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Total pay of chief executives across England
Middle (median) total pay for a council CEO in England
£164,999
Across 316 councils that publish their pay. 66 pay their CEO more than £200,000.
Ranked by total pay (salary plus pension and benefits, where the council has published them).
Shown for balance, alongside the highest paid.
How we got this: total pay is salary plus the employer’s pension contribution and any benefits the council has published. If a council only publishes the basic salary, we use that. The Isles of Scilly is the only English council without a published figure — with under 2,500 residents and under 100 staff, it is too small to change the top or bottom of the list.
Every council has a chief executive — the most senior paid officer, who runs the council day to day. Each council publishes their pay in a yearly pay policy statement.
This card shows the highest and lowest paid CEOs, plus the middle (median) figure for England. Total pay is salary plus any pension contribution and benefits the council has listed. If only the basic salary is listed, we use that.
Pay is very different from one council to another, mostly because of size. The middle (median) figure and both ends of the range are on this page.
Total pay is salary plus the employer's pension contribution and any benefits the council has listed. If we cannot find a total, we use the basic salary.
Each year, every council publishes a pay policy statement. We read each statement straight from the council's own website.