Usually much lower than the equivalent job at a private sector company. People often state this, without acknowledging that: - many government employees would

Usually much lower than the equivalent job at a private sector company. People often state this, without acknowledging that: - many government employees would not meet the bar for an equivalent job in the private sector - the environment and red tape means that even an equally skilled employee would be less productive than they would be in a private sector firm that's subject to competitive pressures - for many government employees, headline salary is only about a two thirds of total compensation (look up San Francisco employees' total comp on the Transparent California web site).