Salaries

Human Resources Salaries.

10 roles. 81 cities.

National salary data. Last updated April 2026.

10 roles trackedSan FranciscoNew YorkSeattleAustin
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Highest Paying

$245,000

Chief Human Resources Officer

Industry Median

$133,000

HR Compliance Engineer

Entry Level

$66,000

Corporate Trainer / L&D

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated August 2026.

The human resources industry includes 10 tracked roles with national median salaries ranging from $66,000 to $245,000. The highest-paying role is Chief Human Resources Officer at $245,000 national median. Human resources professionals manage the employee lifecycle from recruitment through development and retention.

About human resources salaries

Human resources professionals manage the employee lifecycle from recruitment through development and retention. The field has evolved from administrative functions to strategic business partnership. HR leaders who can leverage AI for talent analytics, design competitive compensation structures, and drive organizational transformation command premium salaries.

All human resources roles by salary

#RoleMedianRange
1Chief Human Resources Officer$245,000$185,000 to $318,000
2AI Change Management Lead$170,000$143,000 to $212,000
3HR Manager$140,000$106,000 to $190,000
4HR Platform Engineer$133,000$103,000 to $169,000
5HR Software Engineer$133,000$103,000 to $169,000
6HR Compliance Engineer$133,000$103,000 to $169,000
7AI Enablement & Literacy Lead$123,000$100,000 to $160,000
8Recruiter / Talent Acquisition$73,000$56,000 to $97,000
9HR Business Partner$73,000$56,000 to $97,000
10Corporate Trainer / L&D$66,000$49,000 to $92,000

Top cities for human resources

Cities ranked by average median salary across all 10 human resources roles.

#CityAvg MedianCOL Index
1San Jose, CA$179,5001.38x
2San Francisco, CA$175,1001.35x
3Honolulu, HI$168,4001.30x
4New York, NY$163,0001.28x
5Washington DC, DC$161,2001.25x
6Seattle, WA$158,8001.24x
7Boston, MA$157,5001.22x
8Arlington, VA$157,4001.22x

Related industries

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