Compensation Director salary

Average compensation director salary

$117,485

$56.48 hourly rate

Entry-level compensation director salary
$85,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a compensation director make?

The average compensation director salary in the United States is $117,485. Compensation director salaries typically range between $85,000 and $160,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for compensation directors is $56.48 per hour.

Compensation director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Compensation directors earn the highest average salary in Idaho.

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Compensation director salary by: 

Where can a Compensation Director earn more?

Compare salary by location
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155k
135k
115k
95k
75k
Columbus, OH$136,095
Austin, TX$105,269
Compare salary by company
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161k
141k
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81k
Milbank Tweed Hadley & Mc Cloy$139,129
Visa$110,850

Compensation Director salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, the average salary for a compensation director typically falls between $116,000 and $227,572.
zippia
$117,485yearly
glassdoor[1]
$227,572yearly
Salary.com[2]
$204,826yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$116,000yearly

Average compensation director salary by state

The average compensation director salary in Idaho, Oregon, and New Hampshire are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average compensation director salary states are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Indiana.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for compensation directors

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Oregon$136,326$65.54
2Mississippi$123,567$59.41
3Rhode Island$132,213$63.56
4New Hampshire$132,464$63.68
5Idaho$137,297$66.01
6Washington$130,911$62.94
7Maine$131,742$63.34
8Nevada$126,269$60.71
9Alaska$131,050$63.00
10Massachusetts$123,398$59.33
11New Jersey$126,225$60.69
12Tennessee$124,263$59.74
13Delaware$128,831$61.94
14North Dakota$126,700$60.91
15Michigan$119,052$57.24
16Vermont$118,402$56.92
17Illinois$115,105$55.34
18Virginia$118,372$56.91
19West Virginia$117,199$56.35
20Connecticut$114,182$54.90
21Pennsylvania$110,403$53.08
22Arkansas$104,984$50.47
23Nebraska$117,145$56.32
24Kansas$114,833$55.21
25Arizona$109,593$52.69
26Kentucky$112,065$53.88
27New York$113,229$54.44
28Ohio$108,538$52.18
29North Carolina$107,346$51.61
30Colorado$108,934$52.37
31Wisconsin$106,086$51.00
32New Mexico$111,940$53.82
33Utah$108,235$52.04
34Louisiana$101,851$48.97
35District of Columbia$106,760$51.33
36Maryland$116,731$56.12
37Texas$104,430$50.21
38California$106,102$51.01
39Alabama$99,459$47.82
40Oklahoma$96,265$46.28
41Georgia$101,474$48.79
42Minnesota$103,903$49.95
43Missouri$103,086$49.56
44Florida$103,226$49.63
45Montana$104,926$50.45
46Iowa$90,310$43.42
47South Carolina$102,468$49.26
48Wyoming$100,773$48.45
49Indiana$95,800$46.06
50South Dakota$95,434$45.88
51Hawaii$75,687$36.39

Highest paying cities for compensation directors

The highest-paying cities for compensation directors are Beaverton, OR, Portland, ME, and Seattle, WA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Beaverton, OR$136,095$65.43
2Portland, ME$131,992$63.46
3Seattle, WA$131,382$63.16
4Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ$126,284$60.71
5Lebanon, TN$125,246$60.21
6Boston, MA$123,540$59.39
7Detroit, MI$119,413$57.41
8Ashburn, VA$118,770$57.10
9Omaha, NE$117,462$56.47
10Chicago, IL$115,727$55.64
11Greenwich, CT$113,741$54.68
12New York, NY$113,297$54.47
13Sacramento, CA$111,946$53.82
14Philadelphia, PA$110,842$53.29
15Cleveland, OH$109,805$52.79
16Chandler, AZ$109,587$52.69
17Highlands Ranch, CO$108,897$52.35
18Washington, DC$106,863$51.38
19Orlando, FL$106,432$51.17
20Austin, TX$105,269$50.61

Compensation Director salary details

A compensation director's salary ranges from $85,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $160,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Compensation Director Salary Graph
Average Compensation Director Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a compensation director's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$160,000$13,333$77
75th Percentile$138,000$11,500$66
Average$117,485$9,790$56
25th Percentile$99,000$8,250$48
10th Percentile$85,000$7,083$41

Highest paying compensation director jobs

The highest paying types of compensation directors are director, benefit director, and hris manager.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Hris Manager$105,995$8,833$50.9610,983
Employee Benefits Coordinator$42,484$3,540$20.4222,910
Benefits Consultant$79,068$6,589$38.0119,308
Benefits Manager$64,064$5,339$30.8011,164
Employee Benefits Manager$85,621$7,135$41.1613,906
Benefits Counselor$72,268$6,022$34.7434,132

Top companies hiring compensation directors now:

  1. AIG Jobs (4)
  2. Salesforce Jobs (14)
  3. Pfizer Jobs (3)
  4. KPMG LLP Jobs (31)
  5. Alvarez & Marsal Jobs (14)

Which companies pay compensation directors the most?

Compensation director salaries at Milbank and Sprinklr are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average compensation director salary at companies like Benihana and Flexport are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Milbank Tweed Hadley & Mc Cloy$139,129$66.89
2Sprinklr$128,246$61.66
3Benihana$126,322$60.73
4Flexport$126,259$60.70
5Instabase$125,002$60.10
6Michaels Stores$124,509$59.86
7Salesforce$124,036$59.63
8Microsoft$123,169$59.22
9Nike$118,196$56.83
10Aon$117,734$56.60
11Sumo Logic$116,868$56.19
12Enel Green Power$116,262$55.90
13Silicon Valley Bank$115,267$55.42
14KPMG LLP$114,597$55.09
15Zillow Group$114,211$54.91
16Rosendin Electric$112,945$54.30
17Alvarez & Marsal$112,650$54.16
18DISCO$112,467$54.07
19Arkema$111,638$53.67
20Visa$110,850$53.29

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$133,000$131,000$129,000$127,000$125,000$123,000
MaleFemale

Compensation Director salary by industry

The average compensation director salary varies across industries:

  • The average compensation director salary in the professional industry is $111,148, the highest of any industry.
  • The average compensation director salary in the finance industry is $103,513.
  • Compensation directors in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $82,199, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for compensation directors

Rank
ascdesc
Industry
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Professional$111,148$53.44
2Health Care$103,513$49.77
3Manufacturing$99,880$48.02
4Transportation$82,199$39.52

High Paying Compensation Director Jobs

Compensation Director salary trends

The average compensation director salary has risen by $30,834 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average compensation director earned $86,651 annually, but today, they earn $117,485 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for compensation directors over the last decade.

Compare compensation director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average compensation director salary over time

Compare compensation director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Compensation Director salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$117,000$56.48+2.3%
2024$115,000$55.19+1.0%
2023$114,000$54.62+1.6%
2022$112,000$53.77+2.4%
2021$109,000$52.47+4.1%

Recently added compensation director salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
ProassuranceDirector Benefits and CompensationLancaster, PA12/15/2024$110,923
Colliers InternationalDirector, Compensation | North AmericaLos Angeles, CA12/15/2024$180,000
ApiscaffoldDirector of Workforce CompensationSaint Paul, MN12/15/2024$125,000
AONExecutive Compensation Advisory DirectorBoston, MA12/11/2024$160,000
ThomsonreuterslatamDirector Executive CompensationFine, NY12/10/2024$281,700
Zeta GlobalDirector Executive CompensationNew York, NY12/09/2024$150,000
Compa Technologies, Inc.Global Compensation COE DirectorSan Francisco, CA12/09/2024$205,200
TD BankCompensation Director-TD SecuritiesNew York, NY12/07/2024$175,000
Cardinal HealthDirector, CompensationAnnapolis, MD12/05/2024$164,300
Cardinal HealthDirector, CompensationJackson, MS12/05/2024$164,300

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