Who’s highest‐paid in your state?
By Charlotte Gibson
State-by-state breakdown
Who's the most powerful person in your state? Well, based on public employee salaries, it's likely a college coach (sorry, governors). A whopping 28 college football coaches are the best-paid employees in their states, along with 12 college hoops coaches who top the state payrolls. Check out the map below to find your state's top-earning public official, plus the governor's salary.
Alabama
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Saban's salary
Alaska
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Johnsen's salary
Arizona
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Miller's salary
Arkansas
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Morris' salary
California
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Kelly's salary
Colorado
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Tucker's salary
Connecticut
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Hurley's salary
Delaware
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Brainard's salary
Florida
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Mullen's salary
Georgia
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Smart's salary
Hawai'i
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Boughanem's salary
Idaho
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Harsin's salary
Illinois
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Smith's salary
Indiana
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Brohm's salary
Iowa
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Ferentz's salary
Kansas
Medium household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Self's salary
Kentucky
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Calipari's salary
Louisiana
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Orgeron's salary
Maine
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Ferrini-Mundy's salary
Maryland
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Turgeon's salary
Massachusetts
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Collins' salary
Michigan
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Harbaugh's salary
Minnesota
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Fleck's salary
Mississippi
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Luke's salary
Missouri
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Martin's salary
Montana
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Hubbard's salary
Nebraska
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Frost's salary
Nevada
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Norvell's salary
New Hampshire
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Dean's salary
New Jersey
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Ash's salary
New Mexico
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Davie's salary
New York
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Quatroche's salary
North Carolina
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Williams' salary
North Dakota
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Nybladh's salary
Ohio
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Day's salary
Oklahoma
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Riley's salary
Oregon
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Altman's salary
Pennsylvania
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Franklin's salary
Rhode Island
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Cox's salary
South Carolina
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Swinney's salary
South Dakota
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Otzelberger's salary
Tennessee
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Pruitt's salary
Texas
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Fisher's salary
Utah
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Whittingham's salary
Vermont
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Morin's salary
Virginia
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Bennett's salary
Washington
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Petersen's salary
West Virginia
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Huggins' salary
Wisconsin
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Chryst's salary
Wyoming
Median household
income in dollars
Number of median income people needed
to match Bohl's salary
Money men
Notice any familiar names on this list of the 40 highest-paid coaches at public colleges? You should -- Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney and Jim Harbaugh have been on it for years. But some others (hello, Dan Hurley) crack the list for the first time.
Dollars vs. W's
The math is pretty simple for most names on this list: Win more, make more. But for some, like recently fired Arkansas football coach Chad Morris, the paycheck isn't a guaranteed boost to the win total. Here are the three worst win percentages among our highest-paid coaches in both sports.
Power 5 power players
Most of the biggest earners in college sports can be found in the Power 5 conferences. Here's a look at the best-paid football and basketball coaches from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
ACC
Big Ten
Big 12
Pac-12
SEC
(Bank)Roll Tide
Football is king at Alabama (and at most other Power 5 schools, for that matter). And that's reflected in the paychecks. Nick Saban's $8.9 million annual salary is considerably more than the combined annual salaries of the school's other 14 head coaches ($5.6 million). Then again, Saban has won five -- count 'em, five -- national titles in Tuscaloosa.
Saban's salary for
the 2019 season
Other 14 head
coaches' combined
2019 salaries
For what it's worth ...
We've already established that money is flowing pretty nicely through college football and basketball. So let's play a fun game: What else can you get for all those dollars? For starters, lots of khakis, governors and future pro stars.
Primary research by Charlotte Gibson | Data sources: USA Today, United States Census Bureau, Spotrac, National Governors Association, OpenTheBooks.com | *Win percentage for college basketball coaches reflects 2018-19 season; win percentage for college football coaches reflects 2019 season
