A nice followup to that online database that allows you to look up the base salary of city employees: City employee pay and benefits have risen 63% in the past 8 years, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. Check out the chart above—you'll see that pay has gone up an average of 33%, while health insurance has gone up almost 100%. In private industry, between 2000 and 2008, salary + benefit compensation has only increased by 31% (salaries by 32%, other benefits by 40%). more ›

The salaries of all city employees are available for the public to peruse at See Through NY, a project from the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy. AMNY's Urbanite reports, "The mayor’s office is boasting some of the highest salaries of any city agency, with nearly one in five of its staffers pulling in at least $100,000 a year." The average salary in the Mayor's office is $71,626; the response from the Mayor's office: "The mayor’s office, unlike other city agencies, is mostly managers who are responsible for overseeing all facets of city government"—and, therefore, deserves those salaries. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein makes the most, with a take of $250,000 annually, and Urbanite notes that the salaries do not include overtime. more ›