--- title: This Map Shows the Highest Paid CEO In Every State description: Where CEO's work can have a big effect on how much they earn, as the highest-paid CEOs are clustered in a handful of coastal states. authors: - name: Ian Salisbury role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/ bio: Ian Salisbury was a senior editor at Money, focusing on investing, banks and mortgage. at_money_since: 2013 articles: 91 covers: - Economy and Politics - Housing - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2018-06-05T10:00:11.000Z' modified: '2020-07-07T11:36:32.000Z' section: Business tags: - Careers - Inequality - pay word_count: 1436 canonical: https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![This Map Shows the Highest Paid CEO In Every State](https://img.money.com/2018/06/highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state.jpg?quality=85&w=1012&h=569&crop=1) It's no secret that where you live can have a big effect on how much you earn. What you may not know: This can be as true for CEOs as it is for the rest of us. Curious to see what head honchos around the country earn, Money compiled a list of the top paid chief executives in each state from [the AFL-CIO's Executive Paywatch project](https://aflcio.org/paywatch/highest-paid-ceos). The AFL-CIO culled Securities and Exchange Commission filings to catalogue what every company in the Russell 3000 index of publicly traded U.S. stocks pays its CEO — and how that pay compares to what a typical worker at the same company earns. There are some caveats: You'll notice that this map does not include some familiar names like Amazon's Jeff Bezos or Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett. That's because while those men run giant companies and are among the world's richest, the bulk of their wealth technically comes from the fact that they own their companies — not from what their companies choose to pay them annually. Also, the $151 million that Florida-based railroad CSX reported paying to Hunter Harrison, who died late last year, [has a complicated back-story](https://www.wsj.com/articles/deceased-csx-chief-hunter-harrison-was-among-top-paid-ceos-1523033310). Excluding some pay Harrison collected before he died, but including other compensation not calculated in the official tally, *The Wall Street Journal* pegged Harrison's pay at about $90 million. Still, it's hard to miss a pattern: The highest-paid CEOs tend to cluster in a handful of coastal states, that have the largest populations, the most number of public companies, and the largest overall economies. This may explain why these states also [seem like the ones most obsessed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/11/rand-paul-is-right-the-most-economically-unequal-states-are-democratic/?utm_term=.d6df0c31bcad) with economic inequality. ## Alabama Thomas A. Fanning Most recent pay: $15,702,228 Company: Southern Co. Median worker pay: $138,000 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 114 ## Alaska Ronald A. Duncan\* Most recent pay: $2,960,086 Company: General Communication Median worker pay: NA Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA \*Figure for 2016 ## Arkansas C. Douglas McMillon\*\* Most recent pay: $22,791,276 Company: Wal-Mart Stores Median worker pay: $19,177 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 1,188 \*\*Figure for 2018 ## Arizona Richard C. Adkerson Most recent pay: $18,396,037 Company: Freeport-McMoran Median worker pay: $66,490 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 277 ## California Peter P. Gassner\*\* Most recent pay: $88,143,333 Company: Veeva Systems Median worker pay: $94,810 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 930 \*\*Figure for 2018 ## Colorado Gregory B. Maffei Most recent pay: $47,809,756 Company: Liberty Interactive Corporation Median worker pay: $26,407 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 1810 ## Connecticut Glenn D. Fogel Most recent pay: $27,774,458 Company: The Priceline Group Median worker pay: $46,355 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 599 ## District of Columbia Thomas P. Joyce, Jr. Most recent pay: $14,786,341 Company: Danaher Corporation Median worker pay: $67,756 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 218 ## Delaware Herva Hoppenot Most recent pay: $16,087,031 Company: Incyte Corporation Median worker pay: $253,015 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 64 ## Florida Hunter Harrison Most recent pay: $151,147,286 Company: CSX Corporation Median worker pay: $98,697 Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA ## Georgia Ronald F. Clarke Most recent pay: $52,643,810 Company: FleetCor Technologies Median worker pay: $34,700 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 1,517 ## Hawaii Constance H. Lau Most recent pay: $5,913,746 Company: Hawaiian Electric Industries Median worker pay: $126,857 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 47 ## Idaho Darrel T. Anderson Most recent pay: $6,695,596 Company: IDACORP Median worker pay: $161,297 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 42 ## Illinois Dirk Van De Put Most recent pay: $42,442,924 Company: Mondelez International Median worker pay: $42,893 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 990 ## Indiana Joseph R. Swedish Most recent pay: $18,553,317 Company: Anthem Median worker pay: $70,867 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 262 ## Iowa Daniel J. Houston Most recent pay: $11,958,736 Company: Principal Financial Group Median worker pay: $100,355 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 119 ## Kansas Thomas C. Gentile Most recent pay: $9,907,398 Company: Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Median worker pay: $70,452 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 141 ## Kentucky Bruce D. Broussard Most recent pay: $19,768,525 Company: Humana Median worker pay: $57,385 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 344 ## Louisiana Glen F. Post Most recent pay: $14,715,560 Company: CenturyLink Median worker pay: $69,252 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 212 ## Maine Melissa D. Smith Most recent pay: $10,847,606 Company: WEX Median worker pay: $62,621 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 173 ## Maryland David M. Zaslav Most recent pay: $42,247,984 Company: Discovery Communications Median worker pay: $80,858 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 522 ## Massachusetts Douglas Ingram Most recent pay: $56,866,241 Company: Sarepta Therapeutics Median worker pay: $256,151 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 222 ## Michigan Mark Fields Most recent pay: $23,500,111 Company: Ford Motor Median worker pay: $87,783 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 268 ## Minnesota James M. Cracchiolo Most recent pay: $23,900,309 Company: Ameriprise Financial Median worker pay: $107,082 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 223 ## Mississippi Joe F. Sanderson Jr. Most recent pay: $6,640,211 Company: Sanderson Farms Median worker pay: NA Years working to match the CEO: NA ## Missouri Michael F. Neidorff Most recent pay: $25,259,468 Company: Centene Median worker pay: $66,600 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 379 ## Montana Kevin P. Riley Most recent pay: $1,796,040 Company: First Interstate BancSystem Median worker pay: $50,483 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 36 ## Nebraska Lance M. Fritz Most recent pay: $13,794,237 Company: Union Pacific Median worker pay: $82,994 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 166 ## Nevada Stephen A. Wynn\* Most recent pay: $34,522,695 Company: Wynn Resorts Median worker pay: $44,437 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 777 (\*Resigned in February) ## New Hampshire Manning Rountree Most recent pay: $6,633,124 Company: White Mountains Insurance Group Median worker pay: $88,307 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 75 ## New Jersey Alex Gorsky Most recent pay: $29,802,564 Company: Johnson & Johnson Median worker pay: $66,000 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 452 ## New Mexico Patricia K. Collawn Most recent pay: $4,425,922 Company: PNM Resources (Holding Co.) Median worker pay: $103,864 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 43 ## New York Frank J. Bisignano Most recent pay: $102,210,395 Company: First Data Median worker pay: $50,406 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 2,028 ## North Carolina Douglas Lebda Most recent pay: $59,591,002 Company: LendingTree Median worker pay: $108,536 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 549 ## North Dakota David L. Goodin Most recent pay: $4,058,001 Company: MDU Resources Group Median worker pay: $84,883 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 48 ## Ohio W. Nicholas Howley Most recent pay: $61,023,102 Company: Transdigm Group Median worker pay: NA Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA ## Oklahoma James D. Bennett\* Most recent pay: $18,824,850 Company: SandRidge Energy Median worker pay: NA Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA \*Figure for 2016 ## Oregon Mark G. Parker Most recent pay: $13,851,499 Company: Nike Median worker pay: NA Years working to match the CEO: NA ## Pennsylvania Alan B. Miller Most recent pay: $21,630,861 Company: Universal Health Services Median worker pay: $39,978 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 541 ## Rhode Island Scott C. Donnelly Most recent pay: $14,825,330 Company: Textron Median worker pay: $90,025 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 165 ## South Carolina Jack Sanders Most recent pay: $8,834,144 Company: Sonoco Products Company Median worker pay: $48,645 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 182 ## South Dakota J. Tyler Haahr Most recent pay: $11,893,752 Company: Meta Financial Group Median worker pay: NA Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA ## Tennessee Kenneth W. Lowe Most recent pay: $28,784,240 Company: Scripps Networks Interactive Median worker pay: NA Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA ## Texas R. Stephenson Most recent pay: $28,720,720 Company: AT&T Median worker pay: $78,437 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 366 ## Utah Sunny S. Sanyal Most recent pay: $6,559,636 Company: Varex Imaging Corporation Median worker pay: NA Years to earn what the CEO makes: NA ## Vermont John W. Casella Most recent pay: $2,885,473 Company: Casella Waste Systems Median worker pay: $37,578 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 77 ## Virginia Phebe N. Novakovic Most recent pay: $21,501,429 Company: General Dynamics Median worker pay: $98,563 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 218 ## Washington Mark D. Okerstrom Most recent pay: $30,720,457 Company: Expedia Median worker pay: $71,696 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 428 ## West Virginia Richard M. Adams Most recent pay: $3,638,031 Company: United Bankshares Median worker pay: $53,145 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 68 ## Wisconsin Kevin T. Conroy Most recent pay: $13,265,089 Company: Exact Sciences Corporation Median worker pay: $98,724 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 134 ## Wyoming Colin Marshall Most recent pay: $4,426,954 Company: Cloud Peak Energy Median worker pay: $90,980 Years to earn what the CEO makes: 49 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Business", "item": "https://money.com/business/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Employees", "item": "https://money.com/employees/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This Map Shows the Highest Paid CEO In Every State" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/", "name": "This Map Shows the Highest Paid CEO In Every State", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2018-06-05T10:00:11.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2020-07-07T11:36:32.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "This Map Shows the Highest Paid CEO In Every State", "articleSection": "Business", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2018/06/highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state.jpg?quality=85", "width": 2800, "height": 1866 } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Salisbury", "url": "https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/ian-salisbury-2/#author", "description": "Ian Salisbury was a senior editor at Money, focusing on investing, banks and mortgage.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/06/Ian-Salisbury.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2018-06-05T10:00:11.000Z", "description": "Where CEO's work can have a big effect on how much they earn, as the highest-paid CEOs are clustered in a handful of coastal states.", "abstract": "Where CEO's work can have a big effect on how much they earn, as the highest-paid CEOs are clustered in a handful of coastal states.", "@id": "https://money.com/this-map-shows-the-highest-paid-ceo-in-every-state/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2020-07-07T11:36:32.000Z", "wordCount": 1436, "keywords": [ "Careers", "Inequality", "pay" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Employment", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment" ] } ] } ] } ```