Is Maine’s governor the lowest-paid in the country? | Fact brief

Maine’s governor is — for now — the lowest-paid in the country, with a statutory salary of $70,000 as of 2023, according to nonpartisan political data resource Ballotpedia.

Colorado ranked second-lowest at $90,000, followed by Arizona at $95,000.

The governors of Connecticut and Illinois voluntarily declined to accept their salaries in 2023, Ballotpedia noted.

New York’s governor had the highest statutory salary in 2023 at $250,000, followed by Pennsylvania at $229,642 and Connecticut at $226,711. 

The Maine governor’s salary will increase in January 2027. A bill enacted in early 2024, LD 165, will raise the governor’s pay to $125,000, along with a $40,000 tax-exempt expense account. The governor’s salary was last increased in 1987.

Article V of the Maine Constitution mandates that changes to the governor’s compensation cannot take effect during the current term, so the raise will apply only after the next governor is inaugurated.