- Forty-five states have a state auditor or equivalent position among their top executive branch officers, according to the Council of State Governments. The five states that don't have one---Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Nevada and New Hampshire---spread state auditing duties among other agencies, don't have a single official in charge of auditing functions, or both. A nationwide review of salaries and selection procedures by the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials found that in more than half the states, the state auditor is elected statewide. In the rest, the auditor is either chosen by the state legislature or appointed by the governor.
- The Council of State Governments surveys executive branch salaries about every two years for "The Book of the States," a comprehensive guide to state governments. The council's March 2010 review found current salaries for 44 states---the exception being South Carolina, where the position was being filled on an acting basis. Adding the interim South Carolina auditor's salary to the data collected by the council reveals that the 45 states with such a position paid their state auditors an average salary of $121,275.
- The Council of State Governments divides its survey results into four regions. The highest average was in the Eastern Region, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Eastern auditors made an average of $138,879.
In the Southern Region, which includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, the average was $122,175.
In the Western Region, made up of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, the average was $119,101.
The lowest average was in the Midwestern Region, made up of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The Midwestern average was $106,474. - The highest-paid auditors include officers from the two most populous states, as well as two of the smallest in land area. The top five salaries: Texas, $189,000; Rhode Island, $196,124; Connecticut, $189,770; Tennessee, $180,000; and California, $175,000. The five lowest salaries: Arkansas, $54,594; Indiana, $68,772; Alabama, $79,580; Montana, $82,420; and North Dakota, $83,556. Connecticut has not one but two state auditors, who both receive the same $189,770 salary. By state law, they are chosen by the Legislature, and they cannot be from the same party; in practice, this guarantees that one is always a Republican and one always a Democrat.
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