HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — Lawmakers in Pennsylvania just received their automatic pay increase to coincide with inflation, bringing their base salary to more than double the national average for lawmakers across the country.
Legislators in Pennsylvania got a 3.25% increase for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), bringing the “rank and file” base salary for lawmakers in the Commonwealth to $113,575 per year. It went into affect Dec. 1.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) says the average annual base salary for a state legislator in the U.S. is $47,904, and that figure includes both part-time and full-time legislators. That is an 8% increase from 2024’s average annual salary of $44,320.
California and New York are the only states with higher base salaries than Pennsylvania, according to data from the NCSL.
Some lawmakers believe pay raises should be voted on individually, not automatic, like COLAs. Rep. Russ Diamond has been an advocate for eliminating COLAs for state lawmakers, co-sponsoring bills to end the automatic increases.