| Election Name: | 1981 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | No |
| Previous Election: | 1980 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 1980 |
| Next Election: | 1982 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Seats For Election: | 3 governorships 2 states; 1 territory |
| Election Date: | November 3, 1981 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 27 |
| Seats After1: | 27 |
| 1Data1: | 1 |
| 2Data1: | 1 |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 23 |
| Seats After2: | 23 |
| 1Data2: | 1 |
| 2Data2: | 1 |
| Map Size: | 324px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 1981, in two states and one territory. Both state seats were open due to term limits, and both also switched parties, resulting in zero net change for both parties.
| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey[1] | Brendan Byrne | 1973 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
| |||
| Virginia[2] | John N. Dalton | 1977 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|