By Guy Page
The salary of Vermont’s governor has risen about $100,000 since 2017, putting the chief executive of the nation’s second-least-populous state among the highest-paid governors in the country.
Last year, beginning July 12 2025, Vermont’s governor earned $234,379. He was paid $222,371 the previous year. As of July 12 this year, he is believed to earn $243,520, according to the 2026 Pay Act bill (VDC is checking with administration officials to determine specific amount). His, and other top state officials’, pay is scheduled to have increased last month as the result of a legislated ‘bump’ that gives to salaried executive staff (including the governor and his appointees) annual percentage increases similar to state employees paid an hourly wage.
That bump was scheduled to give state officers an average 5.9% increase beginning last month, and would give an additional 4.9% bump next July, according to a March, 2026 Joint Fiscal Office report.
Exempt state employees, such as elected statewide officers, cabinet members, and other appointees, are not entitled to overtime pay and typically receive a salary, while non-exempt state employees are entitled to overtime pay and usually earn an hourly wage. The classification is based on job duties and salary levels as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Even at his 2025 pay, Vermont’s governor earns within a few thousand dollars of California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom receives $245,929, despite California having roughly 60 times Vermont’s population. Along with other state officers, the governor’s pay has increased steadily in recent years – he was paid $200,755 in 2023, up $34,709 since 2018.
Vermont’s Gov. Phil Scott earns more than his northern New England counterparts. Maine Gov. Janet Mills currently receives $70,000 annually. Maine law will raise the salary to $125,000 when a new governor takes office in January 2027. New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s salary has been reported at $163,510.
In the southern New England states, Ned Lamont of Connecticut is paid $226,000, which he reportedly forgoes. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee earns $163,000. Massachusetts’ governor Maura Healey receives a $243,493 salary, according to a Massachusetts state employee website.
Other governors’ salaries, according to public record, include:
– Texas Gov. Greg Abbott receives $153,109.
– Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro receives $253,870
– New York guv Kathy Hochul’s gubernatorial salary is $250,000.
Those numbers put Pennsylvania first at $253,870, New York second at $250,000, California third at $245,929 and Massachusetts fourth at about $243,493. Vermont has about 650,000 residents and ranks 49th among the states in population, ahead of only Wyoming.