# Texas State Salaries Scraper (`parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Texas state employee salary records from the Texas Tribune public pay database. Filter by employee name, agency, or keyword, and export each record as a flat row.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $19.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Texas State Salaries Scraper

**Scrape Texas state employee salaries from the Texas Tribune public pay database, up to a million records per run.** Each record includes name, agency, title, and compensation. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The Texas Tribune publishes salary data for every Texas state employee, but browsing it page by page is slow and manual. This Actor reads the public pay database directly, filtered by employee name, agency, or keyword, and returns each match in one fixed schema. You get clean, structured rows ready for analysis, journalism, or public records research.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Texas Tribune Government Salaries for |
|---|---|
| Journalists | Investigating compensation patterns across Texas state agencies |
| Government watchdogs | Monitoring public payroll for transparency and accountability |
| Researchers | Analyzing salary distributions by agency, title, or tenure |
| Job seekers | Comparing pay ranges for similar roles in Texas state government |

### What it does

This Actor collects Texas state employee salary records by keyword, agency, or employee name, and returns each one as a flat row.

- 🔎 **Keyword search:** Find records by employee name, job title, or any text in the database.
- 🏛️ **Agency filter:** Limit results to a specific Texas state agency, like the Department of Public Safety.
- 📊 **Flat row output:** Every record comes back as a single row with consistent fields for easy export.
- ⚙️ **Max records control:** Set a hard cap from 1 to 1,000,000 records per run to manage dataset size.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Texas Tribune Government Salaries data

**📰 Investigate agency payrolls.**

A reporter enters an agency name like 'Texas Department of Criminal Justice' and exports all salaries to find outliers or trends.

**📈 Compare compensation across roles.**

A researcher searches for a job title like 'engineer' across all agencies to build a salary benchmark dataset.

**🔍 Track individual employees.**

A watchdog enters a specific employee name to pull their full salary history from the public database.

**📊 Build a public pay dashboard.**

A civic hacker runs the Actor weekly with no filters and feeds the CSV into a live visualization of Texas state salaries.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Reads the public Texas Tribune salary database directly, no registration or OAuth. |
| **Structured output** | Every record is a flat row with name, agency, title, and compensation fields. |
| **Flexible filtering** | Search by employee name, agency, or any keyword, alone or combined. |
| **Scalable** | Collect up to a million records per run for large-scale analysis. |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets Texas Tribune Government Salaries the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | Texas State Salaries Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When Texas Tribune Government Salaries changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a keyword, an agency name, or both, and set a maximum record count. Filters run as each record is read, so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.021 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $2.10 |
| 1,000 results | $21.00 |
| 10,000 results | $210.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Texas State Salaries Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Texas Tribune Government Salaries through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your keyword or agency spelling. Try a shorter or more common term, and make sure 'Maximum records' is set to at least 1. If the database has no match for your query, the run will return an empty dataset.

**Why did the run stop before reaching my max records?**

The Actor stops when it has read all matching records from the database. If your filters are narrow, there may be fewer matches than your max. Broaden your keyword or remove the agency filter to get more results.

**Why are some fields empty in the output?**

The Texas Tribune database may not have a value for every field on every record. For example, some employees may not have a listed title or agency. Empty fields are normal and reflect missing data in the source.

**Can I get historical salary data?**

The Actor returns the current snapshot from the Texas Tribune database. It does not provide historical records or changes over time. For historical analysis, you would need to run the Actor periodically and store the results.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What data does this Actor return? | Each record includes the employee's name, agency, job title, and compensation details as published by the Texas Tribune. The exact fields are shown in the sample output. |
| Do I need an API key or login? | No. The Actor reads the public Texas Tribune salary database directly, so no registration or authentication is required. |
| Can I filter by agency? | Yes. Use the 'Agency' input to limit results to a specific Texas state agency, such as 'Texas Department of Transportation'. |
| Can I search by employee name? | Yes. The 'Employee or agency name' input accepts a keyword, so you can enter a full name or part of a name to find matching records. |
| How many records can I collect? | You can set the 'Maximum records' input from 1 to 1,000,000 per run. The default is 10, which is useful for testing. |
| What export formats are supported? | The Actor outputs data in CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML formats, so you can use it in spreadsheets, databases, or custom scripts. |
| Is this data up to date? | The Actor reads the live Texas Tribune database at the time of the run, so you get the latest published salary information. |
| Can I combine filters? | Yes. You can provide both a keyword and an agency name to narrow results, and the Actor applies both filters as it reads records. |
| What if I get no results? | Check your spelling and try a broader keyword. Some agencies may use abbreviations, so 'DPS' might work better than 'Department of Public Safety'. |
| Is this Actor affiliated with the Texas Tribune? | No. This Actor is an independent tool that accesses the public database. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with The Texas Tribune. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The Texas Tribune. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many salary records to collect per run.

## `query` (type: `string`):

Keyword search

## `agency` (type: `string`):

Texas state agency name

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/texas-state-salaries-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/siWTfIJyLgi1gCfsu/builds/bKJ6WjpsD6IcxgQyv/openapi.json