NC budget stalemate means no raises for legislature’s employees. What they earn
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- Records show 601 legislative employees average $52,000 and 125 exceed $100,000
- Top salaries include Legislative Services Officer and chiefs of staff up to $250,000
- State budget stalemate stalls raises for 601 General Assembly employees.
With the state budget stalemate delaying any raises for North Carolina state employees, those who work for the General Assembly have their raises on hold, too.
The salaries of about 600 state employees who work for the General Assembly, like other state employees, are funded by North Carolina taxpayers. The 170 lawmakers at the legislature determine the amount of annual raises for most employees. The new state budget has been overdue since July, and Republican leaders of the House and Senate have yet to reach a compromise.
Salary increase proposals are in both the House and Senate versions of the budget, but employees await what their salaries will be, rather than to seem.
Records obtained by The News & Observer show the range of salaries.
How much General Assembly employees are paid
The median salary for 635 state employees who work at the Legislative Building and Legislative Office Building is $52,000.
On the lower end of the salary scale at the General Assembly are those that keep the day-to-day running: housekeeping, food services assistants, assistant sergeants-at-arms and some legislative clerk staffs. Some are part-time or only work when the legislature is in session. The records do not specify who is full-time vs. part-time.
Senate and House budget proposals included specific weekly raises for sergeants-at-arms and legislative clerks, as well as across the board raises for state employees.
The highest paid employees are those at the very top of the political chain of command, including the legislative services officer, chiefs of staff and department heads. There are 133 employees who earn $100,000 or more a year. Legislative Services Officer Paul Coble earns the highest salary, at $250,000, followed by the chiefs of staff for the Republican leaders. Republicans hold a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate.
The salary for House Minority Leader Robert Reives’ chief of staff, Todd Barlow, is $160,658.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall’s chief of staff, Neal Inman, earns $230,000 a year; as does Kolt Ulm, the chief of staff for Senate leader Phil Berger.
Chiefs of staff for Senate Democrats have similar salaries. Fred Akins, chief of staff to Sen. Dan Blue, who was Senate minority leader until the 2025 session, earns $143,172. Lisa Stifler, chief of staff to Sen. Sydney Batch, the current minority leader for Senate Democrats, makes $141,171.
The News & Observer obtained the salary information through a public records request to the Legislative Services Office.
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM with the headline "NC budget stalemate means no raises for legislature’s employees. What they earn."
