CalHR Pay Scales, Explained: Ranges, Steps, and Pay Bands

If you're searching for "California state pay bands," you're looking for something CalHR calls a salary range. The term is borrowed from federal GS-style pay systems, which do use "band" or "grade," and it doesn't officially appear in California civil service documents, but it describes the same thing: a published minimum-to-maximum pay range attached to a job, which you move up over time.

The structure is:

• Classification. The civil service job category (Office Technician, Analyst I, Analyst II). Pay is tied to the classification, not to you or your offer.
• Salary range. The full band, published as a monthly figure, e.g. "$4,500.00 to $5,631.00." This is what most people mean by "pay band."
• Step. The informal name for a Merit Salary Adjustment (MSA), the 5% increase you get after each 12 months of satisfactory performance until you reach the maximum. CalHR publishes only the minimum and maximum; the steps are the 5% increments in between.

Unlike a private-sector offer, none of this is negotiated. The range is fixed and public for every classification, set by CalHR and published in the state pay scales.

The CalHR pay scales are the official salary tables for every California state classification. You can look them up with CalHR's online Pay Scale Search by class title or class code, or in the pay scales manual, which lists every classification alphabetically (Section 15) and by schematic code (Sections 16 and 17). CalHR also publishes pay letters when ranges change. A single entry packs a lot into a few columns. Here's what each part means:

• Class code and title. The four-digit code identifies the classification (for example, 5157 for Analyst I). Search by code when titles have changed or several classifications share similar names.
• Schematic code. A second, four-character code CalHR uses internally for the classification. You mostly need it to find a class in the schematic listings.
• CBID (Collective Bargaining Identifier). Tells you which bargaining unit covers the classification, and whether it's rank-and-file, supervisory, or managerial. The bargaining unit's contract (MOU) determines when and how much the range moves with General Salary Increases. The code key is in Section 2 of the pay scales.
• WWG (work week group). Determines overtime treatment for the classification.
• Alternate range (Alt Rg). A letter (A, B, C and so on) for classifications with more than one range. Each range gets its own line.
• Minimum and maximum. Monthly dollar amounts for the bottom and top of the range. These are the figures most CalCareers postings repeat.
• Footnotes and AR criteria. Footnote numbers flag special rules for the class, explained in Section 1 of the pay scales. For alternate ranges, the alternate range criteria number points to Section 11, which spells out what moves you from one range to the next: usually time performing the class's duties, sometimes education or a license.

Two things the table doesn't show directly: where in the range you'll start (usually the minimum, unless the department approves hiring above minimum) and differentials such as bilingual or recruitment pay. Those come from the posting, the hiring department, and your union's MOU.

A quick way to sanity-check any posting: look up the class code on the CalHR pay scales, match the range letter the posting lists, and confirm the minimum and maximum agree. If they don't, the posting may predate a recent raise, so the CalHR figure is the one to trust.

CalHR publishes each salary range as a minimum and maximum. For many rank-and-file classifications the maximum sits roughly 20 to 25% above the minimum, which works out to four or five years of 5% merit increases to reach the top; supervisory and managerial ranges are often narrower. A posting's advertised range, "$4,500 to $5,631/month," is that minimum and maximum.

Where you land when you're hired:

• Most new hires start at the minimum of the range.
• A department can request hiring above minimum to match a candidate's directly relevant experience or to compete for a hard-to-fill role. This needs departmental justification, not personal negotiation.
• Prior qualifying state service can also affect your starting salary in some cases.

Once you're hired, you move up the range via Merit Salary Adjustments (MSAs): a 5% increase after each 12 months of satisfactory performance, until you reach the maximum. From there, further raises come from General Salary Increases bargained by your union, or from promoting to a higher classification entirely. For the full mechanics of raises after you're hired, see our guide on California state job salaries and benefits.

Some classifications, usually called deep classes, don't have just one salary range. They have two or three, labeled with letters such as Range A, B, and C. Analyst I (formerly Staff Services Analyst, class code 5157; CalHR retitled the classification in its 2026 Generalist Class Consolidation, with no change to salary) is a common example: Range A is the entry band, and you move to Range B and then C as you accumulate qualifying experience or complete specific requirements, without having to compete in a new exam or change job titles.

That's different from a step increase inside one range, and different from a promotion to a new classification:

• Step increase. Same range, same classification, automatic with time and performance.
• Range change (alternate range). Same classification, but a materially higher pay band, usually tied to experience thresholds defined in the class specification.
• Promotion. A different classification entirely, usually requiring a promotional exam and list eligibility.

When you see a posting list two or three dollar ranges for what looks like one job title, that's almost always alternate ranges within a deep class, not three separate openings.

The numbers are public and easy to verify before you apply. There's no need to guess or rely on crowdsourced salary sites:

• CalHR pay scales. CalHR publishes the official state pay scales for every classification, searchable by class title or class code. This is the authoritative source and reflects current bargaining unit increases.
• The class specification. Each classification has a class spec (its official definition, minimum qualifications, and typical duties) that links out to current salary information.
• CalCareers job postings. Every posting lists the salary range for that specific recruitment, which should match the CalHR pay scale for that classification, range, and bargaining unit.

When you're checking a posting, note whether it names a single range or an alternate range (Range A/B/C). That tells you whether qualifying experience could put you higher in the band than the minimum of the lowest range.

Some postings also add differentials on top of the base band that aren't part of the pay band itself: recruitment and retention pay, bilingual pay (a flat per-pay-period amount for qualifying bilingual duties), geographic pay differentials (some Bay Area classifications carry a location-based add-on under certain bargaining unit contracts; check your MOU for whether it applies elsewhere), and shift differentials for evening or night hours. These stack on top of your base salary without moving you within the range.