It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the city.

Since 2012 the council has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Salford, which post has been held by Paul Dennett of the Labour Party since 2016.

[3] Around 1230 the settlement was given a charter by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, who was the lord of the manor at the time, making it a seigneurial borough with a limited degree of self-government.

[4] In 1791 a body of improvement commissioners was established to administer the town, largely superseding the old manorial authorities.

[12] Between 2005 and 2020 some services, including property, highways and infrastructure, planning and building control were provided by Urban Vision, a public-private partnership formed between the city council, Capita and Galliford Try.

[13] The contract with Urban Vision finished in 2020 and was not renewed, with services being brought back in-house to the council.

The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across Greater Manchester, notably regarding transport and town planning, but Salford City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.

Prior to 2012 the title Mayor of Salford had been used for the council's chairperson and ceremonial figurehead, performing non-political civic duties.