Memphis payroll and budget records show top-earning city employees and the costliest departments

What public records show about pay at City Hall

Public payroll listings and budget documents show that the highest individual earnings inside Memphis city government cluster in executive public-safety leadership, senior command staff, and the municipal courts. Across the organization, overall spending is concentrated in a small number of departments where labor costs dominate.

In the most recently available citywide payroll tallies compiled from public compensation records for 2023, the largest individual pay figure reported for the City of Memphis was tied to the director-level leadership of police services. The same dataset lists other top-earning roles in the upper tiers of the police and fire organizations, alongside municipal judges and a small number of senior administrative positions.

• Public-safety executive leadership and command staff appear repeatedly among the top pay entries.
• Municipal court judges are represented among the higher salary levels reported for city government.
• Some of the figures in public payroll datasets represent total reported pay for the year, which can differ from base salary depending on job class and compensation structure.

Where the city spends the most: departments with the largest operating budgets

Operating budget tables released in connection with Memphis’ FY2025 budget cycle show the Police and Fire departments as the largest departmental line items among the core operating divisions presented, reflecting the staffing-heavy nature of public safety services. In those tables, Police carries the largest departmental budget, followed by Fire. Other sizable divisions include Public Services, Engineering, and Recreation and Transportation.

Budget summaries for more recent cycles also describe payroll as the dominant cost driver citywide, with the largest share of staffing resources concentrated in the police and fire departments. Budget presentations during the FY2026 cycle similarly emphasized personnel costs and fleet and equipment needs for public safety operations.

Across the operating budget, labor expenses are a central factor in determining which departments are most costly to run.

Pay policy changes and how they can affect payroll totals

Beyond the highest individual earners, Memphis has also considered broad compensation policies that can shift the overall payroll baseline. In late 2025, the Memphis City Council voted to raise the minimum salary for full-time city employees to $40,000, a change designed to lift the floor for lower-paid positions. Such policy moves do not necessarily change who sits at the very top of the payroll rankings, but they can materially affect aggregate personnel spending, especially in departments with large workforces.

How to interpret “highest-paid” lists

Rankings of individual compensation can vary by year and by how pay is captured, including whether the total includes overtime, lump-sum payments, or other compensation elements. Department cost comparisons can also differ depending on whether the view is limited to departmental operating budgets or includes citywide non-departmental costs, transfers, and long-term obligations.