The Most and Least Popular Governors in America

November 5, 2019 by Sam Stebbins

U.S. state governors are the highest ranking — and highest profile — elected officials in state government. Governors set policy goals and advance them by setting budgets, implementing laws, and overseeing the multiple agencies and departments. As a result, they are accountable for both the successes and failures that occur on their watch.

As is true for every politician voted into office across all levels of government, popularity is important for governors — both for political clout and, for those who are not up against term limits, job security. 

24/7 Wall St. reviewed public opinion data from research company Morning Consult to rank America’s 50 state governors by popularity. Governor approval ratings are based on survey data collected during the third quarter of 2019 and range from 34% to 73%.

As there are many unique political opinions among voters, elected officials are rarely able to please everyone. There are policy areas that are less subjective, however — perhaps most notably, the economy. 

Poor economic performance tends to hurt political popularity of elected officials, while strong economic performance appears to have the opposite effect. In eight of the 10 states with the least popular governors, the annual unemployment rate is higher than the 3.9% national average. Similarly, unemployment is line with or lower than the national rate in nine of the 10 states with the most popular governors. Here is a list of states where it is hardest to find full-time work. 

There is no set salary for governors, and compensation for the job varies by state — from as little as $70,000 to more than $200,000. While there is no hard and fast rule, generally, states with larger populations have higher governor salaries. Here is a full list of the highest and lowest paid governors in the United States.

Click here to see the most and least popular governors in America
Click here to read our methodology

Source: Isaac Brekken / Getty Images

1. Gov. Charlie Baker (R) – Massachusetts
> Popularity: 73% approve; 16% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $185,000 (5th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.3% (15th lowest)

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Source: Scott Eisen / Getty Images

2. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) – Maryland
> Popularity: 70% approve; 16% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $170,000 (13th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.9% (21st highest)

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Source: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images

3. Gov. Phil Scott (R) – Vermont
> Popularity: 64% approve; 23% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $178,274 (7th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.7% (5th lowest)

Source: Courtesy of Mark Gordon

4. Gov. Mark Gordon (R) – Wyoming
> Popularity: 63% approve; 13% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $105,000 (7th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.1% (15th highest)

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Source: Csununu / Wikimedia Commons

5. Gov. Chris Sununu (R) – New Hampshire
> Popularity: 62% approve; 26% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $134,581 (21st lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.5% (3rd lowest)

Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images

6. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) – Arkansas
> Popularity: 59% approve; 24% disapprove (tied)
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $148,134 (24th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.7% (24th lowest)

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Oath Signing - 1/3/11 by Lt Governor Brad Little
Oath Signing - 1/3/11 (CC BY 2.0) by Lt Governor Brad Little

7. Gov. Brad Little (R) – Idaho
> Popularity: 59% approve; 22% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $138,302 (22nd lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.8% (7th lowest)

ALSO READ: Best City to Live in Every State

Oklahoma National Guard by The National Guard
Oklahoma National Guard (CC BY 2.0) by The National Guard

8. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) – Oklahoma
> Popularity: 59% approve; 19% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $147,000 (25th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.4% (20th lowest)

Source: Drew Anthony Smith / Getty Images

9. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) – Texas
> Popularity: 59% approve; 24% disapprove (tied)
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $153,750 (16th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.9% (21st highest)

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Source: Eva Marie Uzcategui / Getty Images

10. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) – Florida
> Popularity: 58% approve; 22% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $130,273 (19th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.6% (22nd lowest)

Source: Stephen Yang / Getty Images

11. Gov. Doug Burgum (R) – North Dakota
> Popularity: 58% approve; 19% disapprove
> Current term: Dec. 2016 – Dec. 2020
> Governor’s salary: $129,096 (16th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.6% (4th lowest)

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Source: 187fw / Flickr

12. Gov. Kay Ivey (R) – Alabama
> Popularity: 57% approve; 30% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $120,395 (12th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.9% (21st highest)

ALSO READ: The Fastest Growing and Shrinking State Economies

Source: Photo by Terry Wyatt / Getty Images

13. Gov. Bill Lee (R) – Tennessee
> Popularity: 56% approve; 19% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $194,112 (4th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.5% (21st lowest)

Source: Mark Makela / Getty Images

14. Gov. John Carney (D) – Delaware
> Popularity: 55% approve; 25% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $171,000 (12th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.8% (25th lowest)

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Source: tmabaker / Flickr

15. Gov. Phil Bryant (R) – Mississippi
> Popularity: 55% approve; 26% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2016 – Jan. 2020
> Governor’s salary: $122,160 (14th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.8% (5th highest)

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

16. Gov. Gary Herbert (R) – Utah
> Popularity: 55% approve; 28% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $150,000 (19th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.1% (12th lowest)

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Pete Ricketts by Gage Skidmore
Pete Ricketts (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Gage Skidmore

17. Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) – Nebraska
> Popularity: 54% approve; 34% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $105,000 (7th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.8% (7th lowest)

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Source: Sean Rayford / Getty Images

18. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) – South Carolina
> Popularity: 54% approve; 26% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $106,078 (8th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.4% (20th lowest)

Source: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

19. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) – Georgia
> Popularity: 53% approve; 28% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $175,000 (9th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.9% (21st highest)

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Source: Joshua Lott / Getty Images

20. Gov. Steve Bullock (D) – Montana
> Popularity: 53% approve; 31% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $115,505 (11th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.7% (24th lowest)

Source: Mark Makela / Getty Images

21. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) – Pennsylvania
> Popularity: 53% approve; 33% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $194,850 (3rd highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.3% (10th highest)

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Source: Ralph Freso / Getty Images

22. Gov. Doug Ducey (R) – Arizona
> Popularity: 52% approve; 30% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $95,000 (3rd lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.8% (5th highest)

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Source: Photo by Mark Reinstein / Corbis via Getty Images

23. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) – Kansas
> Popularity: 52% approve; 23% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $99,636 (5th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.4% (20th lowest)

Source: Joshua Lott / Getty Images

24. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) – Louisiana
> Popularity: 52% approve; 31% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2016 – Jan. 2020
> Governor’s salary: $130,000 (18th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.9% (3rd highest)

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Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

25. Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) – Nevada
> Popularity: 52% approve; 25% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $149,573 (22nd highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.6% (7th highest)

Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images

26. Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) – Indiana
> Popularity: 51% approve; 23% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $121,331 (13th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.4% (20th lowest)

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Source: Hannah Foslien / Getty Images

27. Gov. Tim Walz (D) – Minnesota
> Popularity: 51% approve; 29% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $127,629 (15th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.9% (8th lowest)

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Source: Darren Hauck / Getty Images

28. Gov. Tony Evers (D) – Wisconsin
> Popularity: 49% approve; 34% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $152,756 (18th highest)
> Nov. 2018 voter participation: 62.6% (3rd highest)
> State poverty rate: 11.0% (16th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.0% (11th lowest)

Source: Monica Schipper / Getty Images

29. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) – New York
> Popularity: 48% approve; 41% disapprove (tied)
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $200,000 (2nd highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.1% (15th highest)

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Source: Sara D. Davis / Getty Images

30. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) – North Carolina
> Popularity: 48% approve; 30% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $144,349 (23rd lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.9% (21st highest)

Source: Justin Merriman / Getty Images

31. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) – Ohio
> Popularity: 48% approve; 32% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $153,650 (17th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.6% (7th highest)

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Kristi Noem by Gage Skidmore
Kristi Noem (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Gage Skidmore

32. Gov. Kristi Noem (R) – South Dakota
> Popularity: 48% approve; 41% disapprove (tied)
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $113,961 (10th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.0% (11th lowest)

ALSO READ: The Fastest Growing and Shrinking State Economies

Source: Jacob Moscovitch / Getty Images

33. Gov. Mike Parson (R) – Missouri
> Popularity: 48% approve; 25% disapprove
> Current term: June 2018 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $133,821 (20th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.2% (13th lowest)

Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images

34. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) – New Mexico
> Popularity: 47% approve; 37% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $110,000 (9th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.9% (3rd highest)

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Source: Zach Gibson / Getty Images

35. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) – Washington
> Popularity: 47% approve; 35% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $183,072 (6th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.5% (9th highest)

Source: Rick T. Wilking / Getty Images

36. Gov. Jared Polis (D) – Colorado
> Popularity: 46% approve; 35% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $90,000 (2nd lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.3% (15th lowest)

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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

37. Gov. Janet Mills (D) – Maine
> Popularity: 46% approve; 44% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $70,000 (the lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.4% (20th lowest)

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Source: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images

38. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) – Michigan
> Popularity: 46% approve; 34% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $159,300 (14th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.1% (15th highest)

Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images

39. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) – Iowa
> Popularity: 45% approve; 41% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $130,000 (18th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.5% (3rd lowest)

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Source: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty Images

40. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) – New Jersey
> Popularity: 45% approve; 38% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2018 – Jan. 2022
> Governor’s salary: $175,000 (9th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.1% (15th highest)

Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

41. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) – California
> Popularity: 43% approve; 36% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $201,680 (the highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.2% (13th highest)

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Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images

42. Gov. JB Pritzker (D) – Illinois
> Popularity: 43% approve; 42% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $177,412 (8th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.3% (10th highest)

ALSO READ: The Fastest Growing and Shrinking State Economies

Source: alaska_region / Flickr

43. Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) – Alaska
> Popularity: 43% approve; 41% disapprove
> Current term: Dec. 2018 – Dec. 2022
> Governor’s salary: $145,000 (24th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 6.6% (the highest)

Source: Alex Edelman / Getty Images

44. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) – Virginia
> Popularity: 42% approve; 38% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2018 – Jan. 2022
> Governor’s salary: $175,000 (9th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 3.0% (11th lowest)

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Source: Scott Halleran / Getty Images

45. Gov. Jim Justice (R) – West Virginia
> Popularity: 42% approve; 47% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2017 – Jan. 2021
> Governor’s salary: $150,000 (19th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 5.3% (2nd highest)

Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images

46. Gov. Kate Brown (D) – Oregon
> Popularity: 38% approve; 50% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $98,600 (4th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.2% (13th highest)

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Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images

47. Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) – Rhode Island
> Popularity: 36% approve; 56% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $145,755 (25th lowest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.1% (15th highest)

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Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images

48. Gov. David Ige (D) – Hawaii
> Popularity: 36% approve; 50% disapprove
> Current term: Dec. 2018 – Dec. 2022
> Governor’s salary: $158,700 (15th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 2.4% (the lowest)

Source: Bob Falcetti / Getty Images

49. Gov. Ned Lamont (D) – Connecticut
> Popularity: 35% approve; 48% disapprove
> Current term: Jan. 2019 – Jan. 2023
> Governor’s salary: $150,000 (19th highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.1% (15th highest)

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Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images

50. Gov. Matt Bevin (R) – Kentucky
> Popularity: 34% approve; 53% disapprove
> Current term: Dec. 2015 – Dec. 2019
> Governor’s salary: $148,781 (23rd highest)
> 2018 state unemployment: 4.3% (10th highest)

Methodology

To identify America’s most (and least) popular governors, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed approval and disapproval ratings for the governors of all 50 states from Morning Consult, a public opinion data research company. Approval ratings are current as of the third quarter of 2019. Governors were ranked based on approval ratings, and in the case of a tie, the governor with the lower disapproval rating was ranked higher.

We also considered voter turnout data for the November 2018 midterm elections as a proxy for civic engagement. Voter participation data came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.

To gauge economic conditions in a given state, we reviewed both the annual unemployment rate and the share of the state population living below the poverty line. The unemployment rate is for 2018 and came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The poverty rate came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey.

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