Compensation and Benefits Specialist Salary (2026 Data)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,840 US job postings by 1,105 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for compensation and benefits specialists: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,840 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for compensation and benefits specialists in US job postings is $120,000 a year (556 postings from 356 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $80,000 to $163,000.
- The skills that most set compensation and benefits specialist postings apart are analytical skills, Excel, erisa.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 4 years of experience.
Compensation and Benefits Specialist job postings in the US, October 2026
- $120,000
- Median advertised pay (556 postings)
- $80,000–$163,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,840
- US job postings from 1,105 employers
- 4 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a compensation and benefits specialist make?
The median advertised pay is $120,000 a year, from 556 US job postings by 356 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $214,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 556 US compensation and benefits specialist job postings: median $120,000 a year, middle half $80,000 to $163,000.
- Median: $120,000
- 25th percentile: $80,000
- 75th percentile: $163,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.9% |
| $40K–$50K | 3.6% |
| $50K–$60K | 6.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 5.8% |
| $70K–$80K | 7.2% |
| $80K–$90K | 9.8% |
| $90K–$100K | 5.8% |
| $100K–$110K | 6.7% |
| $110K–$120K | 4.0% |
| $120K–$130K | 6.7% |
| $130K–$140K | 5.2% |
| $140K–$150K | 5.8% |
| $150K–$160K | 5.6% |
| $160K–$170K | 2.5% |
| $170K–$180K | 4.5% |
| $180K–$190K | 4.0% |
| $190K–$200K | 2.5% |
| $200K–$210K | 2.2% |
| $210K–$220K | 1.5% |
| $220K–$230K | 2.2% |
| $230K–$240K | 1.1% |
| $240K–$250K | 1.1% |
| $250K–$260K | 1.6% |
| $260K–$270K | 0.2% |
| $270K–$280K | 0.7% |
| $280K–$290K | 0.5% |
| $290K–$300K | 0.2% |
| $300K–$310K | 0.4% |
| $310K–$320K | 0.5% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $128,000 | $88K–$172K | 484 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $120,000 | $80K–$163K | 556 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists (13-1141) at $78,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a compensation and benefits specialist?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Compensation and benefits specialist levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 83.5% | 4 years | $112,000 |
| Senior | 14.2% | 5 years | – |
Skills employers ask for in compensation and benefits specialist job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 52% |
| Excel | 45% |
| Analytical skills | 41% |
| Attention to detail | 28% |
| Organizational skills | 23% |
| Problem-solving | 23% |
| Microsoft Office | 19% |
| Interpersonal skills | 15% |
| Powerpoint | 15% |
| Word | 14% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set compensation and benefits specialists apart
- Analytical skills5.5× as often as in all postings · 41%
- Excel4.4× as often as in all postings · 45%
- Erisa393.7× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Cobra317.7× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Market pricing620.6× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Fmla147.5× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Hris66.8× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Powerpoint4× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Pivot tables20.7× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Discretion9.6× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Hipaa7.8× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Project management5× as often as in all postings · 8%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a compensation and benefits specialist job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a compensation and benefits specialist do?
Employers post these jobs as Compensation Analyst, Benefits Specialist, Compensation Manager, Benefits Manager, Benefits Administrator and other titles. The largest specializations are Benefits Specialist (32%), Compensation Analyst (18%), Compensation Manager (15%), Total Rewards Manager (9%), Benefits Manager (8%), Sales Compensation Analyst (5%), Benefits and Leave Specialist (6%).
The closest official occupation is Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists (13-1141.00). Its most important tasks:
- Administer employee insurance, pension, and savings plans, working with insurance brokers and plan carriers.
- Ensure company compliance with federal and state laws, including reporting requirements.
- Research employee benefit and health and safety practices, and recommend changes or modifications to existing policies.
- Advise managers and employees on state and federal employment regulations, collective agreements, benefit and compensation policies, personnel procedures, and classification programs.
- Plan and develop curricula and materials for training programs and conduct training.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a compensation and benefits specialist?
Among 1,024 postings that state a minimum, the median is 4 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 11% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,024 US compensation and benefits specialist job postings: median 4 years, and 11% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | under 1% |
| 1 yr | 10% |
| 2 yrs | 17% |
| 3-4 yrs | 25% |
| 5-7 yrs | 33% |
| 8-9 yrs | 6% |
| 10+ yrs | 9% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Other names for a compensation and benefits specialist: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst | 71 (6.4%) |
| Benefits Specialist | 61 (5.5%) |
| Compensation Manager | 56 (5.1%) |
| Benefits Manager | 47 (4.2%) |
| Benefits Administrator | 43 (3.9%) |
| Senior Compensation Analyst | 41 (3.7%) |
| Benefits Analyst | 40 (3.6%) |
| Benefits Coordinator | 37 (3.4%) |
| Total Rewards Manager | 30 (2.7%) |
| Compensation Consultant | 29 (2.6%) |
| Compensation Specialist | 28 (2.5%) |
| Employee Benefits Account Manager | 27 (2.4%) |
| Senior Benefits Analyst | 15 (1.4%) |
| Compensation Business Partner | 15 (1.4%) |
| Director, Total Rewards | 15 (1.4%) |
| Sr Compensation Analyst | 14 (1.3%) |
| Sales Compensation Analyst | 14 (1.3%) |
| Compensation Partner | 14 (1.3%) |
| Manager, Compensation | 13 (1.2%) |
| Leave Specialist | 13 (1.2%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Compensation and Benefits Specialist compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation and Benefits Specialist | $120K | 4 years | 1,840 | – |
| Payroll Specialist | $70K | 3 years | 2,173 | 19 |
| HRIS Analyst | – | 3 years | 948 | 16 |
| Strategy Manager | $150K | 5 years | 1,905 | 14 |
| Human Resources Generalist | $92K | 3 years | 11,344 | 18 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll Specialist | 19 | $70K |
| HRIS Analyst | 16 | – |
| Strategy Manager | 14 | $150K |
| Human Resources Generalist | 18 | $92K |
| Operations Manager | 16 | $85K |
| Office Manager | 18 | $23.31/hr |
Applying for compensation and benefits specialist jobs?
- Compensation and benefits specialist resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find compensation and benefits specialist jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a compensation and benefits specialist make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.