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The highest-paid public employee in each state isn't a judge, senator, or governor — it's a college football or basketball coach

The highest-paid public job in most states is a college football or basketball coach. Here's how much they make compared to each state's governor.

  • The highest-paid public employee in most states is a college football or basketball coach, according to
  • The University of Kentucky's John Calipari is the highest-paid basketball coach — but his salary pales in comparison to football coaches for public colleges.
  • The salaries for the highest-paid public worker in every state range from $246,000 to $11 million.
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The highest-paid public employee in your state is probably a college football or basketball coach.

ESPN recently published a report on the highest-paid public employee, which is someone paid by a state, county, or city institution. College athletic coaches dominated the list, often earning many times the salary of the state governor, probably the highest-profile public job.

Eight basketball coaches and 31 football coaches made the list, representing 39 out of 50 states.

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Anyone who is not paid by the state — like coaches for private colleges — were excluded from the list, since salary data for a private employee is hard to come by. That means Duke basketball coach Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski and Stanford football coach David Shaw — the highest-earning college coaches in North Carolina and California, respectively — don't appear on ESPN's list.

The salaries for the highest-paid public worker in every state range from $246,000 — more than $50,000 above the highest salary for any governor — to $11 million. ESPN points out that nine of the coaches who were the highest-paid in their state in 2017 no longer hold the same job.

Of the 11 non-coaches who were the highest-paid public employee in their state, eight work in education and two are physician (several work at medical schools). Only one woman made the list: Mary D. Nettleman, a medical school dean.

See who the highest-paid public employee of 2017 was in your state and how much they made. For comparison, we included the governor's salary and the median household income in each state via ESPN.

DELAWARE: Mark Holodick, $246,000 salary in 2017

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Job: Brandywine School District superintendent

Governor salary: $171,000

Median household income: $61,017

MAINE: James H. Page, $277,500 salary in 2017

Job: Chancellor of University of Maine system

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Governor salary: $70,000

Median household income: $50,826

MONTANA: Clay Christian, $309,000 salary in 2017

Job: Higher Education Commissioner

Governor salary: $108,167

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Median household income: $48,380

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Mark W. Huddleston, $492,000 salary in 2017

Job: President of University of New Hampshire

Governor salary: $110,834

Median household income: $68,845

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ALASKA: Keith Meyer, $550,000 salary in 2017

Job: President of Alaska Pipeline Development Corp.

Governor salary: $145,000

Median household income: $74,444

VERMONT: Frederick C. Morin III, $559,600 salary in 2017

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Job: Dean of University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Governor salary: $160,135

Median household income: $56,104

SOUTH DAKOTA: Mary D. Nettleman, $577,700 salary in 2017

Job: Dean, South Dakota School, Sanford School of Medicine

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Governor salary: $112,214

Median household income: $52,078

NEW YORK: Lewis Pasternak, $673,600 salary in 2017

Job: Anesthesiologist, Stony Brook University Hospital

Governor salary: $170,050

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Median household income: $60,741

NORTH DAKOTA: Joshua Wynne, $674,600 salary in 2017

Job: Dean, North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Governor salary: $129,096

Median household income: $59,114

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HAWAII: David J. Engle, $786,000 salary in 2017

Job: Neurosurgeon, Maui Memorial Medical Center

Governor salary: $149,556

Median household income: $71,977

NEW MEXICO: Bob Davie, $822,960 salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach, University of New Mexico

Governor salary: $110,000

Median household income: $45,674

RHODE ISLAND: Dan Hurley, $950,000 salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach, University of Rhode Island

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Governor salary: $132,710

Median household income: $58,387

MASSACHUSETTS: Michael Collins, $1 million salary in 2017

Job: Chancellor and SVP, Health Sciences at UMass System

Governor salary: $151,800

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Median household income: $70,954

NEVADA: Eric Musselman, $1 million salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach, University of Nevada at Reno

Governor salary: $149,730

Median household income: $53,094

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WYOMING: Craig Bohl, $1.4 million salary

Job: Football coach, University of Wyoming

Governor salary: $105,000

Median household income: $59,143

IDAHO: Bryan Harsin, $1.6 million salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach, Boise State

Governor salary: $124,436

Median household income: $49,174

NEW JERSEY: Chris Ash, $2.1 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, Rutgers University

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Governor salary: $175,000

Median household income: $73,702

NORTH CAROLINA: Larry Fedora, $2.3 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Governor salary: $142,265

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Median household income: $48,256

MISSOURI: Barry Odom, $2.4 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Missouri

Governor salary: $133,821

Median household income: $49,593

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MARYLAND: Mark Turgeon, $2.6 million salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach, University of Maryland

Governor salary: $150,000

Median household income: $76,067

COLORADO: Mike MacIntyre, $2.8 million salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach,

Governor salary: $90,000

Median household income: $62,520

NEBRASKA: Mike Riley, $2.9 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

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Governor salary: $105,000

Median household income: $54,384

OREGON: Willie Taggart, $2.9 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Oregon

Governor salary: $98,600

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Median household income: $53,270

ILLINOIS: Lovie Smith, $3 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Illinois

Governor salary: $177,412

Median household income: $59,196

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CONNECTICUT: Kevin Ollie, $3.2 million salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach,

Governor salary: $150,000

Median household income: $71,755

WISCONSIN: Paul Chryst, $3.2 million salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Governor salary: $147,328

Median household income: $54,610

INDIANA: Archie Miller, $3.2 million salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach, Indiana University

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Governor salary: $111,688

Median household income: $50,433

VIRGINIA: Bronco Mendenhall, $3.4 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach,

Governor salary: $175,000

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Median household income: $66,149

MINNESOTA: PJ Fleck, $3.5 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Minnesota

Governor salary: $123,427

Median household income: $63,217

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LOUISIANA: Ed Orgeron, $3.5 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, LSU

Governor salary: $130,000

Median household income: $45,652

WEST VIRGINIA: Bob Huggins, $3.6 million salary in 2017

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Job: Basketball coach, West Virginia

Governor salary: $150,000

Median household income: $42,644

CALIFORNIA: Jim Mora, $3.6 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach, UCLA

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Governor salary: $177,467

Median household income: $63,783

UTAH: Kyle Wittingham, $3.7 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach,

Governor salary: $109,470

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Median household income: $62,518

GEORGIA: Kirby Smart, $3.8 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach,

Governor salary: $139,339

Median household income: $51,073

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TENNESSEE: Butch Jones, $4.1 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach,

Governor salary: $187,500

Median household income: $46,574

WASHINGTON: Chris Petersen, $4.1 million salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach, University of Washington

Governor salary: $166,891

Median household income: $62,848

ARKANSAS: Bret Bielema, $4.2 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach, University of Arkansas

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Governor salary: $141,000

Median household income: $42,336

OKLAHOMA: Mike Gundy, $4.2 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, Oklahoma State

Governor salary: $147,000

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Median household income: $48,038

MISSISSIPPI: Dan Mullen, $4.5 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach, Mississippi State

Governor salary: $122,160

Median household income: $40,528

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IOWA: Kirk Ferentz, $4.6 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Iowa

Governor salary: $130,000

Median household income: $54,570

PENNSYLVANIA: James Franklin, $4.6 million salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach, Penn State

Governor salary: $190,823

Median household income: $54,895

KANSAS: Bill Self, $4.8 million salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach, University of Kansas

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Governor salary: $99,636

Median household income: $53,571

TEXAS: Tom Herman, $5.5 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach,

Governor salary: $150,000

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Median household income: $54,727

ARIZONA: Rich Rodriguez, $5.6 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach, University of Arizona

Governor salary: $95,000

Median household income: $51,340

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FLORIDA: Jimbo Fisher, $5.7 million salary in 2017

Job: Former football coach, Florida State University

Governor salary: $130,273

Median household income: $48,900

OHIO: Urban Meyer, $6.4 million salary in 2017

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Job: Football coach, Ohio State

Governor salary: $148,886

Median household income: $50,674

MICHIGAN: Jim Harbaugh, $7 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Michigan

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Governor salary: $159,300

Median household income: $50,803

KENTUCKY: John Calipari, $7.1 million salary in 2017

Job: Basketball coach, University of Kentucky

Governor salary: $139,056

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Median household income: $44,811

SOUTH CAROLINA: Dabo Swinney, $8.5 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, Clemson University

Governor salary: $106,078

Median household income: $46,898

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ALABAMA: Nick Saban, $11.1 million salary in 2017

Job: Football coach, University of Alabama

Governor salary: $119,950

Median household income: $44,758

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