Tacoma elected officials will get another raise next year. Here’s how much

The Tacoma mayor, deputy mayor and council members will receive a 2.75% raise in 2026 after the salary increase was approved by the city’s Commission on Elected Salaries earlier this month.

The council was informed of the increase at its Tuesday meeting and did not need to vote on its approval. There was no discussion. In a letter to the mayor and council on Aug. 12, Commission on Elected Salaries chair Greg Amann said the decision was made after reviewing the compensation of Tacoma’s elected officials compared to compensation offered by other cities in the region. The commission also considered the average 2.75% wage increase received by Tacoma represented and non-represented wage workers in 2025, he wrote.

Currently Mayor Victoria Woodards makes $121,873.26 a year (or $58.59 an hour). Deputy Mayor Kiara Daniels earns $72,919.95 a year (or $35.06 an hour) and Tacoma City Council members make $65,610.01 a year (or $31.54 an hour).

In 2026 the newly elected mayor will earn $125,224.78 a year, deputy mayor will earn $74,925.25 a year and city councilors will make $67,445.11 a year.

As previously reported by The News Tribune, the mayor and council received a 4% wage increase in 2025 and in 2024 received a 20% raise (with an additional 5% boost for the mayor).

How does Tacoma’s salaries compare with other cities?

The city of Tacoma is a council-manager form of government, where elected council members are responsible for decision-making and a city manager appointed by the council is responsible for administration, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center’s website. For consistency’s sake, The News Tribune compared the following council-manager cities listed on the MRSC’s website. Tacoma has a population of 228,400 people as of April 1, 2025. Its mayor is a full-time job and council members’ jobs are considered part-time.

Olympia: According to the city of Olympia’s website, the mayor’s current salary is $30,835.44, the mayor pro-tem makes $28,265.59 a year and council members make $25,695.73 annually. All receive an additional $6,195.71 benefit stipend. The mayors and council members are part-time employees. (MRSC population: 57,970)

Lakewood: In 2024 Lakewood Mayor Jason Whalen made $22,260 a year and Deputy Mayor Mary Moss made $20,880 a year. Council members earned $19,500, according to public records. The mayors and council members are part-time employees. (MRSC population: 64,670)

Lacey: According to the city of Lacey’s website, in 2024 the mayor made $24,000 a year ($2,000 a month), the deputy mayor made $22,680 a year ($1,890 a month) and city councilors made $21,300 a year (or $1,775 per month). The mayors and council members are part-time employees. (MRSC population: 60,380)

Bellevue: According to the city of Bellevue’s pay scale, in 2025 the mayor made $44,248.16 a year, deputy mayor made $39,712.30 a year and council members made $37,444.36 a year. The mayors and council members are part-time employees. (MRSC population: 158,000)

Spokane Valley: Effective April 2022, the mayor of Spokane Valley receives a monthly salary of $2,250, or $27,000 annually, according to the city’s website. Each council member gets $1,800 per month, or $21,600 per year. The mayor and council members are part-time employees. (MRSC population 110,200)

This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 5:15 AM.

Becca Most

The News Tribune

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Becca Most is a reporter covering Pierce County issues, including topics related to Tacoma, Lakewood, University Place, DuPont, Fife, Ruston, Fircrest, Steilacoom and unincorporated Pierce County. Originally from the Midwest, Becca previously wrote about city and social issues in Central Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Her work has been recognized by Gannett and the USA Today Network, as well as the Minnesota Newspaper Association where she won first place in arts, government/public affairs and investigative reporting in 2023.  Support my work with a digital subscription