The data covers 686,418 positions and a total of more than $44 billion in wages in 2016 for 53 counties and 470 cities.

The new data show the three counties with the highest average government salaries in 2016 were Santa Clara ($85,650), Los Angeles ($75,788), and Alameda ($74,658). 

The county of Lake’s average government salaries in 2016 totaled $39,191, with retirement and health costs averaging $11,910, according to the Web site.

For cities in 2016, Vernon was highest ($108,673), followed by Cathedral City ($102,802), and Hayward ($101,668). 

In Lake County, the city of Clearlake’s salary average for 2016 was $46,789, with retirement and health costs averaging $13,828. In Lakeport, salaries averaged $33,834 and retirement and benefits, $9,352, based on the site’s data.

Average wages in city governments increased by nearly 2 percent from 2015 to 2016, from $63,856 to $65,125. Average wages increased by 1.5 percent in county governments, from $63,809 to $64,779.

The top paid county elected officials in 2016 were in Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, and San Mateo County. For cities, the top paid elected officials hailed from Santa Clara, Redondo Beach, and San Francisco.

The new data show the average retirement and health care costs in counties decreased by almost 1 percent to $25,180 and increased by more than 1 percent in cities to $19,258. 

City governments with the highest average retirement and health care costs were Industry, Inglewood, and San Jose. For county governments, it was Alameda, Kern, and Orange.

Twelve cities and four counties failed to file or provided incomplete or late information. A list of non-compliant entities is available here. San Francisco is both a city and a county; this Web site reports San Francisco as a city.

Users of the site can:

· View compensation levels on maps and search for compensation by region;

· Quickly see lists of top earners at cities, counties, and other local governments;

· Narrow results by name of employer or by job title;

· Build charts and trend graphics; and

· Export raw data or custom reports.

Since the Web site launched in 2010, it has registered over 10 million page views. 

The site now contains information on more than two million jobs annually in California, as reported by each government entity.