Hire Years
Texas public salaries by hire year
Every Texas state employee record in the Texas Tribune Government Salaries Explorer dataset carries a reported hire date. This index groups the 6,000 records by hire year, from 1978 through 2026, with the employee count and pay range for each year.
Hire years45
Employees6,000
Statewide average$112,904
All hire years
Each row counts the employee records whose reported hire date falls in that year, and lists the average, lowest, and highest annualized base pay across those records.
| Hire year | Employees | Avg pay | Lowest pay | Highest pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 1 | $210,000 | $210,000 | $210,000 |
| 1982 | 2 | $229,598 | $216,645 | $242,550 |
| 1984 | 1 | $204,000 | $204,000 | $204,000 |
| 1985 | 1 | $61,045 | $61,045 | $61,045 |
| 1986 | 3 | $270,843 | $210,000 | $367,529 |
| 1987 | 1 | $224,733 | $224,733 | $224,733 |
| 1988 | 2 | $243,313 | $150,916 | $335,710 |
| 1989 | 3 | $196,392 | $170,375 | $218,318 |
| 1990 | 5 | $236,972 | $65,561 | $390,908 |
| 1991 | 6 | $200,236 | $170,375 | $210,000 |
| 1992 | 6 | $186,801 | $68,861 | $255,000 |
| 1993 | 6 | $148,907 | $58,807 | $210,000 |
| 1994 | 18 | $210,598 | $72,451 | $405,169 |
| 1995 | 23 | $204,990 | $74,628 | $320,000 |
| 1996 | 10 | $176,760 | $58,904 | $285,000 |
| 1997 | 24 | $185,242 | $44,357 | $288,655 |
| 1998 | 28 | $141,856 | $55,462 | $320,000 |
| 1999 | 43 | $173,957 | $42,056 | $360,622 |
| 2000 | 45 | $136,524 | $40,800 | $285,000 |
| 2001 | 47 | $167,810 | $42,468 | $355,000 |
| 2002 | 43 | $149,338 | $47,355 | $405,000 |
| 2003 | 42 | $148,284 | $50,415 | $299,243 |
| 2004 | 63 | $122,461 | $28,228 | $512,461 |
| 2005 | 56 | $152,936 | $43,243 | $511,014 |
| 2006 | 73 | $118,869 | $38,403 | $533,175 |
| 2007 | 107 | $136,018 | $34,080 | $475,000 |
| 2008 | 83 | $143,878 | $39,538 | $625,046 |
| 2009 | 98 | $150,820 | $41,657 | $850,005 |
| 2010 | 63 | $131,792 | $39,435 | $440,000 |
| 2011 | 92 | $145,464 | $34,320 | $400,578 |
| 2012 | 119 | $151,350 | $40,768 | $434,911 |
| 2013 | 182 | $143,666 | $7,200 | $475,000 |
| 2014 | 122 | $126,250 | $40,106 | $491,991 |
| 2015 | 192 | $142,258 | $27,620 | $432,500 |
| 2016 | 216 | $115,420 | $35,265 | $440,000 |
| 2017 | 461 | $136,439 | $18,838 | $414,000 |
| 2018 | 263 | $110,490 | $27,102 | $420,600 |
| 2019 | 320 | $118,878 | $7,200 | $399,198 |
| 2020 | 268 | $113,424 | $7,200 | $433,000 |
| 2021 | 307 | $113,294 | $5,520 | $469,428 |
| 2022 | 510 | $86,243 | $9,007 | $362,059 |
| 2023 | 597 | $96,784 | $20,229 | $434,109 |
| 2024 | 594 | $85,597 | $11,379 | $525,099 |
| 2025 | 663 | $84,164 | $15,719 | $671,300 |
| 2026 | 191 | $72,329 | $12,000 | $345,250 |