Pennsylvania lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials will get a bigger pay raise in 2025 than the average Pennsylvanian has seen in the past 12 months, under a state law that guarantees them automatic raises.
More than 1,300 civil servants – inclusive Gov. Josh Shapiro, all 253 state lawmakers and all seven state Supreme Court justices will get a 3.4% pay increase in 2025 under a state law that provides automatic pay increases that match the federal consumer inflation rate for mid-Atlantic urban areas Ocean.
That percentage increase for state employees is about a third higher than the average 2.6% wage increase for all private sector workers in Pennsylvania over the 12-month period from October to October, according to federal hourly wage data.
The new, higher salaries will take effect from January 1 for the executive and judiciary and for lawmakers next week. It’s the fourth year in a row that government workers saw a larger percentage increase than private sector workers, compared to hourly wage data.
Shapiro’s salary will increase to almost $246,000. That puts him in line to be the second-highest paid governor in 2025, behind only the governor of New York.
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Auditor General Tim DeFoor And Newly elected Attorney General Dave Sunday will each receive a boost, bringing salaries at these offices above $200,000 for the first time. The increase also applies to members of Shapiro’s Cabinet, with 17 agency leaders paid between $176,000 and $197,000.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd the highest-paid judicial office holder, will see her salary rise to nearly $270,000, while salaries for the six other Supreme Court justices will rise to $262,000. The increases also apply to a thousand other professional, district and magisterial district judges. The average Common Pleas Court judge makes about $227,000.
According to data from the National Center for State Courts, Pennsylvania judge salaries are in the top five among states this year.
The salaries of the two highest paid lawmakers – Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Warda Republican from Westmoreland, and House Speaker Joanna McClinton, a Democrat from Philadelphia – will rise to almost $172,000, while a regular lawmaker’s salary will rise to just above $110,000.
Lawmakers’ base salaries ranked third among states this year, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The salary increase that came into effect this year was 3.5%, while the increase in 2023 was 7.8%, the largest increase in inflation since the 1995 law came into force.
*This story has been updated to correct that a Common Pleas Court judge will make about $227,000, not nearly $220,000.
