The salary statistics of legislators are shown in Table 1. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of legislators within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The legislators annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2019 and published in April 2020 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $17,690 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $19,070 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $29,270 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $75,520 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $100,470 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for legislators. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) legislators is $100,470. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $29,270. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $17,690. Notice that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 467% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of legislators from 2012 to 2019.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 7-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $29,270 | 15.72% | 32.42% |
| 2018 | $24,670 | -3.89% | - |
| 2017 | $25,630 | 8.43% | - |
| 2016 | $23,470 | 12.65% | - |
| 2015 | $20,500 | 1.56% | - |
| 2014 | $20,180 | -2.18% | - |
| 2013 | $20,620 | 4.07% | - |
| 2012 | $19,780 | - | - |
The average salaries of legislators in 1 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2.
| Industry Sector | Median Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Federal, State, and Local Government |
From the above tables we note that not only legislators salaries vary considerably based on one's education and experience, and the industry sectors, they also change considerably from state to state. In the following table we compare the median salary of legislators in all 50 states of the United States. We note that the median annual salaries range from $17,640 to $92,360. The highest paying state for legislators is New York with a median annual salary of $92,360. The lowest paying state is Idaho with a median annual salary of $17,640. For more salary information of legislators profession in a specific state, use the links in the table.