INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Mike Pence's annual salary of $111,687 is the highest ever for an Indiana chief executive, though still well below the national average

Former Gov. Mitch Daniels earned $95,000 when he took office in 2005. That was before lawmakers changed a law to give the governor raises at the beginning of each term based on those given to state employees over the previous four years, The Journal Gazette reported Wednesday.

The salary stays the same throughout each term.

State Auditor Tim Berry said Daniels was eligible to take a pay raise to $107,881 at the beginning of his second term in 2009. However, Daniels and other statewide officials said they would forgo the pay raise at a time when other state employees' salaries were frozen.

State employees received a pay increase in 2011, so Daniels' salary rose that August to more than $107,000.

Pence isn't the highest earner in his office, though. His chief of staff makes about $125,000. Other state and legislative employees also have higher salaries.

A 2009 Council of State Governments report found the average gubernatorial salary nationwide was more than $131,000. The lowest was $70,000 in Maine, and the highest was $212,000 in California.