Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of chief executive officer salary by state for the United States:
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Hawaii has the highest chief executive officer salary of $191,313
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Alaska has the lowest chief executive officer salary of $91,625
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The national average salary for chief executive officers is $192,260
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The national hourly pay for chief executive officers is $92.43
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do chief executive officers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for chief executive officer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for chief executive officers after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for chief executive officer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Chief Executive Officers By State
| Rank | State | Average Chief Executive Officer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $191,313 | $133,000 | $275,000 |
| 2 | Nevada | $182,253 | $124,000 | $266,000 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $180,498 | $122,000 | $265,000 |
| 4 | New York | $174,696 | $117,000 | $260,000 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $172,877 | $115,000 | $259,000 |
| 6 | California | $171,074 | $114,000 | $256,000 |
| 7 | Texas | $166,783 | $109,000 | $254,000 |
| 8 | Virginia | $164,430 | $107,000 | $251,000 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $162,546 | $105,000 | $249,000 |
| 10 | Illinois | $161,050 | $103,000 | $249,000 |
| 11 | Washington | $160,529 | $105,000 | $245,000 |
| 12 | Louisiana | $159,627 | $102,000 | $248,000 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $159,220 | $102,000 | $246,000 |
| 14 | Michigan | $159,144 | $102,000 | $247,000 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $158,545 | $102,000 | $246,000 |
| 16 | Maryland | $157,500 | $101,000 | $244,000 |
| 17 | Delaware | $157,008 | $101,000 | $243,000 |
| 18 | South Carolina | $156,510 | $99,000 | $245,000 |
| 19 | Georgia | $154,288 | $97,000 | $243,000 |
| 20 | Nebraska | $151,206 | $95,000 | $238,000 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $150,469 | $95,000 | $237,000 |
| 22 | Colorado | $147,240 | $92,000 | $233,000 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $144,192 | $89,000 | $232,000 |
| 24 | Oregon | $143,235 | $90,000 | $227,000 |
| 25 | Tennessee | $142,091 | $87,000 | $231,000 |
| 26 | Florida | $141,788 | $87,000 | $229,000 |
| 27 | Ohio | $141,718 | $87,000 | $229,000 |
| 28 | Arizona | $141,312 | $88,000 | $225,000 |
| 29 | Indiana | $141,043 | $86,000 | $229,000 |
| 30 | West Virginia | $140,689 | $86,000 | $228,000 |
| 31 | New Hampshire | $140,421 | $86,000 | $227,000 |
| 32 | Kansas | $133,054 | $80,000 | $219,000 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | $132,226 | $79,000 | $218,000 |
| 34 | Alabama | $132,080 | $79,000 | $219,000 |
| 35 | Vermont | $131,468 | $79,000 | $217,000 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $130,606 | $79,000 | $213,000 |
| 37 | Missouri | $128,806 | $77,000 | $214,000 |
| 38 | Kentucky | $127,897 | $76,000 | $214,000 |
| 39 | Mississippi | $122,579 | $72,000 | $207,000 |
| 40 | Iowa | $121,425 | $71,000 | $204,000 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $117,994 | $69,000 | $201,000 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $117,703 | $70,000 | $197,000 |
| 43 | North Dakota | $117,603 | $70,000 | $195,000 |
| 44 | Utah | $116,718 | $69,000 | $194,000 |
| 45 | Maine | $114,004 | $66,000 | $195,000 |
| 46 | Idaho | $113,145 | $67,000 | $189,000 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $105,159 | $60,000 | $182,000 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $98,915 | $57,000 | $169,000 |
| 49 | Montana | $92,104 | $54,000 | $155,000 |
| 50 | Alaska | $91,625 | $53,000 | $157,000 |
Methodology: Chief Executive Officer Salary By State
To better understand chief executive officer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for chief executive officers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for chief executive officers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for chief executive officers.
Chief Executive Officer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for chief executive officers?
The highest-paid state for chief executive officers is Hawaii with an average salary of $191,313 per year.
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What city pays chief executive officers the most?
Urban Honolulu, HI pays chief executive officers the most with an average salary of $247,076 per year.
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What is the worst state for chief executive officers?
The worst state for chief executive officers is Alaska with an average salary of $91,625 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
