Ridgecrest water operator salary, 2025
Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County. 11 people worked as water operators for Ridgecrest in 2025. Fewer than 5 of them worked the full year, so there is no average that wouldn't describe individual people. The official range for its water operator titles runs from $39,883 to $115,447.
What does Ridgecrest pay its water operators?
Official pay range1
$39,883 to $115,447
from the lowest entry salary to the top of the highest water operator title
Average total pay, full-year water operators1
Fewer than 5
11 water operators in all, 4 of them full-year: too few for an average.
- Median total pay
- Fewer than 5
- the middle water operator: half earned more, half less
- Overtime
- Fewer than 5
- average per full-year water operator
- Starting salary
- $39,883
- bottom of the Wastewater Operator In Training range
- Average pay rank
- Fewer than 5
- too few full-year staff to rank
What does each water operator title at Ridgecrest pay?
Each bar is the official range for one title, lowest first. The dot marks the average total pay of full-year staff in that title, where at least 5 people stand behind it.1
- Wastewater Operator In TrainingFewer than 5
- Wastewater Operator IFewer than 5
- Wastewater Operator IIFewer than 5
- Chief Plant OperatorFewer than 5
official range average total pay, full year. "Fewer than 5" means too few full-year people in that title to show.
What do water operators earn around Ridgecrest?
Average total pay of full-year water operators across Kern County and across California. Ridgecrest's own average isn't shown: fewer than 5 of its water operators worked the full year.1
- All employers in Kern County$99,167
- All employers in California$123,726
Full-year water operators across Kern County earned an average of $99,167 in 2025, $24,559 less than the California average.
Average water operator pay in Kern County compared to nearby counties
Average total pay of full-year water operators across all employers in each county that borders Kern County, and how much more or less it pays.1
- Los Angeles County$137,809 average, 34 employers$38,642 more than Kern County
- Santa Barbara County$120,906 average, 12 employers$21,739 more than Kern County
- San Bernardino County$116,908 average, 25 employers$17,741 more than Kern County
- Ventura County$111,636 average, 11 employers$12,469 more than Kern County
- San Luis Obispo County$95,785 average, 10 employers$3,382 less than Kern County
- Tulare County$73,175 average, 3 employers$25,992 less than Kern County
- Kings County$71,603 average, 3 employers$27,564 less than Kern County
- Inyo CountyNo employerNo water operator employer in Inyo County has a page here.
Pension and health cover at Ridgecrest
As reported by the city. Contributions are what the employer paid per full-year water operator, on top of wages.1
- Pension formula
- 2% at 62
- the most common formula among Ridgecrest's water operators
- Employer pension contribution
- Fewer than 5
- average per year
- Health, dental and vision
- Fewer than 5
- average paid by the employer per year
Questions about water operator pay at Ridgecrest
Why is there no average water operator salary for Ridgecrest?
11 people worked as water operators for Ridgecrest in 2025, but fewer than 5 of them worked the full year. Every figure on Public Paycheck covers at least 5 people, so none describes one person.
What is the pay range for a water operator at Ridgecrest?
The official range across Ridgecrest's water operator titles runs from $39,883 to $115,447 in 2025. For comparison, full-year water operators across Kern County earned an average of $99,167.
What pension do water operators at Ridgecrest get?
The most common pension formula among Ridgecrest's water operators is 2% at 62, as reported by the city.
More salaries in Kern County
- Kern County Water Agency$132,568 average total pay
- North of the River Sanitary District No.1 (Kern)$84,082 average total pay
- Kern County$71,408 average total pay
- Cawelo Water Districtwater operator pay
- McFarlandwater operator pay
- Westside Water Authoritywater operator pay
- Highest water operator salaries in CaliforniaThe best-paying employers, ranked
- Police officer salaries at Ridgecrest$106,981 average total pay
- 911 dispatcher salaries at Ridgecrest$76,676 average total pay
- Teacher salaries in Kern CountyEvery school district's salary schedule
Sources for the Ridgecrest figures
Every person who held a water operator position at Ridgecrest at any point in 2025 counts toward the headcount. Pay figures use only people who worked roughly the full year: those whose regular pay reached at least 90% of the bottom of their official range. Total pay is gross wages before tax, including overtime, lump sums and other pay. Averages lead; the median total pay is the middle person's, with half above and half below, and is less pulled by a few people with very high pay. Every figure covers at least 5 people.
- State Controller's Office, Government Compensation in California, 2025: positions, official pay ranges, wages, pension formula and employer contributions as reported by Ridgecrest.