Compliance Specialist Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 2,331 US job postings by 1,487 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for compliance specialists: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 2,331 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for compliance specialists in US job postings is $113,000 a year (609 postings from 419 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $82,000 to $162,000.
- The skills that most set compliance specialist postings apart are analytical skills, risk management, compliance.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Compliance Specialist job postings in the US, October 2026
- $113,000
- Median advertised pay (609 postings)
- $82,000–$162,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 2,331
- US job postings from 1,487 employers
- 3 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a compliance specialist make?
The median advertised pay is $113,000 a year, from 609 US job postings by 419 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $208,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 609 US compliance specialist job postings: median $113,000 a year, middle half $82,000 to $162,000.
- Median: $113,000
- 25th percentile: $82,000
- 75th percentile: $162,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.2% |
| $30K–$40K | 1.3% |
| $40K–$50K | 3.9% |
| $50K–$60K | 4.8% |
| $60K–$70K | 5.4% |
| $70K–$80K | 7.4% |
| $80K–$90K | 8.7% |
| $90K–$100K | 7.9% |
| $100K–$110K | 6.9% |
| $110K–$120K | 7.9% |
| $120K–$130K | 5.1% |
| $130K–$140K | 5.2% |
| $140K–$150K | 4.9% |
| $150K–$160K | 2.6% |
| $160K–$170K | 4.6% |
| $170K–$180K | 3.8% |
| $180K–$190K | 2.8% |
| $190K–$200K | 2.5% |
| $200K–$210K | 4.3% |
| $210K–$220K | 1.8% |
| $220K–$230K | 2.5% |
| $230K–$240K | 1.0% |
| $240K–$250K | 0.7% |
| $250K–$260K | 1.0% |
| $260K–$270K | 0.5% |
| $270K–$280K | 0.2% |
| $310K–$320K | 2.0% |
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 | $118,000 | $90K–$168K | 517 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $113,000 | $82K–$162K | 609 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Compliance Officers (13-1041) at $81,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a compliance specialist?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Skills employers ask for in compliance specialist job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 46% |
| Attention to detail | 26% |
| Analytical skills | 26% |
| Organizational skills | 24% |
| Excel | 23% |
| Microsoft Office | 17% |
| Problem-solving | 17% |
| Interpersonal skills | 14% |
| Work independently | 13% |
| Word | 13% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set compliance specialists apart
- Analytical skills3.5× as often as in all postings · 26%
- Risk management17.6× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Compliance21.5× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Sound judgment5.6× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Hipaa5.4× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a compliance specialist job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a compliance specialist do?
Employers post these jobs as Compliance Officer, Compliance Coordinator, Compliance Analyst, Compliance Associate, Compliance Manager and other titles. The largest specializations are Compliance Manager (20%), Compliance Analyst (11%), Data Protection Officer (5%), GRC Analyst (5%), IT Compliance Analyst (4%), AI Governance Lead (3%).
The closest official occupation is Compliance Officers (13-1041.00). Its most important tasks:
- Warn violators of infractions or penalties.
- Evaluate applications, records, or documents to gather information about eligibility or liability issues.
- Advise licensees or other individuals or groups concerning licensing, permit, or passport regulations.
- Prepare reports of activities, evaluations, recommendations, or decisions.
- Report law or regulation violations to appropriate boards or agencies.
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 compliance specialist?
Among 1,281 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 10% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,281 US compliance specialist job postings: median 3 years, and 10% 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 | 19% |
| 3-4 yrs | 27% |
| 5-7 yrs | 33% |
| 8-9 yrs | 3% |
| 10+ yrs | 7% |
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 compliance specialist: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Compliance Officer | 175 (11.8%) |
| Compliance Coordinator | 130 (8.7%) |
| Compliance Specialist | 106 (7.1%) |
| Compliance Analyst | 56 (3.8%) |
| Compliance Associate | 49 (3.3%) |
| Compliance Manager | 46 (3.1%) |
| Chief Compliance Officer | 42 (2.8%) |
| Compliance Administrator | 40 (2.7%) |
| Compliance Program Manager | 35 (2.4%) |
| Director of Compliance | 32 (2.1%) |
| Senior Compliance Analyst | 26 (1.8%) |
| Regulatory Compliance Manager | 25 (1.7%) |
| GRC Analyst | 19 (1.3%) |
| Compliance Advisor | 18 (1.2%) |
| Regulatory Compliance Analyst | 18 (1.2%) |
| Privacy Analyst | 16 (1.1%) |
| Regulatory Compliance Specialist | 16 (1.1%) |
| Senior Compliance Specialist | 14 (0.9%) |
| Risk & Compliance Analyst | 13 (0.9%) |
| Senior Compliance Officer | 12 (0.8%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Compliance specialist job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Officer | 249 | 175 | – | – | communication, analytical skills, organizational skills |
Compliance Specialist compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Specialist | $113K | 3 years | 2,331 | – |
| Risk Manager | $132K | 5 years | 1,114 | 18 |
| Auditor | $105K | 3 years | 2,851 | 17 |
| AML Analyst | – | 3 years | 508 | 16 |
| Policy Analyst | – | 5 years | 402 | 14 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Risk Manager | 18 | $132K |
| Auditor | 17 | $105K |
| AML Analyst | 16 | – |
| Policy Analyst | 14 | – |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | 5 | $157K |
| IT Manager | 9 | $134K |
Applying for compliance specialist jobs?
- Compliance 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 compliance specialist jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a compliance 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; 18 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.