Nearly 1,000 Massachusetts state employees made more than $250,000 last year, a group that has grown in recent years at a faster pace than the state’s overall payroll.
Between 2023 and 2025, the number of people the state paid more than a quarter-million dollars increased 47%, from 655 to 960. The state payroll increased over those two years by about 17%, from $9.32 billion to $10.89 billion.
About half of the employees earning at least $250,000 last year worked for the University of Massachusetts, including the 25 highest earners on the state payroll…