Here are some of the fastest growing occupations in Los Angeles:

• Chefs and head cooks
• Floor layers
• Restaurant hosts/hostesses
• Web developers
• Dental hygienists
• Landscapers
• Self-enrichment education teachers
• Commercial pilots
• Pharmacy technicians
• Paralegals

2. Gender

The Los Angeles metropolitan area has the smallest gender pay gap in the US. A study by Payscale found that the controlled gender pay gap (accounts for factors like education, experience, industry, etc.) has been closed in Los Angeles.

Yet, there remains an uncontrolled gender pay gap (calculates the overall pay) of $1.01 in Los Angeles. This shows that, on average, men tend to occupy the higher-paying and more prestigious positions in the area.

3. Experience and expertise

Your experience and expertise in your field will also influence your salary. Highly skilled and experienced professionals often command higher salaries. Employees with 2-5 years of experience earn around 32% more than their entry-level coworkers in Los Angeles. Those with over 5 years of experience earn 36% more than those with less than 5 years of experience. If you have 10 years of experience in the field, your average salary grows by 21%, and with 15 years of experience, you earn 14% more on average.

To break it down, according to Glassdoor, on average, each level earns:

• Entry-level jobs: $34,000—$56,000
• Mid-level jobs: $37,000—$63,000
• Team lead jobs: $38,000—$68,000
• Managerial jobs: $43,000—$78,000
• Directorial jobs: $58,000—$107,000

4. Level of education

Overall, higher education means higher pay. Residents of Los Angeles with an additional certificate or diploma earn 17% more than those with a high school diploma. Employees with a Bachelor’s Degree earn 24% more, whereas a Master’s Degree increases your salary by 29%. Professionals with a PhD or Doctorate earn 23% more than those with a Master’s.

So, now that we’ve broken down the average salaries in Los Angeles and how much you need to live comfortably, you can decide whether working in Los Angeles is good for you.