Can you hear that shattering sound? It’s the noise of glass ceilings being smashed through in city councils from coast to coast.

A March brief from the Pew Charitable Trusts, based on 15 large cities showed that “All but two of the comparison cities—San Diego and Washington—boosted the number of women on their legislative bodies (since 2016). And as of 2024, six cities have majority female representation; none did in 2016.

Phoenix has the highest percentage of female representation at 78%, while Baltimore has the lowest at 27%. There were no publicly identified nonbinary members serving on these councils. Among the 15 city councils examined, the overall share of female representation on the local legislatures increased from 31% in 2016 to 47% in 2024.”

Beyond its findings about women in city councils, Pew also took a close look at the compensation for city council members, and it discovered that the jobs have gotten somewhat more remunerative for members of all genders.

Some specifics: 

• “Overall, average council salaries have increased by 27% since 2016.” 

• “Los Angeles has the highest average council member salary at $231,802 and San Antonio the lowest at $47,177. However, this may not capture total annual compensation from all sources because some cities, including Philadelphia, permit outside employment for their council members.”

• “Among the cities surveyed, San Diego and San Jose had the largest increases in the eight years since the previous analysis. San Diego’s average salary increased 130%, from $75,400 in 2016 to $174,400 this year, while San Jose’s average salary increased 74%, from $84,400 to $147,000. The cities with the lowest average salaries (San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix) have had no or only marginal increases since 2016.”

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