Wow.
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8 Harris County Department Heads Make More Than U.S. President
2/19/25 Eight Harris County department heads make more in salary than the President of the United States. All are women or minorities. The mega salaries go to the heads of the:
Institute of Forensic Sciences
Toll Road Authority
Engineering Department
Universal Services
Public Health Services
Flood Control District
Office of County Administrator
Office of Management and Budget
Moreover, 17 Harris County department heads make more than U.S. cabinet-level officials such as the Secretaries of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Commerce, etc., in the U.S. Government.
The President of the United States makes $400,000 per year. Members of the President's Cabinet make close to $250,000 per year.
The salaries of the Harris County department heads vary. See below.
Harris County Department Head Salaries
For a printable, high-resolution PDF, click here. Data obtained via Public Information Request.
Harris County "Going for Broke"
The U.S. President supervises roughly 3 million employees (as of January 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Yet the head of Harris County Flood Control has roughly 300 and makes more money.
Her $434,137 salary is also $185,000 more than the U.S. Secretary of Defense makes. The Secretary of Defense oversees the nation's largest department. He coordinates the national defense with more than 1.4 million active-duty service members and 800,000 reserve personnel.
In contrast, the head of the Flood Control District coordinates the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects in Harris County. That's certainly no small job. But it's not nearly as large as the national defense.
The head of the Flood Control District got a raise this year of almost $90,000 approximately one third of the total salary made by the Secretary of Defense. And far larger than what the average Houstonian makes in an entire year.
Is Harris County the land of opportunity or what!!!
The heads of six other Harris County departments received even bigger raises. Several received those raises despite severe, withering criticism of their performance in open Commissioners Court."
