A state trooper and medical professionals were the highest-paid employees working for the State of Ohio in 2025, public records obtained by The Dispatch show.
Stacey Arnold Yerkes, a former highway patrol
sergeant, brought in more than $1 million in 2025. Yerkes unusually high pay was due to a civil lawsuit she filed in May 2019 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus.
A federal jury in 2023 awarded Yerkes more than $2.6 million in damages and lost wages after determining she was discriminated against because of her gender and sexual orientation, The Dispatch reported.
Yerkes, who identifies as gay, filed the lawsuit against the Highway Patrol, where she worked from 1994 to 2018. Yerkes alleged that she was targeted for discipline because of her gender and sexuality and received discipline that was out of line with what her male, heterosexual coworkers received.
The state paid more than 59,000 people in 2025, according to its payroll records. But you have to scroll a bit to get to its most recognizable leaders.
Gov. Mike DeWine made $176,255 in 2025, making him the 522nd highest-paid employee in the state, according to payroll records. Elected officials' pay is set by the Ohio General Assembly. Ohio's other statewide elected administrative officials earned about $130,000 each.
After Yerkes, several state psychiatrists were the top paid employees for the state.
The highest-paid state employees in 2025 included:
- Stacey Arnold Yerkes, former highway patrol sergeant, $1.013 million
- Robert Campbell, psychiatrist: $605,229.
- Jyoti Aneja, psychiatrist: $580,006.
- Florence Kimbo, psychiatrist: $567,182.
- Abas Jama, psychiatrist: $512,709.
Earnings reflect each person's gross pay, which includes their salary, any bonus or overtime they received as well as other benefits such as severance pay, stipends and more.
The Dispatch obtained the state's payroll through a public records request as part of an ongoing series analyzing salaries across public, taxpayer-funded agencies in the greater Columbus area. Use the database below to search the payrolls of public institutions from around the region, including school districts, local governments, colleges and more.
Who are the highest-paid employees for the State of Ohio?
Database note: Pay classified as "other" in the database can include holiday or vacation time, accrued time as well as miscellaneous pay or stipends, among other payments a public employee received in 2025.
Editors note: The Dispatch used AI tools to help organize and clean data for this salary database.
Dispatch investigative reporter Max Filby can be reached by email at mfilby@dispatch.com. Find him on X at the handle @MaxFilby or on Facebook at @ReporterMaxFilby.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who are the state of Ohio's highest paid workers? Search our database
