Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of executive salary by state for the United States:
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Rhode Island has the highest executive salary of $149,785
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Oklahoma has the lowest executive salary of $62,546
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The national average salary for executives is $108,285
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The national hourly pay for executives is $52.06
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 executives 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 executive 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 executives after this adjustment? That would be Rhode Island.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for executive salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Executives By State
| Rank | State | Average Executive Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $149,785 | $99,000 | $224,000 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $138,089 | $90,000 | $210,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $137,061 | $89,000 | $209,000 |
| 4 | Washington | $135,630 | $86,000 | $211,000 |
| 5 | New York | $130,434 | $84,000 | $202,000 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $128,987 | $82,000 | $200,000 |
| 7 | Virginia | $126,604 | $78,000 | $203,000 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | $124,754 | $79,000 | $196,000 |
| 9 | Nevada | $120,731 | $73,000 | $197,000 |
| 10 | Michigan | $118,554 | $74,000 | $189,000 |
| 11 | California | $116,836 | $71,000 | $191,000 |
| 12 | Maryland | $115,265 | $71,000 | $185,000 |
| 13 | Delaware | $114,925 | $72,000 | $183,000 |
| 14 | Alaska | $114,576 | $72,000 | $181,000 |
| 15 | Nebraska | $114,146 | $69,000 | $187,000 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $111,216 | $71,000 | $173,000 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | $109,792 | $67,000 | $177,000 |
| 18 | Ohio | $108,360 | $66,000 | $177,000 |
| 19 | Arizona | $106,484 | $63,000 | $179,000 |
| 20 | New Mexico | $105,293 | $62,000 | $177,000 |
| 21 | Maine | $103,215 | $66,000 | $160,000 |
| 22 | Vermont | $101,960 | $65,000 | $158,000 |
| 23 | Georgia | $101,449 | $58,000 | $175,000 |
| 24 | Iowa | $101,283 | $61,000 | $167,000 |
| 25 | Texas | $100,859 | $58,000 | $173,000 |
| 26 | Alabama | $100,551 | $58,000 | $173,000 |
| 27 | Louisiana | $98,338 | $56,000 | $170,000 |
| 28 | Illinois | $97,941 | $59,000 | $161,000 |
| 29 | North Carolina | $97,904 | $57,000 | $166,000 |
| 30 | Oregon | $96,781 | $58,000 | $158,000 |
| 31 | Utah | $96,217 | $57,000 | $160,000 |
| 32 | Indiana | $95,400 | $56,000 | $159,000 |
| 33 | Idaho | $93,904 | $57,000 | $154,000 |
| 34 | Minnesota | $93,888 | $57,000 | $152,000 |
| 35 | Colorado | $93,623 | $55,000 | $158,000 |
| 36 | North Dakota | $92,681 | $58,000 | $147,000 |
| 37 | West Virginia | $92,075 | $55,000 | $154,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $89,628 | $50,000 | $158,000 |
| 39 | Montana | $88,745 | $54,000 | $143,000 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $87,464 | $49,000 | $153,000 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $86,314 | $50,000 | $148,000 |
| 42 | Wyoming | $84,922 | $50,000 | $141,000 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $82,387 | $49,000 | $135,000 |
| 44 | Missouri | $82,204 | $48,000 | $140,000 |
| 45 | Tennessee | $82,024 | $46,000 | $143,000 |
| 46 | Kansas | $79,199 | $46,000 | $135,000 |
| 47 | Arkansas | $77,935 | $44,000 | $136,000 |
| 48 | Hawaii | $76,353 | $50,000 | $116,000 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $71,149 | $40,000 | $125,000 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $62,546 | $36,000 | $108,000 |
Methodology: Executive Salary By State
To better understand executive 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 executives by state.
We took the average annual salary data for executives from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for executives.
Executive Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for executives?
The highest-paid state for executives is Rhode Island with an average salary of $149,785 per year.
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What city pays executives the most?
Providence, RI pays executives the most with an average salary of $153,126 per year.
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What is the worst state for executives?
The worst state for executives is Oklahoma with an average salary of $62,546 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.
