Explore average salaries across top jobs in 2026. Compare pay by role, industry, and experience to understand your market value and earning potential.
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Create ResumeIf you’re searching for the average salary by job in 2026, the short answer is this: most U.S. salaries vary widely based on role, industry, location, and experience level—but high-demand fields like tech, healthcare, and finance consistently lead the market. Entry-level roles typically start between $40,000–$70,000, mid-level professionals earn $70,000–$120,000, and senior roles often exceed $130,000+. However, these ranges only tell part of the story—what matters is how your specific job title, skills, and positioning align with current hiring demand.
This guide breaks down real salary benchmarks by job category, explains what drives compensation decisions, and shows how recruiters and hiring managers actually evaluate salary expectations in 2026.
Most salary pages oversimplify the concept. As a recruiter, I can tell you: there is no single “average” salary that applies universally to a job title.
Compensation depends on four core factors:
Market demand for the role
Level of experience (not just years, but scope of impact)
Geographic pay benchmarks (even with remote work)
Company size and compensation philosophy
For example, a “Software Engineer” can earn:
$75,000 at a small regional company
$115,000 at a mid-size SaaS company
Below are realistic salary ranges based on U.S. hiring trends, recruiter data, and compensation benchmarks.
Tech continues to dominate high-paying roles due to ongoing demand for digital infrastructure, AI, and cybersecurity.
Software Engineer: $95,000 – $165,000
Data Scientist: $100,000 – $170,000
Cybersecurity Analyst: $90,000 – $150,000
DevOps Engineer: $110,000 – $160,000
UX/UI Designer: $85,000 – $140,000
Recruiter insight: Candidates who can demonstrate business impact—not just technical skills—command higher salaries faster.
Healthcare salaries are driven by licensing, specialization, and labor shortages.
Experience is not just time—it’s scope, ownership, and measurable results.
Typical range: $40,000 – $70,000
Focus: learning, execution, support tasks
Hiring manager expectation: You can follow direction and deliver consistent output.
Typical range: $70,000 – $120,000
Focus: ownership, independent execution, problem-solving
What increases salary here:
Leading projects
$180,000+ at a top-tier tech firm
Same title. Completely different compensation tiers.
Key takeaway: Salary averages are directional—not definitive. You need context to interpret them correctly.
Registered Nurse (RN): $70,000 – $110,000
Nurse Practitioner (NP): $105,000 – $150,000
Physician Assistant: $110,000 – $155,000
Pharmacist: $115,000 – $150,000
Medical Assistant: $38,000 – $55,000
Hiring reality: Geographic shortages can push salaries well above national averages.
These roles vary significantly depending on company size and revenue impact.
Financial Analyst: $65,000 – $105,000
Accountant: $60,000 – $95,000
Investment Banker: $120,000 – $250,000+
Management Consultant: $90,000 – $180,000
HR Manager: $80,000 – $140,000
Recruiter insight: Revenue-generating roles (sales, finance) often include bonuses that significantly increase total compensation.
Performance-based compensation plays a major role here.
Marketing Manager: $75,000 – $135,000
Digital Marketing Specialist: $60,000 – $95,000
Sales Representative: $50,000 – $90,000 base + commission
Sales Manager: $90,000 – $160,000 total comp
Content Strategist: $65,000 – $110,000
Important: Total earnings in sales can double base salary depending on performance.
These roles are seeing increased pay due to labor shortages.
Electrician: $55,000 – $95,000
Plumber: $50,000 – $90,000
Construction Manager: $75,000 – $130,000
HVAC Technician: $50,000 – $85,000
Truck Driver: $55,000 – $85,000
Trend: Skilled trades are becoming more lucrative as fewer workers enter these fields.
Driving measurable outcomes
Cross-functional collaboration
Typical range: $120,000 – $180,000+
Focus: strategy, leadership, decision-making
Key differentiator: Impact on business outcomes, not just experience.
Despite remote work growth, location-based pay is still real.
Examples:
San Francisco / NYC: 20–40% higher than national average
Midwest / Southeast: 10–25% lower
Remote roles: Often tied to company HQ or tiered pay bands
Recruiter insight: Many companies now use geo-adjusted salary bands, not a single national rate.
This is where most candidates misunderstand compensation.
Hiring managers pay more for candidates who:
Increase revenue
Reduce costs
Improve efficiency
Example:
A marketer who “managed campaigns” vs one who “increased conversion rates by 35%.”
High-paying skills in 2026 include:
AI and machine learning
Cybersecurity
Cloud infrastructure
Data analytics
Healthcare specialization
Rule: The harder it is to replace you, the more you earn.
Two candidates, same skills, different salaries.
Why?
One anchors low
One presents market-backed expectations
Recruiter reality: Companies expect negotiation. Not negotiating often leaves money on the table.
Salary varies dramatically by employer:
Startups: lower base, higher equity
Mid-size: balanced compensation
Large corporations: structured pay bands
Big Tech / Finance: top-tier salaries
Candidates often quote national averages without context.
Problem: Hiring managers benchmark against role-specific and location-specific data—not Google averages.
Many professionals stay underpaid because they don’t translate their experience into business value.
First offers are rarely the highest possible offer.
Recruiter truth: There’s almost always room to negotiate within budget.
Total compensation includes:
Bonuses
Equity
Benefits
PTO
Remote flexibility
Use this framework instead of guessing:
Not your title—your responsibilities and impact.
Use platforms like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and recruiter conversations.
A $100K role in one market may be $130K in another.
Specialized skills or certifications can push you above average.
More states require salary ranges in job postings, giving candidates better leverage.
Degrees matter less than demonstrable skills.
This directly impacts salary growth for non-traditional candidates.
Jobs involving AI integration are seeing rapid salary increases.
More competition is compressing salaries in mid-tier roles—unless candidates differentiate themselves.
You’re above average if you:
Earn in the top 25% of your role’s salary band
Have skills that are hard to replace
Deliver measurable business results
Can switch jobs and command higher offers
Reality: The biggest salary increases come from changing jobs—not staying put.
Understanding the average salary by job in 2026 is not about memorizing numbers—it’s about knowing where you stand in the market and how to position yourself strategically.
The candidates who earn more are not just more experienced—they’re more intentional about how they present their value, choose roles, and negotiate offers.
If you treat salary as a strategy—not just a number—you will consistently outperform the average.
