There isn’t just one well‑known “David Payne,” and different people with that name earn very different amounts, so you have to be specific about which person you mean.

From publicly available salary data and biographies, here are three clear, verifiable examples of people named David Payne and how much they make:

  • A Laundry Manager III named David Payne at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Texas earns an annual salary of 66,800 dollars as of January 1, 2026.
  • A chief meteorologist named David Payne at CBS affiliate KWTV‑DT (News 9) in Oklahoma City has an average salary of about 78,869 dollars per year , according to a recent bio.
  • A corporate executive named David Payne at Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) reported total compensation of about 758,701 dollars for the fiscal year ending 2023, consisting of a 371,000‑dollar salary plus incentive pay and other compensation.

Because “David Payne” is a common name, many other people with that name will earn very different amounts, and several articles online about “how much David Payne makes” talk in general terms or estimates and explicitly say his exact salary is not publicly disclosed.

If you can tell me which David Payne you’re interested in (for example, “the News 9 meteorologist in Oklahoma City” or “the Texas state employee” or another role), I can narrow this down to the one that matches your question.