Multiple electron impacting (multipacting) can take place in rf fields when the rf components are composed of materials with a secondary electron yield greater than one. In rf gun cavities, multipacting may change the properties of the vacuum components or even damage them. First systematic measurements of the multipacting occurring in a photocathode rf gun were made at the Fermilab/NICADD Photoinjector Laboratory in 2000. The multipacting properties were found to depend on the cathode material and the solenoid field configuration. In this study, we measure the multipacting properties in more detail and model the secondary electron generation for numerical simulation. Measurements and simulations for the photoinjectors at Fermilab and DESY are compared. The multipacting takes place at the photocathode in rf guns and is categorized as single-side multipacting. In a low rf field, the electrons emitted from the cathode area do not leave the gun cavity within one rf cycle and have an opportunity to travel back and hit the cathode. The solenoid field distribution in the vicinity of the cathode changes the probability of electron bombardment of the cathode and makes a major contribution to the multipacting behavior.