Compensation and Benefits Managers: salary, outlook & degrees
Plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an organization.
Middle half $113,170–$200,610. 22,940 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
81% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $96,539.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 1,600 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Business Management And Administration | 11% | Business Administration |
| Human Resources And Personnel Management | 11% | Human Resources |
| Psychology | 10% | Psychology |
| General Business | 8% | Business |
| Finance | 7% | Finance · Insurance |
| Communications | 6% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| Elementary Education | 5% | — |
| Sociology | 5% | Sociology |
| Health And Medical Administrative Services | 5% | Health Administration |
| Multi-Disciplinary Or General Science | 4% | Biological and Physical Sciences |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| Washington | $199,190 |
| Connecticut | $197,970 |
| Massachusetts | $184,070 |
| New York | $175,620 |
| New Jersey | $168,370 |
| California | $166,730 |
| Delaware | $166,070 |
| Colorado | $165,770 |
| Minnesota | $163,390 |
| Georgia | $163,060 |
| Oregon | $161,470 |
| District of Columbia | $160,990 |
| Virginia | $153,660 |
| Illinois | $151,730 |
| Michigan | $151,620 |
| Rhode Island | $149,340 |
| Ohio | $141,920 |
| Maryland | $139,860 |
| Pennsylvania | $139,040 |
| New Hampshire | $136,950 |
| Texas | $136,930 |
| North Carolina | $135,240 |
| Tennessee | $132,780 |
| Utah | $132,620 |
| Arizona | $129,890 |
| Maine | $129,690 |
| Florida | $127,960 |
| Wisconsin | $127,920 |
| New Mexico | $124,390 |
| Alaska | $122,490 |
| Nebraska | $121,630 |
| Alabama | $118,470 |
| Iowa | $118,250 |
| Indiana | $118,180 |
| Nevada | $115,180 |
| Kentucky | $114,290 |
| Kansas | $114,070 |
| Hawaii | $110,120 |
| Oklahoma | $107,760 |
| Missouri | $106,490 |
| Arkansas | $100,810 |
| Louisiana | $99,840 |
| South Carolina | $99,630 |
| PR | $97,500 |
| Idaho | $90,020 |
| Mississippi | $89,250 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$131,450
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$124,430
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$126,910
- Jacksonville$123,150
- Tallahassee$105,490
- Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach$104,770
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$130,220
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$126,080
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$171,950
- Richmond$157,370
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$131,140
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$155,380
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$188,850
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$215,180
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$160,970
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$159,450
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$132,700
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$142,950
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- Personnel and Human Resources
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Economics and Accounting
Work styles
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Leadership Orientation
- Cautiousness
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Conventional (organizing), Social (helping) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Compensation and Benefits Managers: questions
How much do compensation and Benefits Managers make?
Compensation and Benefits Managers earn a U.S. median $149,230 a year; the middle half earn $113,170 to $200,610 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $87,985 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is compensation and Benefits Managers a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 1.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,600 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a compensation and Benefits Manager?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 100% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is business Management And Administration (11%).
How much do compensation and Benefits Managers make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $127,960 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $149,230 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 11-3111. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Compensation and Benefits Managers: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/compensation-and-benefits-managers.