
The List of Highest Paid State Employees in Idaho is Filled With Surprises
In an effort to be more transparent about the paychecks of state employees, a new tool has been made available to Idaho residents.
2 of Idaho’s Highest-Paid State Employees Make Over $1 Million Each
One might assume that a list of state employees would be filled with government officials and other public servants, but the information on the Transparent Idaho website for the highest-paid state employees is more a list of college coaches and administrators.
We previously shared information about the highest-paid city employees in Boise and Twin Falls. For Boise, the top earner was the Airport Director, Rebecca Hupp. The city employee in Twin Falls with the biggest paycheck was the City Manager, Travis Rothweiler.
College Coaches Top the List of Idaho’s Highest Paid State Employees
Before you get to a state official on the list, you have to scroll through 13 Boise State University, the University of Idaho, and Idaho State University names. 14th on the list is Richard D. Ferguson with the State Insurance Fund.
The top of the list goes to 4 coaches at BSU, followed by the presidents of U of I and BSU.
- Spencer Danielson is the Head Coach of Boise State football and makes a massive $1,100,008 annually.
- Leon Rice is the Head Coach of BSU Men’s Basketball and earns a $1,050,005 yearly paycheck.

Here’s the list of the top 10 highest-paid state employees in Idaho, and the full list can be found at the link below.
The Transparent Idaho website shows the highest-paid State employees and reveals their huge paychecks. According to the total at the bottom of the graph, Idaho employees make a combined $116,326,398 and 63 cents.
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