According to a survey by Stateline, a website affiliated with Pew Charitable Trusts, it’s good to be a California legislator. If you’re lucky enough to have a job in the California legislature, you are the highest-paid state legislator in the country.
Stateline’s data, which indicated California legislators are averaging a base salary of $90,526 per year, is a few months old, and that base salary will be raised to $95,291 in December as a result of a decision last year by the California Citizens Compensation Commission. The Commission is also considering a further raise.
In addition, the legislators receive an additional tax-free “per diem” of $141.86 per day every day the Legislature is in session. The closest average salary to the California legislators is in Pennsylvania, where the average salary is $84, 012.