In Rhode Island, the salary of the governor stood at $145,755 as of 2021, the 24th lowest among the 50 states. For additional context, the typical state governor earns between $147,000 and $150,000. Meanwhile, the overall cost of living in Rhode Island is estimated to be about 1.8% higher than the national average.

How the Rhode Island Governor’s Salary Compares to Other States

(The Center Square) – It is generally true that you don’t get into politics for the paycheck. Even though politicians have significant power and clout, as well as the ability to affect the lives of thousands, even millions, of Americans, elected officials make significantly less than most CEOs with that kind of influence.

Annual base salaries of elected officials top out at $400,000 for the U.S. president and can be as little as nothing for a small town council member. Members of the House and Senate earn a base annual salary of $174,000, or about $100,000 more than state lawmakers or the typical county commissioner. There is considerable variation in the salaries of governors too.

In Rhode Island, the salary of the governor stood at $145,755 as of 2021, the 24th lowest among the 50 states. For additional context, the typical state governor earns between $147,000 and $150,000. Meanwhile, the overall cost of living in Rhode Island is estimated to be about 1.8% higher than the national average.

Currently, Democrat Dan McKee serves as the governor of Rhode Island. The governor’s current term began in March 2021 and ends in January 2023.

All governor compensation data is from the Book of the States 2021,originally published by The Council of State Governments. Cost of living by state for 2020 is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Rank State Governor Gov. salary (2021, $) Present term
1 New York Kathy Hochul (D) 225,000 Aug 2021 – Jan 2023
2 California Gavin Newsom (D) 209,747 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
3 Pennsylvania Tom Wolf (D) 201,729 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
4 Tennessee Bill Lee (R) 198,780 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
5 Washington Jay Inslee (D) 187,353 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
6 Massachusetts Charlie Baker (R) 185,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
7 Vermont Phil Scott (R) 184,100 Jan 2021 – Jan 2023
8 Illinois JB Pritzker (D) 181,670 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
9 Maryland Larry Hogan (R) 180,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
10 Georgia Brian Kemp (R) 175,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
10 New Jersey Phil Murphy (D) 175,000 Jan 2022 – Jan 2026
10 Virginia Glenn Youngkin (R) 175,000 Jan 2022 – Jan 2026
13 Delaware John Carney (D) 171,000 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
14 Utah Spencer Cox (R) 165,600 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
15 Hawaii David Ige (D) 165,048 Dec 2018 – Dec 2022
16 Ohio Mike DeWine (R) 164,590 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
17 Nevada Steve Sisolak (D) 163,474 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
18 Michigan Gretchen Whitmer (D) 159,300 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
19 North Carolina Roy Cooper (D) 154,743 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
20 Arkansas Asa Hutchinson (R) 154,115 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
21 Texas Greg Abbott (R) 153,750 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
22 Wisconsin Tony Evers (D) 152,756 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
23 Kentucky Andy Beshear (D) 152,181 Dec 2019 – Dec 2023
24 Connecticut Ned Lamont (D) 150,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
24 West Virginia Jim Justice (R) 150,000 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
26 Oklahoma Kevin Stitt (R) 147,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
27 Rhode Island Dan McKee (D) 145,755 Mar 2021 – Jan 2023
28 Alaska Mike Dunleavy (R) 145,000 Dec 2018 – Dec 2022
29 New Hampshire Chris Sununu (R) 143,704 Jan 2021 – Jan 2023
30 North Dakota Doug Burgum (R) 138,748 Dec 2020 – Dec 2024
31 Idaho Brad Little (R) 138,302 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
32 Florida Ron Desantis (R) 134,181 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
33 Indiana Eric Holcomb (R) 134,051 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
34 Missouri Mike Parson (R) 133,821 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
35 Iowa Kim Reynolds (R) 130,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
35 Louisiana John Bel Edwards (D) 130,000 Jan 2020 – Jan 2024
37 Minnesota Tim Walz (D) 127,629 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
38 Alabama Kay Ivey (R) 124,563 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
39 Mississippi Tate Reeves (R) 122,160 Jan 2020 – Jan 2024
40 South Dakota Kristi Noem (R) 118,728 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
41 Montana Greg Gianforte (R) 118,397 Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
42 Kansas Laura Kelly (D) 110,707 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
43 New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) 110,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
44 South Carolina Henry McMaster (R) 106,078 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
45 Nebraska Pete Ricketts (R) 105,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
45 Wyoming Mark Gordon (R) 105,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
47 Oregon Kate Brown (D) 98,600 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
48 Arizona Doug Ducey (R) 95,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
49 Colorado Jared Polis (D) 92,700 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023
50 Maine Janet Mills (D) 70,000 Jan 2019 – Jan 2023

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Ocean State Current, including text, graphics, images, and information are solely those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the views and opinions of The Current, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, or its members or staff. The Current cannot be held responsible for information posted or provided by third-party sources. Readers are encouraged to fact check any information on this web site with other sources.

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