National Salary Info » Highest Paying States for Chief Executives

Highest-paying States for Chief Executives

The highest-paying states for chief executives (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of chief executives in those states are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with an annual salary of $207,620, Nevada is the highest paying state for chief executives. It is followed by Oregon (average annual salary $206,870). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2020 [1]. For more salary information of chief executives in a specific state, use the links in the table.

Table 1. Highest-paying States for Chief Executives (2019 Survey)

Rank	State	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Nevada	$207,620	$63,560	1,170
2	Oregon	$206,870	$76,990	1,210
3	Washington	$206,560	$119,820	2,980
4	Georgia	$206,210	$91,490	6,260
5	Massachusetts	$205,560	$101,500	7,810
6	North Carolina	$204,790	$72,330	3,490
7	Louisiana	$203,870	$81,580	790
8	Michigan	$203,290	$79,350	2,640
9	Nebraska	$202,890	$67,510	1,380
10	Illinois	$201,580	$96,040	10,010
11	Pennsylvania	$200,750	$112,240	6,630
12	Connecticut	$200,240	$132,800	970
13	District of Columbia	$198,450	$140,120	1,960
14	Maryland	$188,970	$60,090	1,680
15	Texas	$185,930	$108,610	6,170
16	Delaware	$185,880	$136,360	370
17	Ohio	$185,000	$68,010	4,650
18	Hawaii	$184,890	$70,240	910
19	Colorado	$184,320	$88,580	570
20	South Dakota	$182,540	$141,160	500
21	Alabama	$180,780	$68,630	1,320
22	Minnesota	$177,460	$88,300	5,630
23	South Carolina	$170,210	$19,360	3,210
24	Arizona	$168,010	$65,300	4,270
25	Florida	$164,620	$50,030	26,300
26	Missouri	$155,390	$43,130	4,540
27	Utah	$153,250	$43,810	4,680
28	Alaska	$152,490	$79,310	920
29	West Virginia	$147,080	$68,270	990
30	Kansas	$145,280	$37,580	3,620
31	New Hampshire	$138,850	$83,580	680
32	Tennessee	$138,370	$25,350	8,720
33	Wisconsin	$135,140	$71,540	4,290
34	Oklahoma	$133,500	$43,000	3,070
35	Indiana	$132,820	$36,560	3,310
36	Iowa	$128,570	$18,910	2,010
37	North Dakota	$127,170	$56,940	280
38	Wyoming	$126,410	$27,800	120
39	Kentucky	$124,100	$58,880	2,980
40	Guam	$123,820	$33,130	310
41	Virgin Islands	$121,130	$43,530	180
42	Montana	$119,510	$42,610	340
43	Vermont	$116,350	$52,260	730
44	Maine	$114,740	$70,660	990
45	Mississippi	$110,490	$18,650	650
46	Arkansas	$105,090	$23,580	2,090
47	Puerto Rico	$96,200	$44,410	2,710
48	Idaho	$79,140	$18,360	1,400

Note: some states are missing from this table because the median salary information of chief executives in those states is not available at this time.