CT Highest Paid State Employees Of 2023: Here's Who Made How Much

CONNECTICUT — We love our Husky basketball, and nowhere is that better reflected than in the salaries we pay its coaches.

As far as the 2023 state payroll was concerned, coaching college round ball proved to be the most lucrative gig. The top two highest compensated state employees include University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Daniel Hurley and women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma.

Atop the state's payroll pantheon at No. 3 was Hao Feng, associate professor of Dermatology at UConn Health. Feng took home $1,681,959 last year, according to the CT Comptroller's data.

Isaac Moss, chair of UConn's Orthopedic Surgery Department, and Maritza Perez, another dermatology professor, came in at No. 4 and 5 in state earnings.

The salaries paid Dr. Feng and his colleagues drove the UConn Health Center to No. 2 in the state agency salary rankings in 2023, just above the Department of Correction.

The rankings of the state employees' top earners do not change much year-to-year, with UConn coaches and Health Center doctors dominating last year's earnings round-up as well.

The total state payroll for calendar 2023 was $5.41 billion, grown from $5.35 billion the previous year. UConn's total 2023 payroll was just over $686 million, and the state's highest.

The 2023 total compensation reported below includes all types of taxable payments received by an employee in a calendar year. It does not include non-taxable payments, like reimbursements for mileage, travel or tuition, according to the state Comptroller's Office. Some employees have more than one job, or may have received special payments, and these are all reported separately.

Projected annual salary is the annualized current salary rate for each employee, it does not include other forms of payment including overtime. Non-salary positions do not include a projected annual salary, and projected salary is not accurate for higher education units. More information regarding fringe benefits received by state employees is available on the state comptroller's website.