How Much Governors Get Paid

Governors get paid as little as $70,000 and as much as $191,000 a year in the United States, and that's not including the lavish perks such as free lifetime healthcare and access to taxpayer-owned vehicles and jets many receive for their work as their state's top executive.

A couple of notes about the following information on U.S. governor salaries, however: Not all governors actually take home that amount of money. Some governors voluntarily take pay reductions or return part or all of their salaries to the state treasuries.

And, in many states, governors aren't the highest-paid public officials. That's surprising given the important role governors play; they serve as the chief executive officers of their states. Governors often are seen as potential candidates for president of the United States given their experience operating entire states, much larger role than those held by members of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, who are but one member of a larger body.

Who Sets the Governor's Salary

Governors are not able to set their own salaries. Instead, state legislatures or independent salary commissions set the salaries for governors. Most governors are also eligible for automatic pay raises every year or cost-of-living adjustments that are based on inflation.

Here's a list of what the 10 highest-paid governors earn, according to the Book of the States, which is published by the Council of State Governments. These data are from 2016.