Compensation Specialist Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

A count of all the compensation specialists in the US adds up to about 110,000 positions. The jobless rate for workers is rated as low. Approximately 3% of employees were not able to obtain work in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Compensation specialists are most common (per capita) in Bloomington (Illinois), Jefferson City (Missouri), and Des Moines (Iowa), and least common in Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), Lafayette (Louisiana), and Atlantic City (New Jersey).

Bloomington (Illinois), San Jose (California), and Lafayette (Indiana) offer the highest pay for this career, and Brownsville (Texas), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), and Lubbock (Texas) offer the lowest salaries.

Training and Education

A bachelor's degree is suggested for those who want to pursue this career. About 56% of compensation specialists have earned a degree. Those that started college, but did not earn a bachelor's degree, represent about 30% of workers. Employees with a high school education, but no college education, are about 14% of the total. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Government stats show that 8% of compensation specialists are working part-time. Workers who are self-employed total about 2%.

Compensation Specialists Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of compensation specialists compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for compensation specialists.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Birmingham	$52,000	530
Huntsville	$43,000	90
Montgomery	$45,000	60
Mobile	$45,000	50
Tuscaloosa	$39,000	40

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$54,000	60

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$53,000	1,960
Tucson	$46,000	270
Prescott	$50,000	60
Flagstaff	$42,000	30

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$44,000	270
Fayetteville	$43,000	130
Fort Smith	$38,000	60

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
San Francisco	$71,000	1,400
Santa Ana	$61,000	1,250
San Diego	$60,000	1,080
Oakland	$64,000	950
San Jose	$76,000	850
Sacramento	$60,000	730
Riverside	$61,000	520
Fresno	$52,000	320
Oxnard	$56,000	210
Stockton	$58,000	110
Vallejo	$63,000	100
Bakersfield	$51,000	90
Modesto	$55,000	80
Salinas	$56,000	70
Visalia	$52,000	70
Santa Barbara	$60,000	70
Napa	$63,000	60
Santa Cruz	$56,000	40

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$63,000	1,440
Colorado Springs	$56,000	230
Boulder	$62,000	160
Fort Collins	$56,000	90
Greeley	$61,000	60
Grand Junction	$49,000	40
Pueblo	$56,000	30

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Hartford	$67,000	610
Bridgeport	$67,000	390
New Haven	$54,000	100
Norwich	$52,000	100
Waterbury	$56,000	40

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$65,000	400
Dover	$47,000	40

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$71,000	2,860

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Tampa	$53,000	750
Orlando	$47,000	540
Miami	$54,000	510
Fort Lauderdale	$56,000	410
Jacksonville	$50,000	380
West Palm Beach	$55,000	330
Tallahassee	$43,000	200
Sarasota	$51,000	150
Palm Bay	$51,000	100
Cape Coral	$52,000	90
Pensacola	$45,000	80
Lakeland	$45,000	80
Deltona	$46,000	70
Ocala	$41,000	40
Port St Lucie	$49,000	40
Gainesville	$45,000	30
Fort Walton Beach	$44,000	30

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Atlanta	$56,000	2,330
Augusta	$48,000	130
Savannah	$53,000	70
Columbus	$49,000	70
Gainesville	$48,000	40
Macon	$47,000	40
Athens	$44,000	40

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$52,000	250

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$50,000	180

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$62,000	3,660
Bloomington	$89,000	350
Springfield	$58,000	130
Peoria	$58,000	100
Decatur	$54,000	80
Champaign	$54,000	70
Rockford	$45,000	50

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Indianapolis	$56,000	670
Gary	$70,000	250
Fort Wayne	$55,000	190
Evansville	$45,000	80
Terre Haute	$61,000	80
South Bend	$47,000	70
Elkhart	$52,000	60
Columbus	$34,000	40
Muncie	$47,000	40
Lafayette	$68,000	30
Anderson	$36,000	30

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Des Moines	$47,000	870
Cedar Rapids	$35,000	300
Davenport	$44,000	140
Waterloo	$39,000	90
Sioux City	$48,000	90
Dubuque	$53,000	30

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$48,000	310
Topeka	$47,000	100
Lawrence	$50,000	40

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$68,000	420
Lexington	$51,000	80

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baton Rouge	$41,000	420
New Orleans	$43,000	220
Shreveport	$38,000	50
Houma	$37,000	40
Lafayette	$41,000	30
Lake Charles	$46,000	30

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$56,000	350
Bangor	$47,000	70
Lewiston	$46,000	40

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$55,000	1,180
Bethesda	$64,000	630
Salisbury	$44,000	40
Hagerstown	$55,000	30

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boston	$66,000	2,490
Worcester	$55,000	290
Framingham	$66,000	270
Springfield	$60,000	220
Lowell	$65,000	120
Barnstable Town	$58,000	110
Brockton	$64,000	50
Lawrence	$57,000	50
Haverhill	$59,000	50
New Bedford	$50,000	40
Leominster	$62,000	40
Pittsfield	$54,000	40

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Warren	$58,000	800
Detroit	$73,000	710
Lansing	$61,000	340
Grand Rapids	$54,000	280
Ann Arbor	$64,000	130
Holland	$64,000	100
Kalamazoo	$56,000	80
Flint	$52,000	60
Battle Creek	$57,000	50
Jackson	$60,000	30
Saginaw	$53,000	30

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$56,000	2,450
Duluth	$54,000	60
St Cloud	$47,000	50
Rochester	$59,000	30

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$40,000	170
Gulfport	$41,000	50
Hattiesburg	$39,000	30

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
St Louis	$54,000	1,330
Kansas City	$56,000	1,010
Jefferson City	$44,000	200
Springfield	$41,000	150
Joplin	$41,000	40
Columbia	$46,000	40

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Billings	$43,000	100
Missoula	$44,000	40

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$57,000	580
Lincoln	$52,000	210

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$59,000	450
Reno	$59,000	90
Carson City	$59,000	40

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Manchester	$53,000	110
Nashua	$57,000	40
Rochester	$48,000	30

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Edison	$71,000	650
Newark	$66,000	570
Camden	$67,000	510
Trenton	$61,000	450
Atlantic City	$59,000	30

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$56,000	220
Santa Fe	$50,000	90

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New York	$65,000	10,600
Nassau	$62,000	910
Rochester	$54,000	540
Buffalo	$53,000	510
Albany	$55,000	490
Syracuse	$52,000	330
Poughkeepsie	$56,000	120
Utica	$61,000	100
Binghamton	$50,000	100
Glens Falls	$47,000	50
Kingston	$50,000	50

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charlotte	$55,000	1,420
Raleigh	$51,000	880
Durham	$63,000	370
Winston Salem	$55,000	310
Greensboro	$54,000	260
Asheville	$45,000	130
Wilmington	$56,000	90
Burlington	$49,000	80
Hickory	$50,000	70
Fayetteville	$49,000	60
Rocky Mount	$51,000	50
Greenville	$52,000	40

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$59,000	90
Bismarck	$59,000	30

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cincinnati	$58,000	1,260
Cleveland	$57,000	1,010
Columbus	$53,000	830
Dayton	$52,000	320
Akron	$56,000	230
Toledo	$50,000	200
Youngstown	$45,000	100
Canton	$51,000	80

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$36,000	590
Tulsa	$49,000	390

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$51,000	850
Salem	$52,000	60
Eugene	$58,000	60
Bend	$45,000	40
Medford	$47,000	30

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Philadelphia	$57,000	2,070
Pittsburgh	$53,000	1,130
Harrisburg	$56,000	350
Allentown	$51,000	270
Lancaster	$50,000	220
Scranton	$47,000	140
Erie	$47,000	130
Reading	$52,000	110
York	$53,000	80
Johnstown	$41,000	40
Altoona	$52,000	40
Williamsport	$47,000	30

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$58,000	400

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Greenville	$52,000	260
Columbia	$49,000	240
Charleston	$45,000	160
Spartanburg	$49,000	60
Florence	$57,000	50
Myrtle Beach	$38,000	30

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$45,000	200
Rapid City	$44,000	40

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashville	$53,000	440
Memphis	$57,000	400
Chattanooga	$51,000	200
Knoxville	$50,000	120
Kingsport	$47,000	60

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Houston	$59,000	3,520
Dallas	$56,000	2,620
Austin	$57,000	1,140
San Antonio	$49,000	940
Fort Worth	$58,000	820
El Paso	$44,000	280
Beaumont	$49,000	130
Corpus Christi	$38,000	110
Mcallen	$43,000	110
Killeen	$48,000	100
Amarillo	$48,000	90
College Station	$46,000	90
Tyler	$60,000	80
Midland	$46,000	80
Longview	$46,000	70
Brownsville	$39,000	70
Waco	$46,000	60
Lubbock	$47,000	60
Wichita Falls	$41,000	50
Laredo	$45,000	40
Odessa	$46,000	40
Abilene	$43,000	30

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$51,000	650
Ogden		200
Provo	$45,000	90

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$53,000	160

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Richmond	$60,000	630
Virginia Beach	$49,000	550
Roanoke	$49,000	130
Charlottesville	$46,000	110
Lynchburg	$47,000	70
Winchester	$60,000	50
Harrisonburg	$74,000	40
Blacksburg	$49,000	40

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Seattle	$67,000	1,270
Olympia	$49,000	160
Tacoma	$59,000	90
Spokane	$58,000	80
Bremerton	$43,000	30
Yakima	$58,000	30
Kennewick	$59,000	30

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charleston	$41,000	130
Huntington	$49,000	80

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Milwaukee	$51,000	860
Madison	$46,000	620
Green Bay	$49,000	120
Appleton	$47,000	100
Oshkosh	$51,000	70
Janesville	$47,000	70
La Crosse	$50,000	60
Wausau	$50,000	50
Eau Claire	$49,000	40

Our compensation specialist career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.