HARRISBURG, Pa. — In 2025, Pennsylvania’s state lawmakers, judges, and top officials will see a bigger pay raise than most workers in the state, thanks to a law that gives them automatic increases based on inflation.
Over 1,300 officials, including Governor Josh Shapiro, all state lawmakers, and Supreme Court justices, will get a 3.4% raise. This is higher than the 2.6% average wage increase private-sector workers in Pennsylvania saw between October 2023 and October 2024, according to federal data.
The raises take effect on January 1 for executive and judicial branch officials and next week for lawmakers. This marks the fourth year in a row that state officials have received bigger raises than private-sector workers.
- Governor Josh Shapiro’s salary will increase to nearly $246,000, making him the second-highest-paid governor in the U.S., after New York’s governor.
- Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis and other top officials, like the state treasurer and attorney general, will earn over $200,000 for the first time.
- Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd will earn nearly $270,000, and the other justices will make $262,000. Judges at other levels will also see their pay increase, with Common Pleas Court judges earning about $220,000.
- Lawmakers will also see increases. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and House Speaker Joanna McClinton will earn nearly $172,000, while rank-and-file lawmakers will earn just over $110,000.
Pennsylvania’s judges are among the top five highest-paid in the nation, and lawmakers’ base salaries rank third.
This year’s raise is slightly smaller than the 3.5% increase in 2024 and much smaller than the 7.8% boost in 2023, which was the largest since the law ensuring inflation-based raises started in 1995.