The average salary of a state employee is significantly lower than comparable jobs in other sectors, according to a study by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
State employee pay is 48.05% below market, according to the report.
The average salary of an Oklahoma state employee, not including benefits, is $59,714, compared to $114,950 in the competitive labor market, according to the report.
State employees fared a little bit better in average total benefits costs, coming in 13.98% below market.
Salary and benefits combined put state employees at 39.21% below market.
The overall turnover rate improved slightly in fiscal year 2025, coming in at 21.59% compared to 22.42% the prior year.
In fiscal year 2025, employee turnover cost the state slightly more than $283 million, according to the report.
It is likely the state will lose even more ground against the market unless steps are taken to mitigate the growing lag, the report said.
While the consumer price index continues to rise, state employees have not seen a general pay hike since 2019, the report said.
The report noted that members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol received a raise a few years ago.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Chuck Hall, R-Perry, said that over the years, various agencies have asked for funds to grant pay raises. Public school teachers, for instance, received a pay bump.
Those exceptions are not listed in the OMES report.
The report’s findings confirm the gap has reached “a critical breaking point,” according to a statement from the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which has more than 5,000 members.
Many are forced to choose between the work they love and the financial stability they deserve, the group said.
Employees earning $50,000 in 2019 without a raise experienced a 26.39% reduction in buying power in 2025, the report said.
Could employees get a raise?
Several measures moving through the Oklahoma Legislature aim to increase state employee compensation.
House Bill 2958, by Rep. Jim Grego, R-Wilburton, would provide a 9% salary hike for full-time state employees, effective July 1. It excludes pay increases for colleges, common education and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
The cost is an estimated $215 to $220 million, said Gene Blankenship, Oklahoma Public Employees Association deputy director.
Grego put the odds of securing passage at 50%.
“There is always a chance,” Grego said. “If we don’t ask for it, there will be no chance.”
Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, is the author of Senate Bill 1233 that would create a State Employee Compensation Board.
The board would meet in odd-numbered years and recommend to the Legislature adjustments to salaries, benefits and other compensation.
“We need to do an overall raise,” Mann said.
Creating a state employee compensation board that meets in non-election years would take politics out of the process and keep the issue in front of lawmakers, Mann said.
In recent years, state leaders have reduced the state income tax, eliminated the state sales tax on groceries and created a tax credit for those seeking to send their children to private schools. State leaders this year are predicting a flat budget.
Hall said in a tight budget year, an across-the-board pay raise is going to be a high hurdle. But the state has gotten behind and needs to catch up, he said.
Oklahoma has between 31,000 and 32,000 state employees.
Senate Bill 169, by Hall, would increase longevity pay to state employees by 50% across all years of service at a cost of $18 million.
Longevity pay is an annual lump sum payment for full-time employees based on years of service.
For example, an employee with three years of service currently earns an additional $250 while an employee with 18 years earns an additional $1,900, according to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
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