Payroll Specialist salary in Stockton-Lodi, CA

Pay in Stockton-Lodi against California and the US

The middle half of payroll specialists in Stockton-Lodi earns $49,170–$74,410. The top tenth earns $82,670 or more, 1.9 times the bottom tenth, close to the US pattern of 2.1 times. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is $25,240 wide, wider than in California as a whole ($22,640) and the US ($21,610), so what a payroll specialist earns in Stockton-Lodi depends more on the employer.

What to budget for a payroll specialist here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $12,060 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $13,180, or about $17,006 once benefits are added. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $58,260 falls between the 25th percentile and the median in Stockton-Lodi, and the California statewide median of $65,340 falls between the median and the 75th percentile.

What a hire really costs in Stockton-Lodi

At the $61,230 median, a local hire costs about $79,006 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $17,776 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for payroll specialists we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Stockton-Lodi

Of the 17 roles we track in Stockton-Lodi, this one ranks #9 by median pay, between sales development representatives ($66,910) and bookkeepers ($56,250). Project Coordinator is the highest at $104,240.

Measured against the US median, payroll specialists rank #9 of the 17 roles we track in Stockton-Lodi (+5.1%), between office managers (+6.6%) and medical administrative assistants (+4.4%). The typical role here is at +5.1%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Payroll specialists hold 1.8% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Stockton-Lodi, 1.2% across California and 1.0% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in California

Across the 28 areas of California with data for this job, the median runs from $54,890 in Visalia to $80,510 in San Francisco-Oakland, a gap of $25,620 a year. Of the 8 areas in California with more payroll specialists than Stockton-Lodi, 3 pay less: Riverside-San Bernardino, CA ($61,200), Fresno, CA ($59,730) and Bakersfield-Delano, CA ($56,650).

Stockton-Lodi against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Stockton-Lodi is #67 of 482 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job and one of the better-paying ones. Outside California, Waterbury-Shelton and Colorado Springs pay just above Stockton-Lodi and Savannah and Honolulu just below. All four are within $420 a year of the median in Stockton-Lodi. Of the three markets with about as many payroll specialists, none pays as much.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.