Job Title · City Detail
Program Specialist I Salary in Austin, Texas
In Austin, the State of Texas reports 11 public employees holding the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I classification. Average annual base pay is $51,481, with a median of $49,574 and a range from $42,976 to $61,171. The largest employer of this title in Austin is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION.
How Austin compares for the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I role
Across all of Texas state government, the average base pay for the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I classification is $50,147, calculated from 17 employees in 6+ agencies statewide. In Austin specifically the average sits at $51,481, which runs about 3% above the statewide figure for this role — a difference of $1,334 per year between an average Austin incumbent and an average Texas incumbent in the same classification. That gap is consistent with what you would expect given the mix of employers active in Austin and the cost-of-living posture of the metro relative to other Texas cities.
Compared to all public-sector employees in Austin (regardless of title), the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I role pays about 58% less than the citywide average of $122,907. That places this title below the citywide average, which is common for support, technical, and entry-level state classifications — the citywide figure is pulled upward by the state's senior medical, judicial, executive, and academic-leadership salaries. For an apples-to-apples comparison against other roles in Austin, see our city profile for Austin or compare against the same title in other Texas cities via the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I hub.
Within Austin, the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I classification appears at 7 different state employers: HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, TEXAS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE COMMISSION, TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY, TEXAS DEPT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION. The single largest employer is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION, which accounts for 3 of the 11 reported records in this combination. Where multiple agencies employ the same classification, pay variation is normal — agencies set individual pay within the state classification plan's salary band based on tenure, market conditions, and any agency-specific salary supplements that have been authorized by the Legislature or by the agency's governing board.
Top Program Specialist Is in Austin by pay
| Name | Agency | Annual pay | Hire date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro Moncada | COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS | $61,171 | June 1, 2018 |
| Carla Montez | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $60,765 | August 7, 2006 |
| Jaclyn Wilson | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $58,308 | August 13, 2014 |
| Theodore Cole | TEXAS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE COMMISSION | $55,439 | February 15, 2008 |
| Liliana Licea-cruz | DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES | $52,063 | April 22, 2024 |
| Odette Taylor | DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES | $49,574 | June 1, 2018 |
| Ruth Wilkerson | TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY | $48,646 | May 1, 2025 |
| Angela Gonzales | TEXAS DEPT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION | $46,389 | September 1, 2025 |
| Angelica Rodriguez | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE | $45,600 | September 22, 2025 |
| Paul Vargas | TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE | $45,360 | June 1, 2024 |
| Jayden Collins | HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION | $42,976 | September 15, 2025 |
Reading this number in context
The annual pay column on this page reflects what the State of Texas reports as the employee’s annualized base salary at the time of the most recent payroll snapshot. It does not include benefits, retirement contributions (such as TRS or ERS employer contributions), longevity pay, hazardous-duty pay, paid leave cash-outs, contract buyouts, or any supplements paid out of foundation, athletic, or grant funds — categories that can add materially to total compensation, especially in academic medical centers and senior university roles. Use the figures here as an apples-to-apples baseline for comparison; treat them as the starting point of a conversation, not the final word.
Two employees in Austin with the same PROGRAM SPECIALIST I title can earn very different amounts for legitimate reasons. The State of Texas operates a position classification plan in which most titles map to a salary group with a defined minimum, midpoint, and maximum, and agencies are free to set individual pay anywhere within that band. Universities and elected-officials’ offices are exempt from the standard plan altogether and set pay independently. Tenure, prior agency service, market-pay adjustments approved under Texas Government Code Chapter 659, and acting-leadership stipends all contribute to within-title variation. For the full set of caveats, see our methodology.
If you want to compare what the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I role pays in other Texas cities, the PROGRAM SPECIALIST I hub aggregates every reported incumbent statewide. To see what other classifications pay in Austin, the Austin city profile breaks down the local mix of employers and titles. For peer roles, the job-titles index is the master list.