New Data Reveals Idaho’s Top 10 Highest Paid State Employees and Their Huge Salaries

If you had to sum up the current economy in one word, what would you choose? A recent CBS News poll says that the majority of Americans are using words like “uncertain” and “struggling.” Some go as far as calling it “unfair” and “punishing.”

67% of the participants in that poll believe that prices will only continue to go up over the next few months. In an economy where everything from groceries to gas to rent are costing more, it’s only natural for Idahoans to wonder how their paychecks stack up. We’re not just talking about your friends and neighbors. We’re talking about how they compare to the people running the Gem State, too.

READ MORE: City of Boise's Highest Paid Employees for 2025

Any time we talk about salaries in Idaho, someone pipes up in the comments section to ask what Idaho’s top officials and politicians are making. While those average salaries don’t show up as a searchable occupation on the Department of Labor’s website, there is another place you can easily access that information.

What Do Idaho’s Leaders Actually Earn Annually?

The State Controller’s office runs a website called Transparent Idaho that breaks down the salary of every single state employee. We’re talking everyone from temporary, part-time employees making $7.25 an hour to the state’s top office of governor. That website was updated with new data on October 1, 2025.

We pulled the list of public officials you’re probably the most curious about. Here’s what they’re taking home:

• Idaho Supreme Court Justices: $186,508
• Idaho Court of Appeals Judges: $178,508
• Idaho District Judges: $172,508
• Governor Little: $151,400
• Raul Labrador, Attorney General: $146,730
• Phil McGrane, Secretary of State: $128,690
• Brandon Woolf, State Controller: $128,690
• Julie Ellsworth, State Treasurer: $128,690
• Debbie Critchfield, Superintendent of Public Instruction: $128,690
• Idaho State Senators: $25,000
• Idaho House Representatives: $25,000

What we found particularly interesting is that these public officials and leaders are nowhere near the list of the top 10 highest paid employees in the state. Every single person on the Top 10 list has a job at one of Idaho’s biggest universities — Boise State, University of Idaho, or Idaho State.

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That said, we want you to remember that the coaches you see on this list don’t have state-funded salaries. Per a statement Boise State gave to the Idaho Press three years ago, the money for those paychecks comes from program revenue, sponsorships, and donor dollars.

This list has changed a bit since we compiled the last one in January 2025. The biggest thing worth noting is that former Boise State president, Marlene Tromp, was #5 earlier this year. She later departed the school to take the same position at the University of Vermont. Alicia Etsey, Boise State’s former Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial and Operations Officer, followed her. Had Etsey stayed, she would’ve landed at #10 on this new list.

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