Which State Legislators Earn the Most?

Some of the states with the nation’s biggest budget problems also pay their legislators the highest salaries, according to a new report by the Illinois Policy Institute. Other states pay their lawmakers no salary at all. The 10 best-paying states in the nation are California ($95,291), Michigan ($79,650), New York ($79,500), Pennsylvania ($78,314), Illinois ($67,836), Massachusetts ($61,440), Ohio ($60,584), Alaska ($50,400), Wisconsin ($49,943) and New Jersey ($49,000).  That contrasts sharply with the pay offered by the bottom 10 states: Louisiana ($16,800), Arkansas ($15,869), Rhode Island ($14,019), North Carolina ($13,951), Nebraska ($12,000), South Carolina ($10,400), Mississippi ($10,000) and New Mexico, Texas and Utah — where legislators earn no salary at all.