PublicPayData

Rhode Island · 2025 pay

How much do Rhode Island Public Defender employees make?

$77,725typical pay, counting everyone paid in 2025

$52,103 – $98,965what most people earned

Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year and seasonal workers. The source doesn't show who worked the full year.

RI Transparency Portal publishes pay by position without employee names, so there is no name search here.

Common jobs: Assistant Public DefenderAssistant Public Defender IStaff Attorney II

✓ Official data from RI Transparency PortalMatches the agency's latest releaseadmin.ri.gov ↗

How is pay spread across workers?

A year of pay for a lower-paid, typical and higher-paid worker (counting everyone paid), and the top earner, split into regular pay, overtime and extra pay.

$51,911

$77,507

$98,466

$168,783

Lower-paid workerearns more than 1 in 4 coworkers

Typical workerright in the middle

Higher-paid workerearns more than 3 in 4 coworkers

Highest paidone person

Regular payOvertimeExtra pay

Is pay going up?

Yes. Typical pay went from $60,572 in 2016 to $77,725 in 2025 (+28%).

What changed since 2024

  • +14.6%Typical pay went up from $67,804 to $77,725.
  • −6116 people were paid in 2025, compared with 122 in 2024.
  • +28%Since 2016, typical pay has gone from $60,572 to $77,725, while the number of people paid went up from 106 to 116.

The next update is expected after the fiscal year ends in June.

Pay slip · 2025

A typical worker's year

Rhode Island Public Defender

10years of
official data
2016–2025
Average pay of people in the middle of the pay range
Regular pay$76,816
Overtime$0
Extra pay$691
Total for the year$77,507

Average of the 5 workers in the middle of the pay range. Does not include benefits.

Official source: Rhode Island Department of Administration (Transparency Portal), admin.ri.gov ↗
Matches the agency's latest release

Pay by job

Jobs held by 5 or more people in 2025.

JobPeopleTypical payMost earnSince 2024
Assistant Public Defender19$106,449$99k – $121knew
Assistant Public Defender I13$91,154$88k – $95k▼ 25.8%
Staff Attorney II13$51,068$28k – $77k▼ 32.1%
Administrative Secretary12$44,236$31k – $51k▼ 12.5%
Assist Public Defender II8$81,336$81k – $99k▼ 22.2%
Case Management Coordinator7$70,121$63k – $79k▲ 1.1%
Social Services Caseworker6$63,544$63k – $65k▲ 8.7%
Legal Secretary I5$43,486$20k – $52k▼ 15.6%
Clerical5$5,626$4k – $11k▲ 31.8%

How many people earn what

  • Under $10k10
  • $10k – $30k7
  • $30k – $50k8
  • $50k – $70k24
  • $70k – $90k28
  • $90k – $110k20
  • $110k – $150k16
  • $150k or more3

Includes part-time and seasonal workers, which is why many earn under $10k.

Common questions

How much does a Rhode Island Public Defender employee make?

The typical employee was paid $77,725 in 2025: half of the 116 people paid earned more, half earned less. Most earned between $52,103 and $98,965.

Why do so many people earn very little?

The list includes everyone who got a paycheck during the year: part-time, seasonal and short-term workers, and people who joined or left partway through. 10 people (8.6%) were paid under $10,000.

Does this include benefits like health insurance or pension?

No. It is the pay people received: regular salary or wages (98.9% of all pay), overtime (0.0%) and extra pay such as allowances, longevity and severance (1.1%).

Where does this data come from, and when is it updated?

From Rhode Island Department of Administration (Transparency Portal) (admin.ri.gov). Our figures match the agency's latest release; the next update is expected after the fiscal year ends in June.

"Typical pay" is the median: half earn more, half earn less. "Most earn" is the middle half of workers. Figures are calculated by PublicPayData from the official dataset; 0 records with $0 or negative pay are left out. How we calculate this · Corrections & removals