EDUJOBUS American salaries and net worth, jobs, education and Related Evrything
AI Snapshot
- SALARY Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is the highest-paid governor in America in 2026, earning $253,870 a year after a scheduled cost-of-living raise took effect January 1, 2026.
- RUNNER-UP New York Governor Kathy Hochul held the title through 2025 at $250,000.
- NET WORTH “Highest-paid” is not the same as “richest.” By personal wealth, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is the richest sitting governor, with an estimated net worth around $3.6–3.7 billion — and he doesn’t take a salary at all.
- AVERAGE The average U.S. governor’s salary in 2026 is about $171,479.
- LOWEST Maine pays the least, at $70,000 a year.
Every U.S. governor runs a state government, but their paychecks vary wildly — from $70,000 to over a quarter-million dollars a year. And the governor who’s paid the most on paper is rarely the one with the biggest bank account. This guide separates the two questions people actually search for: who gets paid the most, and who is actually the richest — with a full ranking, the reasoning behind the pay gaps, and what’s changing next.
Highest-Paid Governors in America (2026 Ranking)
Here’s how the top-earning governors stack up by official annual salary. Click any column header to re-sort.
| Rank | Governor | State | Annual Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Shapiro | Pennsylvania | $253,870 | Automatic CPI-linked raise, effective Jan 1, 2026 |
| 2 | Kathy Hochul | New York | $250,000 | Was #1 through 2025 |
| 3 | Ned Lamont | Connecticut | $226,711 | Salary set by state; Lamont personally forgoes it |
| 4 | Gavin Newsom | California | $224,020 | Third-largest state salary |
| 5 | Mike Braun | Indiana | $220,418 | Often overlooked in “highest-paid” lists |
| 6 | Bob Ferguson | Washington | $218,744 | Rising to ~$234,275 on July 1, 2026 |
| 7 | J.B. Pritzker | Illinois | $205,700 | Nominal salary — Pritzker doesn’t take it |
| 8 | Spencer Cox | Utah | $193,100 | Up from $182,900 the prior year |
| 9 | Mikie Sherrill | New Jersey | $175,000 | Took office Jan 20, 2026 |
| 10 | Greg Abbott | Texas | $153,750 | Nation’s second-largest state |
| 11 | Kevin Stitt | Oklahoma | $147,000 | Successor set to earn $185,000 |
| 12 | Larry Rhoden | South Dakota | $146,472 | — |
| 13 | Ron DeSantis | Florida | $141,400 | Approved to jump to $251,414 in 2027 |
| 14 | Jared Polis | Colorado | $134,632 | Set by state law since 2023 |
| 15 | Janet Mills | Maine | $70,000 | Lowest-paid governor in the country |
This top-15 covers the states we were able to fully verify against primary sources at publish time. [Editorial note: expand to the full 50-state list using Council of State Governments / NASBO annual compensation survey data before this goes live — don’t publish estimated figures for the remaining states.]
The catch: “highest-paid” isn’t always “highest take-home”
Three of the states above pay a governor’s salary that the governor never actually collects. Pritzker (Illinois) and Lamont (Connecticut) are both independently wealthy and decline their state paycheck entirely, and Montana’s Greg Gianforte does the same, donating his salary to state nonprofits. That means the “official” salary ranking and the “money that actually lands in a governor’s pocket” ranking aren’t identical — a nuance most competing rankings skip entirely.
Why Governor Salaries Vary So Much
Unlike the U.S. president’s flat $400,000 salary, governor pay is set independently by each state — and the process differs by state:
- Automatic cost-of-living adjustments: Pennsylvania ties top state officials’ pay to the Consumer Price Index for the region, which is why Shapiro’s salary rose automatically without a new law.
- Independent compensation commissions: States like California and Washington use citizen salary commissions that review and adjust pay for statewide elected officials on a recurring schedule.
- Direct legislative vote: In many states, the legislature simply votes on the governor’s salary as part of the budget process — which is how Florida’s jump to $251,414 for 2027 was approved.
- Cost of living and state budget size: Higher-cost, larger-economy states (NY, CA, PA, CT) generally cluster at the top, though this isn’t a hard rule — Texas and Florida, both huge economies, pay well below the national average.
The Richest Governors by Net Worth (A Completely Different List)
Salary and personal wealth are two separate things, and mixing them up is the single most common mistake in “richest governor” content online. A governor’s official pay says nothing about what they were worth walking into office. Here are the two clearest, most verifiable cases:
J.B. Pritzker — Illinois
Heir to the Pritzker family fortune built on Hyatt Hotels and diversified private holdings. By a wide margin, the wealthiest sitting governor in the U.S. — he forgoes his state salary entirely.
Gavin Newsom — California
Built pre-politics wealth through the PlumpJack hospitality group (wineries, restaurants, hotels). Unlike Pritzker, Newsom takes his full state salary on top of this wealth.
Common mistake to avoid: outdated “richest governor” names
A lot of existing articles on this topic still list people who simply aren’t governors anymore, which tells you a lot about how stale this content usually is:
- Doug Burgum was North Dakota’s billionaire governor through December 2024. He’s now the U.S. Secretary of the Interior — not a governor.
- Glenn Youngkin was Virginia’s wealthy governor through January 17, 2026. He’s now a private citizen; Virginia’s current governor is Abigail Spanberger.
- Jim Justice, West Virginia’s billionaire ex-governor, is now a U.S. Senator, not the state’s governor.
Any “richest governor” list published today that still includes these three names by their old title is working off recycled, unverified data.
What’s Next: Florida’s 2027 Salary Jump
Florida’s legislature has already approved raising the governor’s salary from $141,400 to $251,414, starting in 2027 — a jump large enough to put Florida’s next governor near the very top of this list, depending on where Pennsylvania and New York land by then. Oklahoma’s incoming governor is also set for a similar bump, from $147,000 to $185,000. Expect this ranking to shuffle again within the next 12–18 months.
Governor Pay vs. Other U.S. Officials
| Position | Annualy Salary |
|---|---|
| U.S. President | $400,000 |
| Highest-paid governor (PA) | $253,870 |
| U.S. Senator / Member of Congress | $174,000 |
| Average U.S. governor | $171,479 |
| Lowest-paid governor (ME) | $70,000 |
Author’s Take
What strikes me most here isn’t the top number — it’s how disconnected salary and wealth actually are in this job. Shapiro earns the most on paper, but he’s a career public servant with a fairly ordinary net worth for someone in his position. Pritzker could personally fund Pennsylvania’s entire governor payroll for the next several centuries and never notice, and he doesn’t take a dime of his own salary. If you’re only chasing the “highest-paid” headline, you’re missing the more interesting story: in a growing number of states, the person running the government isn’t doing it for the paycheck at all.
— Mehedi Hassan
What People Are Saying Online
This topic resurfaces every time a new salary adjustment kicks in, and the discussion tends to follow the same few threads across platforms:
Discussion threads mostly focus on whether governor pay is proportional to state population and budget size — commenters often point out that Texas and Florida, despite being huge economies, pay well below the national average.
X (Twitter)
Chatter spikes whenever a new pay raise is announced (like Shapiro’s January 2026 bump), usually framed as a “did you know” fact alongside comparisons to Congress or the presidency.
Posts here skew toward the governance angle — public-sector compensation experts and policy writers discussing whether higher pay attracts better-qualified candidates to run for office.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the highest-paid governor in America in 2026?
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, at $253,870 a year as of January 1, 2026, after an automatic cost-of-living adjustment.
What is the average salary of a U.S. governor?
Around $171,479 in 2026, though this varies significantly by state.
Who is the lowest-paid governor?
Maine’s Janet Mills, at $70,000 a year — less than a third of Pennsylvania’s top salary.
Is the highest-paid governor also the richest governor?
No. Salary and personal net worth are unrelated. Josh Shapiro earns the highest salary, but Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker — worth an estimated $3.6–3.7 billion — is by far the richest sitting governor, and he doesn’t even take his state salary.
Do any governors refuse their salary?
Yes. J.B. Pritzker (Illinois), Ned Lamont (Connecticut), and Greg Gianforte (Montana) are all independently wealthy and either forgo their salary or donate it, despite the state formally budgeting a salary for the office.
How does a governor’s salary compare to the U.S. president’s?
The U.S. president earns $400,000 a year — significantly more than even the highest-paid governor’s $253,870.
How does governor pay compare to a U.S. senator’s?
Members of Congress, including senators, earn $174,000 a year — close to the average governor’s salary, but well below the top-paid governors.
Who decides how much a governor gets paid?
It varies by state — some use independent citizen compensation commissions, some tie pay to inflation automatically via law, and others set it through a direct legislative vote as part of the state budget.
Which state’s governor salary is about to change the most?
Florida’s, by far. Its legislature has approved raising the governor’s salary from $141,400 to $251,414 starting in 2027 — a jump that would put Florida’s governor near the very top of the national ranking.
Can governors earn money outside their state salary?
Yes, within state ethics rules — through investments, book deals, and pre-existing business holdings. This is exactly why net worth and official salary tell two very different stories.
Sources
- CEO Today Magazine
- Forbes
- CNN, Ballotpedia, Wikipedia
- Council of State Governments
All salary and net worth figures are subject to change as states pass new budgets and as public wealth estimates are revised. This article reflects the most recent verifiable data as of the last-updated date above.
Methodology: Salary figures below are compiled from official state budget documents, legislative pay schedules, and recent compensation-commission reports, cross-checked against multiple news sources. Figures marked “as of 2026” reflect the most recent scheduled adjustment we could confirm; state legislatures can and do revise these figures, so treat this as a snapshot rather than a permanent record. Net worth figures are estimates from public financial disclosures and third-party wealth trackers (e.g., Forbes) — these are inherently approximate and are labeled as such throughout.