Benefits and Compensation

Where Do HR Managers Make the Most Money?

As an HR manager, you are probably keenly aware of competitive salary rates for your employees. But what about your salary? Where are the best jobs in HR, and which ones pay the most? A recent analysis sought to answer these questions.

The analysis—called Where Are HR Managers Making the Most?—was recently released by Simply Hired Blog and is based on statistics gathered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total Number of HR Roles Increasing Quickly; Pay Rate Lagging

The analysis found that there are more HR professionals each year, with 2018’s HR professionals totaling 671,140 in the United States. Compare that figure to only 471,340 HR professionals in 2012. Year over year, the profession grows by an average of 6%. Salaries of HR professionals have grown by an average of 2% between 2013 and 2018, which is somewhat less than the national average of 2.6% wage growth.

This graphic contains more data:

Best Industries

Unlike many professions, HR is one that can be found across every industry. The analysis sought to see which industries paid the most. The top annual salaries were:

  • Information: $82.3K
  • Utilities: $80.3K
  • Finance and Insurance: $75.0K

A more complete list can be viewed here:

States and Cities that Pay the Most

Other than industry, the largest driver of how you are getting paid as an HR manager revolves around location, location, location. The U.S. Northeast has the highest annual salaries:

  • New Jersey: $169.0K
  • Rhode Island: $154.5K
  • New York: $150.3K

The lowest salaries can be found here:

  • Idaho: $85.3K
  • Louisiana: $90.5K
  • Mississippi: 90.7K

More results can be seen in this graphic:

The analysis also broke down HR salary by city, with the top cities being:

  • Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT: $182.2K
  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $175.5K
  • San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA: $163.1K

The lowest-performing cities were:

  • Idaho Falls, ID: $62.3K
  • Morristown, TN: $73.7K
  • Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL: $75.9K

More results can be seen here:

Click here to see more results of the analysis.

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