Who are NC’s highest-paid employees? These 20 people earn more than $300,000 each year
The average salary for North Carolina state employees is $65,304 — according to the most recent data from the NC Office of State Human Resources — but the highest earners are paid more than quadruple that amount.
Governments are required by law to share how much they pay their employees, and North Carolina salaries are listed on the Office of the State Controller website (ncosc.gov).
The data provided in the database is updated on the first business day of each month and represents the employee’s salary and title as of that day, the website says.
Note: The database does not include county employees, teachers, community college employees, university employees and General Assembly employees, as these positions are not paid through the NC Integrated HR-Payroll system.
See for yourself how much the highest-paid North Carolina employees earn annually.
Highest paid NC employees
The highest-paid state employee is Department of State Treasurer’s Chief Investment Officer Kevin SigRist, who earns $400,000 annually. SigRist had the role from 2013-17, when Janet Cowell was State Treasurer, Business NC reported.
The second-highest-paid employee, Jeffrey Smith, works alongside SigRist as the co-chief investment officer for the state’s treasury department. He earns an annual salary of $360,692.
Jeffrey Cox, the president of North Carolina’s community college program who was the state’s highest-paid employee in 2023, The Charlotte Observer reported, earns a salary of $360,500, making him the third-highest earning state employee.
More than half of the state’s top earners are employed by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, data show. It also shows that elected officials are not among the state’s highest-paid employees.
Gov. Josh Stein earns an annual salary of $203,073, and Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt and AG Jeff Jackson earn $168,384 annually.
You can look up salaries for all state employees on the N&O’s state government salary database.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Who are NC’s highest-paid employees? These 20 people earn more than $300,000 each year."
