Government Pay Decisions Backed by Real Data.
GovCompSurvey gives counties, cities and towns, state agencies, and federal and special-district employers the benchmarking data, transparency tools, and expert consulting to make defensible, equitable pay decisions — every quarter.
One Survey. Every Level of Government.
We started with counties and proved the model in Maine. The same job catalog, matching process, and quarterly refresh now extend to every public employer that has to defend a pay number.
Counties
Sheriff, corrections, dispatch, probate, deeds, EMA, and administration — benchmarked county-to-county within your state.
- 7 Maine counties, 1,000+ positions
- Built with the Maine County Commissioners Association
Cities & Towns
Police, fire, public works, planning, clerks, finance, and parks — matched to a municipal catalog and compared by population band.
- Town-to-town and city-to-county crossover views
- Union and non-union cuts
State Agencies
Classified and unclassified series benchmarked against neighboring states and the local governments you lose people to.
- Grade-and-step structure support
- Pay transparency reporting
Federal & Special Districts
GS-equivalent and wage-grade comparisons for federal field offices, plus utility, school, housing, and transit districts.
- Locality-aware peer groups
- Total compensation, not just base
Everything Your Organization Needs. Nothing You Don't.
Transparent
Meet state and federal pay transparency mandates with confidence. You get the documentation, methodology, and salary range data to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.
Complete
See the full Total Compensation picture — not just base pay. Benefits, allowances, overtime, and other pay elements are included so you can benchmark the entire package.
Cost-Effective
Stop paying for one-off salary reports or hiring an outside consultant for every benchmarking question. Always-current peer data at a fraction of the cost.
Peer-Specific Pay Data. Not Generic Market Surveys.
Generic national salary surveys weren't built for government. Our data is collected directly from public employers and matched by our team — giving you peer comparisons that reflect your competitive landscape.
- Compare pay across roles within your organization and the peers you actually recruit against
- Filter by level of government, population size, region, union status, and job family
- Refresh quarterly so data doesn't go stale mid-fiscal-year
- Drill down to position-level detail, not just broad job families
| Your title | Survey job | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Patrol Officer | Patrol Deputy | Matched |
| Registrar of Deeds | Register of Deeds | Matched |
| Shift Supervisor Sgt. | Corrections Sergeant | Matched |
| Dispatcher Supervisor | Dispatch Supervisor | New job |
| Deputy Director | By department | Confirm |
We normalize job titles across every participant so a Patrol Officer in one county benchmarks against a Patrol Deputy in the next. No comp analyst on staff required.
| Job | Market ref. | Posted range |
|---|---|---|
| Corrections Officer | $52,800 | $47,500 – $63,400 |
| Dispatcher | $48,100 | $43,300 – $57,700 |
| Finance Specialist | $54,600 | $49,100 – $65,500 |
| Deputy IT Director | $86,200 | $77,600 – $103,400 |
Every posted range traces to a documented market reference, a methodology, and a refresh date — the trail an auditor, a union, or a reporter will ask for.
Support State and Federal Pay Transparency Rules.
Pay transparency laws are reshaping what public employers must disclose. GovCompSurvey gives administrators the tools to build defensible salary ranges and communicate pay practices with clarity.
- Pre-built salary range documentation templates
- Compliance tracking against state-specific requirements
- Clear reporting for elected officials, boards, councils, and the public
- Methodology documentation that holds up to public scrutiny
Data Is Just the Starting Point.
Our team has spent decades building and running compensation surveys for county, municipal, and state governments. When the data raises questions, we're here to answer them.
Compensation Analysis
We don't just hand you data. Our consultants have access to the full government database and additional benchmarking sources to help you build and defend your pay structure.
Public Sector Expertise
We are the team behind the survey. We understand the nuances of government pay — union contracts, elected official compensation, grade-and-step structures, classification challenges, and total rewards.
Beyond Total Compensation
Compensation, benefits, and workforce management. Whether you need a full pay structure build or targeted analysis, our team supports you through implementation.
Built for the People Who Run the Government.
Public pay decisions get made — and questioned — by different people, for different reasons. The survey answers each of them.
You have to defend the number
To commissioners, to council, to taxpayers, to the union across the table.
- Bargaining. Independent, third-party comparables — so you're not negotiating against the union's numbers with none of your own.
- Budget cover. Turn a subjective ask into a benchmarked decision you can stand behind in an open meeting.
- Compliance. Post defensible salary ranges as pay-transparency laws take effect.
You have to fill the seat
And keep the people you already trained from leaving.
- Recruit & retain. Current market rates so your offers and retention raises hold up.
- Real competitors. Rates from the specific governments you actually lose candidates to — including the ones at a different level.
- Matching done for you. We normalize the job titles — no comp analyst on staff required.
Forecast with confidence
Forecast personnel costs using current, peer-specific compensation data.
Show accountability
Support public accountability with clear, documented pay practices that hold up to scrutiny.
What 1,000 County Positions Taught Us.
In partnership with the Maine County Commissioners Association, we built County Comp Survey from the ground up with seven participating counties. The findings below were presented at the 2026 MCCA Conference — and they shaped how GovCompSurvey works for every level of government.
Titles lie; jobs don't.
Seven counties reported the same patrol job under five titles. We match on duties, not labels, and consolidate variants before anything is compared.
Benefits are where the real gap hides.
Employer benefit contributions ranged from 0% to 30% of pay across counties. Base pay alone tells less than half the story.
Clean data is a service, not a form.
Pay units, hours, and ranges arrived in every format imaginable. Our team normalizes submissions so participants aren't doing data cleanup.
Associations open doors.
The MCCA relationship turned a vendor pitch into a member benefit. We're building the same partnerships with municipal leagues and state associations.
Common Questions.
What happened to County Comp Survey?
How is this different from a national salary survey?
Is this a subscription or a consulting engagement?
Who does the job matching?
Can a city compare itself to the county next door?
Does the survey cover benefits and overtime?
Better Compensation Data for Your Government.
Request a demo and see how GovCompSurvey can improve your pay decisions, transparency practices, and administrative efficiency.