The Texas governor’s salary is $153,750 per year, set by the state legislature through the General Appropriations Act and matched by state-funded housing at the Governor’s Mansion, a round-the-clock security detail, official travel support, and a pension earned through the state’s elected class retirement plan.
How the Salary Is Set
Texas Government Code Section 659.011 takes a simple approach: the pay of every elected state officer is whatever the General Appropriations Act says it is.1State of Texas. Texas Government Code 659 – Compensation The legislature passes that act during each biennial regular session, which locks in the governor’s compensation for the next two fiscal years.
Because the budget runs on a two-year clock, the salary stays put until the next session reopens it. The governor cannot raise the figure alone; any change has to clear a full legislative vote inside the broader state budget. That friction is why the number tends to hold flat for long stretches and then move in a single session. $153,750 has been the standing figure through multiple biennia.
What Else Comes With the Office
The cash salary is only part of what the job pays.
The Governor’s Mansion
The Texas Governor’s Mansion has housed the state’s chief executive and their family since 1856, and is one of the oldest continuously occupied governor’s residences in the country.2Office of the Texas Governor. Texas Governor’s Mansion The state pays for upkeep, household staff, and the costs of hosting official functions through a dedicated budget run by the Texas State Preservation Board.
Security
The Texas Department of Public Safety provides 24-hour protection for the governor, a level of security extended to only two other state officials: the lieutenant governor and the attorney general. The detail covers the governor’s immediate family and the mansion grounds.
Travel
DPS also supplies aircraft and ground vehicles for official use, including emergency response across the state’s 268,000 square miles. Fuel, maintenance, and staffing for that transportation sit inside the agency’s biennial budget rather than coming out of the governor’s own pay.
Pension and Retirement
The governor belongs to the Employees Retirement System of Texas as a member of the elected class. Members in this class earn 2.3% of a benchmark salary for every year of service, and the benchmark used is the current base pay of a Texas district judge rather than the governor’s own salary.3Employees Retirement System of Texas. Retirement Benefits for Elected State Officials
As of late 2025, the base salary for a Texas district judge is $175,000.4Texas Judicial Branch. Judicial Salaries Effective September 2025 On that formula, a governor who serves two full four-year terms earns 18.4% of the judge’s salary, or roughly $32,200 a year in retirement. The pension is capped at 100% of the district judge salary regardless of years served.
Age and service requirements:
- Age 60 with at least 8 years of elected class service, or
- Age 50 with at least 12 years of elected class service.
An alternative calculation lets retirees base the pension on their highest 36 months of state salary instead of the district judge figure, subject to its own eligibility rules. For most governors, the judge-benchmark formula produces the larger benefit.
How Texas Compares to Other States
At $153,750, Texas pays its governor in the middle of the national pack. New York tops the list at $250,000, with Pennsylvania and California above $220,000. At the bottom, Maine pays $70,000, and Colorado and Arizona come in under $100,000. Texas sits a little above the national average, which has hovered near $149,000 in recent years, though it trails several states with smaller populations and budgets.
Straight salary comparisons can mislead. States differ widely in what they cover outside the paycheck, and Texas provides one of the more generous packages once the mansion, protective detail, and travel are counted. A governor paid $200,000 in a state that covers fewer ancillary costs may not come out ahead in total compensation.
Other Texas Statewide Officers
The attorney general earns the same $153,750 as the governor, a parity that has held through recent biennia. The comptroller, land commissioner, and agriculture commissioner receive salaries set through the same General Appropriations Act, with some variation by role and any supplements the budget authorizes.1State of Texas. Texas Government Code 659 – Compensation
The lieutenant governor is the outlier. Article III, Section 24 of the Texas Constitution sets that salary at $600 per month, or $7,200 per year, tying it to legislator pay rather than to the executive scale.5Justia Law. Texas Constitution Art 3 – Sec 24 A $221 per diem for each day of regular and special sessions brings the total higher in session years, but the figure still lands well below six figures.6Texas Ethics Commission. Commission Rules Chapter 50 The constitutional arrangement reflects the lieutenant governor’s role as president of the Texas Senate rather than a full-time executive officer.