Here is information about the salary data from the comptroller’s office and our methodology:

The current salary data comes from the Texas state comptroller’s office, which manages budgets and payroll for state government. The data was last updated Feb. 1, 2025.

Job descriptions and salary ranges for classified positions are from the Texas state auditor. They are updated after each two-year state budget takes effect. Here’s information about how salary ranges are calculated. Unclassified positions are not included in the state auditor’s data.

The data that we request is available for download as a CSV. We have modified the data in three ways. First, we only show one position for individuals who have multiple full-time jobs listed. The comptroller’s office said this likely indicates a job change, and we have listed their position with the most recent hire date. Second, we combine entries for employees who are listed multiple times with the same part-time job at the same agency. The comptroller’s office said this happens when an employee’s pay comes from multiple sources. Third, we flag salaries for review when they increase more than twofold. We then contact the relevant agency, which sometimes provides us with an adjusted base salary figure for employees who received large one-time bonuses.

Some state government employees hold multiple part-time jobs. In those instances, we have shown all their positions on the site and in the downloadable data.

We only publish individual pages for workers who make more than the median salary for state workers — $57,338 per year. The highest earners are more likely to be newsmakers; people making minimum wage are not public figures. We will always include individual pages for legislators, who make less than the median, and all other elected and appointed officials. We include every worker in our analysis of the median salary, race, gender and length of employment for each position. Every worker is also listed in the downloadable data.

Some employees have requested that their agency remove their information from the public record. They are not shown. Because state salaries are public data by default, making a direct request to your employer is the best way to keep that data private.

Each employee’s hire date refers to the agency they currently work for. For employees with breaks in service, the date refers to when they were most recently hired at that agency.

The Texas Tribune’s data visuals team is responsible for the maintenance of this site. Chris Essig is the data visuals editor and lead developer; Rob Reid is the product admin. Tribune staffer Darla Cameron, as well as former Tribune staffers Mandi Cai, Ryan Murphy, Emily Yount Swelgin and Ben Hasson contributed.

Disclosure: The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.