Pay data: what U.S. professional jobs advertise, and which skills pay more
Advertised pay on 80,076 live professional postings from 12,417 employers: median $140,000, middle half $98,500 to $187,500. Cut by industry, function, level, employer size and hiring volume, with the skills that go with higher pay.
Is this what you're looking for?
Answer a few questions and we'll show how pay data fits your background: matched jobs, a plain-language market read and a weekly plan. Free. No résumé needed.
By Justin KullaLast updated
Explore the data
80,076 paid postings, as of November 3, 2026.
Pay by level
The median rises with seniority; this is the raw advertised pay, not matched on anything.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VP and above | $190,000 | $153,000 to $253,500 | n/a | 2,127 | 1,238 |
| Director | $180,000 | $132,500 to $231,000 | n/a | 9,585 | 3,865 |
| Senior individual contributor | $169,500 | $132,500 to $213,000 | n/a | 18,730 | 4,181 |
| Mid-level | $141,500 | $107,500 to $180,000 | n/a | 14,918 | 3,760 |
| Manager | $140,000 | $102,500 to $180,000 | n/a | 13,542 | 4,216 |
| Early career | $101,500 | $79,500 to $135,000 | n/a | 15,660 | 4,686 |
| Entry level | $71,500 | $55,000 to $91,500 | n/a | 5,514 | 2,763 |
Pay by industry
Sorted by median. Open an industry for its pay by level.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap, job mix matched | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | $180,000 | $140,000 to $226,000 | +32.5% | 30,124 | 3,073 |
| Life sciences | $155,500 | $115,000 to $205,000 | +9.9% | 2,153 | 343 |
| Financial services | $145,000 | $100,000 to $186,000 | −0.3% | 5,819 | 834 |
| Energy | $140,000 | $112,500 to $175,000 | −6.3% | 1,845 | 308 |
| Aerospace and defense | $138,500 | $113,500 to $172,500 | −7.9% | 2,422 | 92 |
| Media | $127,500 | $85,000 to $169,500 | −21.9% | 1,686 | 252 |
| Industrial and manufacturing | $123,500 | $93,500 to $155,000 | −11.1% | 5,668 | 1,070 |
| Healthcare | $119,000 | $85,000 to $167,500 | −14.1% | 6,053 | 1,570 |
Pay by function
The role family, from Product to Administration.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap, job mix matched | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product | $191,000 | $156,000 to $231,500 | +15.2% | 2,465 | 1,090 |
| Data & Analytics | $173,500 | $127,500 to $224,500 | +6.7% | 4,948 | 1,727 |
| Security | $173,000 | $128,000 to $220,000 | +12.2% | 1,890 | 834 |
| Strategy | $170,000 | $139,000 to $212,500 | −3.4% | 751 | 474 |
| Design | $165,000 | $117,000 to $210,000 | +6.1% | 1,194 | 658 |
| Engineering | $162,500 | $124,500 to $207,500 | +18.2% | 20,544 | 3,824 |
| Executive Leadership | $150,000 | $116,000 to $189,500 | −18.6% | 302 | 208 |
| Investment | $147,000 | $111,500 to $191,500 | +3.1% | 574 | 301 |
Skills linked to higher pay
Ordered by the gap with function, level and industry matched. Employers listing a skill on too few postings are left out.
| Skill | Median pay listing it | Raw gap | Gap, job mix matched | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyTorch | $235,000 | +41.2% | +14.9% | 617 | 228 |
| Enterprise Sales | $201,500 | +20.9% | +14.7% | 1,218 | 510 |
| Machine Learning | $209,000 | +26.5% | +13.1% | 2,968 | 732 |
| C++ | $202,500 | +22.7% | +10.3% | 2,258 | 400 |
| Logistics | $143,000 | −16% | +8.9% | 3,784 | 1,083 |
| TypeScript | $205,000 | +24.2% | +8.2% | 2,009 | 739 |
| React | $200,000 | +20.8% | +7.9% | 1,697 | 715 |
| Kubernetes | $206,000 | +24.8% | +7.7% | 2,444 | 680 |
| HIPAA | $197,500 | +18.1% | +7.4% | 688 | 309 |
| SaaS Sales | $193,500 | +15.6% | +6.5% | 492 | 225 |
The whole market in one line
$98,500 to $187,500 for the middle half, median $140,000. Postings counted: live, employer-posted pay, annual equivalent between $20,000 and $1,500,000. The hourly, daily and monthly rates are annualized.
Questions about this data
- What do U.S. professional jobs pay?
- Across 80,076 live professional job postings from 12,417 employers that state pay, the median advertised pay is $140,000 a year, and half fall between $98,500 and $187,500.
- Which industries pay the most?
- By median advertised pay: Technology ($180,000), Life sciences ($155,500), Financial services ($145,000). Raw medians reflect the mix of roles in each industry; the industry page also shows the gap with function and level matched.
- Do larger employers pay more?
- Not in a straight line. Matched on function, level and industry, advertised pay is +2.2% at employers of 11 to 50 employees, +5% at employers of 51 to 200 employees, −0.4% at employers of 201 to 1,000 employees, +1.5% at employers of 1,001 to 5,000 employees, −2.5% at employers of 5,001 to 20,000 employees, −5.7% at employers of 20,001 to 100,000 employees, −6.5% at employers of More than 100,000 employees. Employer sizes are partly estimated; see the size page.
- Which skills are linked to higher pay?
- Matched on function, level and industry, the largest gaps among skills with enough postings are PyTorch (+14.9%), Enterprise Sales (+14.7%), Machine Learning (+13.1%). A gap is a difference in advertised pay, not proof that learning the skill raises a salary.
- Does hiring growth change what an employer pays?
- We show pay by how many jobs an employer has open now, and we store a monthly count of every employer’s openings so growth can be measured. Growth figures publish once several months have built up; we do not estimate them before then.
Method, download and how to cite
Data as of November 3, 2026. Rebuilt daily.
Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.
A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.
Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Pay in U.S. professional job postings, by industry, function, level, employer size and skill”, data as of November 3, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data
See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.
More pay data
The job market, once a week
One email every Tuesday with the week's most useful read on the job market and the search, plus occasional news from NextChapter. No account needed. Unsubscribe any time.
Do you want this for your own search?
A free account turns this page into your plan: a plain-language read on pay data, jobs matched to you and a weekly action plan.
Yes, start freeNot ready for an account? Get a first-week plan by email.
Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.