Database reveals state of Iowa's highest-paid employees

This article has been edited to correct the fiscal year the salaries database covers.

If you're familiar with previous lists of the highest-paid state employees in Iowa, the names at the top of the latest list should come as no surprise — but can you guess how much they were paid in the previous year?

The salaries of government employees are public information. Anyone can look up or request that information, even down to the local level. And the definition of a government employee is broad: More than 55,000 people are included in the Iowa Legislative Services Agency's database for fiscal year 2023, the most recent available, which ran from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.

Using the database below, you can search for state employees by name or job title. The resulting output will include their base pay; whether that base pay is hourly, yearly or some other rate; the amount paid in travel or other miscellaneous stipends; and the total amount paid to the employee over fiscal year 2023.

This database may take a moment to load.

Who are the highest-paid employees of the state of Iowa?

There's arguably nothing bigger in the state of Iowa than college sports, as evidenced by the frenzy surrounding Caitlin Clark over the past few years or by simply walking around Ames or Iowa City on a fall Saturday.

And there's definitely nothing bigger on the state of Iowa's salary list than the salaries paid to top college sports coaches, particularly Hawkeye football. Head coach Kirk Ferentz is at the top of the list once again, earning more than $7 million over fiscal year 2023. That's more than twice as much as the next highest-paid state employee, Iowa basketball head coach Fran McCaffrey, who earned a little more than $3 million.

Another Iowa football coach, defensive coordinator Phil Parker, is fourth on the list. Parker won the Broyles Award as college football's assistant coach of the year in 2023.

Between the Hawkeye coaches, Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell was third on the list with a total compensation of $2.7 million.

But the top of the list isn't entirely athletic in nature. The medical field also is well-represented, with several University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics doctors and University of Iowa medical professors earning more than $1 million. At the top of that subcategory — and fifth overall — is Andrew Pugely, an orthopedic surgeon and assistant professor at Iowa's Carver College of Medicine. Pugely earned more than $1.6 million in fiscal year 2023.

How much are Kim Reynolds, other prominent politicians paid?

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds earned $135,000 in fiscal year 2023, according to the State Employee Salary Book. The governor's base pay has remained at $130,000 per year since 2005, when Tom Vilsack held the office. That makes the governor only the fourth-highest-paid state employee named Reynolds — the others are an attorney supervisor on the Iowa Secretary of State's Office and an advance registered nurse practitioner in neonatal care at the University of Iowa.

Most other statewide elected officials have a base salary of just over $100,000 per year. This includes offices like the lieutenant governor, secretary of state and state auditor.

An exception is Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who earns a base salary of $123,669 per year.

State legislators, both representatives and senators, earn a base pay of $25,000 per year. In practice, most legislators earn more, thanks to travel stipends and per diems during legislative sessions.

Tim Webber is a data visualization specialist for the Register. Reach him at twebber@registermedia.com and on Twitter at @HelloTimWebber .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Database reveals state of Iowa's highest-paid employees