A recent payroll analysis of people employed by the city of Los Angeles found that nearly 64% of workers live outside of L.A. proper, resulting in $3.6 billion exiting the city last year, officials announced Monday.
The L.A. Payroll Employee Residence Analysis, released by the L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia, examined what city workers, with the exception of those employed by the department of water and power, made and where they lived in 2022.
While city employees are not required to live in L.A., the analysis highlights some of the benefits of workers residing in the city they are employed by, including:
- Reinvesting tax dollars back into the city with local spending and sales taxes
- More local revenue, which can mean more money spent on city resources and services
- Greater engagement with local communities that employees serve
- Faster response times in case of work emergencies
- Less traffic, greenhouse gas emissions and stress on workers and their families
According to the controller’s office, employee payroll is among the largest expenses in the city’s budget, and it is important to know where resident’s tax dollars, which pay city employees, “literally go.”
Out of the 50,312 L.A. city employees, more than 32,000 of them live outside the city limits, according to the analysis. The remaining 18,246 employees that reside in the city keep $1.2 billion in payroll within the City of Angels.
The top departments and offices where employees lived outside city limits include 86% of firefighters followed closely by 81% of police officers.
The report also noted 506 city employees that lived out of state.
The City of Los Angeles Department of Aging topped the list of employees who live in L.A. with 72%, followed by employees in the department of recreation and parks at 70%.
The top 10 nearby cities that workers employed by the city of L.A. live in, the report found, included:
“Where people choose to live is the product of many factors – including affordability, lifestyle choices and family ties,” the controller’s office said in the analysis. “But a close match between City staff and the communities they serve strengthens not only the economic health of Los Angeles, it also strengthens the bonds of connection and public trust.”
Mejia’s analysis called for reform of the civil service system, suggesting that job opportunities beyond entry-level positions, which are generally the lowest paid jobs, need to be expanded. The controller also said that L.A. suffers from chronic staffing vacancies where 1 out of every 6 jobs are unfilled.
“Other large cities have implemented incentives for employees, including first responders, to live in the communities they service,” Mejia said in the report. “Continued progress toward promoting additional affordable housing in our city, especially workforce housing and transit-oriented community projects, can offer more and better choices that are affordable to City workers.”
