“The Council of State Governments has been collecting data on governors’ salaries for The Book of the States since 1937. The average governor’s salary has grown more slowly in recent years than in the past, with a number of states cutting their chief executive’s pay during and after the Great Recession. Governors’ salaries in 2014 range from a low of $70,000 per year to a high of $187,818, with an average salary of $134,390.

The two highest paid governors in 2014 are Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett ($187,818 per year) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam ($181,980 per year); however, both come with caveats. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the third highest paid governor, earning $179,000 per year. Corbett has the highest gubernatorial salary—$187,818—but he has refused at least three cost-of-living adjustments during his tenure and 1.7 percent of his salary is being repaid as part of a statewide management pay freeze, making his actual pay closer to $175,000.

• Haslam’s salary of $181,980 per year ranks second among governors’ salaries, but he returns 100 percent of his salary to the state of Tennessee.”