DC Mayor Salary: Who Sets It, Benefits, and How It Compares

The Mayor of the District of Columbia earns $250,000 a year. The DC mayor salary has been fixed at that figure since January 2, 2023, when a D.C. Council law took effect, and it is paid in equal installments across the year, subject to the usual federal and D.C. payroll taxes.¹

The original baseline, written into the Home Rule Act, tied the mayor’s pay to Level III of the federal Executive Schedule, which sits at $209,600 in 2026.² The Act also lets the Council raise or lower that figure by legislation, which is how the pay reached $250,000.³

Who Sets the Pay and When Raises Take Effect

The D.C. Council adjusts the mayor’s salary through ordinary legislation, an authority granted by the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Public Law 93-198). One guardrail matters for anyone watching a pay bill move: an approved increase cannot take effect until the next mayoral term begins, so a sitting mayor cannot vote themselves a raise mid-term.³

No Automatic Cost-of-Living Increases

The statute bars the mayor’s salary from receiving step increases, cost-of-living adjustments, or any other automatic bumps. The $250,000 figure stays put until the Council passes new legislation.¹

That differs from how Council members are paid. They draw a $115,000 base that climbs each year with the Consumer Price Index for the D.C. metropolitan area. The mayor has no such inflation protection, so the real value of the salary erodes between Council actions.¹

What Comes With the Job Beyond Pay

Cash salary is one piece of the compensation. The office also carries:

A full-time Metropolitan Police Department protective detail during public events and daily activities.
A government-owned vehicle and professional driver for official travel across the District.
An allowance for official, reception, and representation expenses, which the Council sets under the Home Rule Act. The mayor must certify these expenditures in reasonable detail to the Council.³

D.C. does not provide an official residence. The expense allowance is for hosting and representation, monitored for compliance with district ethics rules, and cannot be used for personal purposes.

How the Salary Compares

Neighboring Governors

The $250,000 exceeds what either neighboring governor earns. Virginia’s governor is paid $175,000. Maryland’s governor receives $195,000 for the current term running through 2026, up from $184,000 in the previous term.⁴ D.C.’s mayor handles duties that elsewhere are split between a governor and a city mayor, which helps explain the gap.

Other Major-City Mayors

Among large U.S. cities, D.C. sits in the upper tier but not at the top. The Mayor of Los Angeles earns roughly $301,000, the Mayor of New York City earns $258,750, and Chicago’s mayor earns about $221,000. Those numbers track each city’s size, budget, and local politics around executive pay rather than any shared formula.

Federal Executive Pay

Against the federal Executive Schedule the comparison is sharpest, since D.C.’s salary was originally pegged there. Level III pays $209,600 in 2026, which is what the mayor would earn if the Council had never acted. Cabinet secretaries at Level I earn $253,100.² The $250,000 mayoral salary lands $3,100 below cabinet pay, for a jurisdiction with a multi-billion-dollar budget and roughly 700,000 residents.¹

1
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 1-611.09 – Compensation — Mayor and Members of Council; Attorney General
2
Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table No. 2026-EX
3
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 1-204.21 – Election, Qualifications, Vacancy, and Compensation
4
Maryland General Assembly. Report of the Governor’s Salary Commission