The Arkansas governor’s salary is $166,771 per year, set by the state’s Independent Citizens Commission in an adjustment that took effect in November 2024.1Independent Citizens Commission. Independent Citizens Commission 2025 Presentation The job also comes with a state-furnished mansion in Little Rock and a security detail from the Arkansas State Police.
Who Sets the Pay
Arkansas voters created the Independent Citizens Commission by approving Amendment 94 to the state constitution in November 2014.2Independent Citizens Commission. Notice of Proposed Salary Adjustments The seven-member commission controls pay for the governor, other constitutional officers, legislators, and judges. Its decisions take effect without a legislative vote, which removes the conflict of interest that comes with elected officials setting their own salaries.
Before voting on adjustments, the commission reviews economic data, cost-of-living indicators, and comparable pay in other states. Meetings are open to the public, and resolutions are posted on the commission’s website.3Independent Citizens Commission. Resolutions and Recommendations Adjustments have come almost every year since the first round in 2015.
How the Salary Has Changed
Before Amendment 94, the governor’s pay sat at $141,000 for years because raises required legislative action and lawmakers rarely moved on them. Under the commission, the figure has climbed steadily:
- 2016–2017: $141,000
- 2018: $143,820
- 2019: $148,134
- 2020: $151,838
- 2021: $154,115
- 2022–2023: $158,739
- 2024: $166,771
The move from $158,739 to $166,771 was the largest single bump the commission has approved, reflecting a stretch of higher inflation.1Independent Citizens Commission. Independent Citizens Commission 2025 Presentation The salary stays fixed through the fiscal year regardless of special sessions or emergency declarations.
Mansion, Security, and Other Benefits
State law requires Arkansas to provide a mansion for the governor to live in during each term.4FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 22 Public Property – 22-3-801 The current Governor’s Mansion sits on 8.5 acres on Center Street in Little Rock’s historic Quapaw Quarter and serves as both a private residence and a venue for official state events. The state covers maintenance, utilities, and staffing.
The same statute allows a governor-elect to move in up to 45 days before taking office, and a departing governor may stay up to 45 days after leaving, with the sitting governor’s approval in both directions.4FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 22 Public Property – 22-3-801 Travel for official duties is reimbursed through state accounts under standard accounting procedures.
Security comes from the Arkansas State Police Executive Protection Detail, which covers the governor, immediate family, and the mansion grounds. The detail also coordinates travel logistics, both domestic and international, and handles threat assessments.5Arkansas Department of Public Safety. Director
The salary itself is subject to federal and Arkansas state income tax withholding like any other wages. The mansion likely qualifies for the federal lodging exclusion, which lets employer-provided housing stay out of taxable income when it sits on the employer’s premises, is furnished for the employer’s convenience, and is accepted as a condition of employment.6Internal Revenue Service. Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits A sitting governor meets all three conditions.
How Arkansas Compares to Other States
Governor pay ranges widely across the country. New York tops the list at $250,000, followed by Pennsylvania near $230,000 and California around $224,000. Maine pays just $70,000, with Colorado and Arizona also under $100,000. A few governors, including those in Illinois and Connecticut, have declined their salaries entirely in some years.
Arkansas’s $166,771 lands near the national median. The commission’s regular adjustments have kept the figure roughly aligned with inflation, which was the point of taking the decision out of the political process in the first place.