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A doctor, an investment officer or a museum director. Who earns the most as a North Carolina state government employee?
If you didn’t guess the investment officer, you’re wrong.
Kevin SigRist, chief investment officer for the North Carolina Investment Authority, is paid an annual salary of $772,500 to provide expertise for state government investing, making him the highest paid state employee as of Aug. 3, according to salary data provided by the Office of State Controller.
The Investment Authority — responsible for managing assets belonging to the various pension funds administered by the state treasurer — employs 41 other workers. Nine of those employees round out the top 10 highest-paid employees in state government, ranging from $381,553 to $492,340. The median salary in the agency is $260,590.
All 10 previously worked in the State Treasurer’s Office before their positions were transferred to the Investment Authority on June 30. The bill establishing the authority was signed into law last year by Gov. Josh Stein.
The authority serves as the state’s core investment manager, directing pension assets for the North Carolina Retirement Systems and administering cash management programs for the state’s operating and highway funds. In addition, the authority provides oversight for supplemental retirement plans and manages non-pension portfolios for public hospitals, the Escheats Fund, and local government benefit programs.
While the authority’s staff members are considered state employees, they are compensated according to a market-oriented compensation plan approved by the NCIA Board of Directors.
The next 10 highest paid state government employees begin with the director of the N.C. Museum of Art, Valerie Hillings, who earned an annual salary of $371,024 until the recent announcement of her departure.
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Rounding out the rest of the top 20 earners are mostly doctors who work for the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Adult Correction.
The top-paid doctor is Carrie Brown, medical director for DHHS, who earns $365,650.
As of Aug. 1, about 81,000 active full-time and part-time employees worked for state government agencies, excluding teachers, other school personnel, university and community college employees and UNC Health employees. The median salary for the almost 56,000 full-time permanent employees is $62,315.
From probation officers to nurses to program analysts, the Department of Adult Correction employs the most workers with slightly more than 14,000. DHHS employs about 13,600, and the Department of Public Safety, which includes the National Guard, is third with almost 12,300 employees.
All state employees, including teachers, received raises this year after the legislature finally passed, and Stein signed, the year-late budget.
Look up all state government employee salaries here. The News & Observer updates the database monthly.
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This story was originally published August 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM.