N.C. legislators earn half the national average

by Rebecca Troyer, Triangle Business Journal, September 6, 2013.

What price should be paid for the sausage-making that goes on in state legislatures? As state budgets get tighter and spending cuts deeper, it's a hot topic in many jurisdictions.

Data collected by The Economist from the National Conference of State Legislators reveal a wide pay range across the states. At the top is California, where lawmakers make $90,000; at the bottom is New Mexico, where lawmakers work for no pay.

North Carolina legislators earn $14,000 for their efforts, well below the national average of $28,300 but similar to that of its neighbors: Virginia's pay is $18,000; South Carolina's, $10,400; Tennessee's, $19,000; and Georgia's, $17,300.

More than a third of state legislatures, including North Carolina's, are part-time.