What do elected officials receive?

Salaries, benefits and what may continue after leaving office—from a town selectboard to Congress.

First release · research checked October 8, 2026. This growing directory includes congressional pay and retirement rules, a dated legislative-pay reference for all 50 states, verified state and city examples, and links for investigating local offices. It is not yet a complete record of every elected official’s compensation. Missing information is marked as unconfirmed, not treated as zero.

Figures are in U.S. dollars. A source’s effective date is different from the date we checked it. Older reference figures are labelled; they should not be assumed to be today’s rate.

Why make this information available?

People should be able to understand what public service costs, how compensation is decided and who can afford to stand for election. The questions are about transparent, fair arrangements that serve the community. A salary figure alone cannot tell us whether someone serves well or whether the package is reasonable.

Personal compensation

Base pay, additional pay for a leadership role, insurance contributions and retirement contributions. Show what the public pays and what the official pays.

Doing the job

Staff, office rent, approved travel and reimbursed expenses belong in a separate category. An office budget is not the official’s take-home pay.

After the term

Ask separately about pension eligibility, retiree insurance, temporary coverage and any transition payment. Identify when each starts, when it ends and who pays.

U.S. representatives and senators

Annual base salary; leadership roles receive different rates
Office	Annual salary	Official source and date
U.S. senator, regular member	$174,000	Senate salary table, 2026
Senate majority/minority leaders and president pro tempore	$193,400	Current leadership rate on the same Senate page
U.S. representative, regular member	$174,000	House published schedule, effective January 1, 2024
House majority/minority leaders	$193,400	Same House schedule
Speaker of the House	$223,500	Same House schedule

The House page gives a 2024 effective date; we preserve that date rather than describe it as a newly issued 2026 schedule. House statements of disbursements show public spending, including office and staff expenses, separately from a member’s salary.

Benefits while serving

Congressional health coverage has specific rules. Members obtain coverage through the designated exchange arrangements to receive the government contribution. Retirement arrangements may include a pension, Social Security and the Thrift Savings Plan; the applicable plan and entry date matter. Insurance premiums, employee retirement contributions and taxes should be distinguished from the government’s contribution.

OPM health eligibility and congressional coverage · OPM FERS overview · OPM retirement and savings options

What continues—and for how long?

Congressional retirement: eligibility is not an automatic continuation of salary
Benefit	When it may be available	Duration and limits
FERS pension	An age/service route is age 62 with five years of qualifying service. Other routes and reductions exist. The special congressional route includes 25 years of service, or age 50 with 20 years; the cited regulation excludes separation by resignation or expulsion from that special route.	Once an eligible retirement annuity starts, it generally pays for the retiree’s lifetime. It is calculated under the applicable plan, using service and salary history; it is not automatically the full congressional salary. Survivor benefits have separate conditions.
Retiree health insurance	Qualifying retirement and coverage history are required. OPM’s general rule requires an immediate annuity and five years of coverage, or coverage since the first opportunity if shorter, with exceptions.	May continue during eligible retirement while coverage and premium requirements are met. A former member does not automatically get free lifetime insurance. OPM explains the transition from congressional exchange coverage to eligible retiree plans.
Thrift Savings Plan	A retirement savings account, with employee contributions and applicable government contributions during covered employment.	Vested savings remain subject to the account’s withdrawal and beneficiary rules. This is an account balance, not a promise of a fixed lifetime payment. Further payroll contributions depend on covered employment.

Sources: FERS basic age/service rules · Special congressional retirement rule · Immediate, postponed and deferred retirement · Health coverage in retirement · Congressional retiree health transition.

For state and local officials, the answer must be checked office by office. Pension vesting does not necessarily mean payments start immediately on leaving office. A retiree health benefit, if offered, can have different eligibility requirements from the pension.

All 50 states: legislative base-pay reference

This is the National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2025 comparison, not a claim that every figure remains current in 2026. Amounts below are annual unless another unit is shown. They exclude per diem, mileage, leadership supplements and benefits. Select a state for government and local contact links.

2025 reference · USD · base pay only
State	Base pay
Alabama	62,212
Alaska	84,000
Arizona	24,000
Arkansas	45,244
California	132,703
Colorado	47,561 / 43,977¹
Connecticut	43,600
Delaware	51,692
Florida	29,697²
Georgia	25,315.32
Hawaii	74,160
Idaho	25,000
Illinois	93,712
Indiana	33,032.24
Iowa	25,000
Kansas	43,000
Kentucky	203.28 / 221.94 per day³
Louisiana	16,800
Maine	25,000 / 20,000⁴
Maryland	55,526
Massachusetts	82,044.31
Michigan	71,685
Minnesota	51,750
Mississippi	23,500
Missouri	41,770
Montana	128.86 per day
Nebraska	12,000
Nevada	130 per day⁵
New Hampshire	100
New Jersey	49,000
New Mexico	No salary
New York	142,000
North Carolina	13,951
North Dakota	592 per month
Ohio	72,343
Oklahoma	47,500
Oregon	43,440
Pennsylvania	110,015.54
Rhode Island	19,817
South Carolina	10,400
South Dakota	16,348
Tennessee	33,060
Texas	7,200
Utah	301 per day
Vermont	897.29 per week
Virginia	17,640 House / 18,000 Senate
Washington	61,997 House / 60,191 Senate
West Virginia	23,000
Wisconsin	60,924
Wyoming	150 per day

¹ Colorado: 2025/2023 terms. ² Florida: 2024. ³ Kentucky: election cohorts. ⁴ Maine: session years. ⁵ Nevada: paid-day cap. See the source for conditions.

Verified examples: different offices, different rules

California

Effective December 1, 2025, the commission lists the governor at $245,929 annually and regular legislators at $134,694. Lieutenant governor and secretary of state: $184,447; attorney general and superintendent of public instruction: $213,617; controller, treasurer and insurance commissioner: $196,743.

Leadership supplements and other elected offices appear in the official salary schedule. Complete office-specific benefits and post-office durations are not yet verified in this directory.

New Hampshire

The current statute places the governor in grade MM, with a listed annual rate of $165,027. It lists governor’s councilors at a maximum of $20,129 under a schedule commencing July 12, 2024.

Executive councilors may buy state group health/dental coverage at their own expense. Participating former councilors must choose continuation within 30 days of leaving; coverage can continue as long as they choose and pay, subject to statutory payment rules.

Salary and insurance statute · Official payroll records. These are state executive councilors, not town selectboard members.

New York City

Local Law 134 of 2026 lists annual salaries of $305,800 for the mayor, $175,500 for council members and $194,400 for the speaker. Public advocate: $218,400; borough presidents: $211,800; comptroller: $247,100.

Enacted August 18, 2026; effective 45 days later, with these salary provisions retroactive to January 1, 2026. Read the enacted law and history. This salary law does not establish a complete benefits package. Pension tier, contributions and retiree health eligibility still require separate verification.

Town councils, selectboards and other local elected offices

Begin with the exact community and office. Include town selectmen/selectboard members, city councilors, mayors, county commissioners or supervisors, elected clerks, treasurers, sheriffs, prosecutors and school-board members where those positions are elected. Similar titles do not establish identical pay or benefit rights.

For each office we need the adopted salary or stipend, any meeting fees, the insurance contribution, retirement membership rules and what remains after service ends. A budget line for an entire board or department must not be presented as one person’s salary. An unconfirmed benefit should be recorded as “not yet verified”; “none” requires evidence.

Find your state and community

Open a state below for the existing government, legislature and local-directory links. These are paths to the responsible offices, not a claim that each linked portal already contains a complete compensation schedule.

Alabama