Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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HR Specialists
HR Specialists recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. May perform other activities in multiple human resources areas.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Human Resources Specialists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $37,710 to $48,190 per year or $18 to $23 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Human Resources Specialists to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $53 | $109,350 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $40 | $83,940 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $31 | $63,490 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $23 | $48,190 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $18 | $37,710 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $49 | $101,680 |
| CA | $38 | $79,590 |
| NJ | $38 | $79,360 |
| NY | $38 | $79,360 |
| VA | $37 | $77,830 |
| MD | $37 | $77,710 |
| WA | $37 | $77,290 |
| MA | $37 | $77,030 |
| RI | $36 | $75,420 |
| CT | $36 | $74,570 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Human Resources Specialist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid HR Specialists are in the states of DC, CA, NJ, NY and VA.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing | $101330 | $48.71 |
| Other Information Services | $93230 | $44.82 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $91130 | $43.82 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $90770 | $43.64 |
| Software Publishers | $90290 | $43.41 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $90150 | $43.34 |
| Cable and Other Subscription Programming | $90080 | $43.31 |
| Motor Vehicle Manufacturing | $88040 | $42.33 |
| Monetary Authorities-Central Bank | $86530 | $41.60 |
| Natural Gas Distribution | $85230 | $40.97 |
| Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | $84840 | $40.79 |
| Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing | $84560 | $40.65 |
| Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services | $83770 | $40.28 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $82940 | $39.88 |
| Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds | $82630 | $39.73 |
| Telecommunications | $82130 | $39.49 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services | $81550 | $39.21 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $81420 | $39.14 |
| Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | $80890 | $38.89 |
| Legal Services | $80540 | $38.72 |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution | $80110 | $38.51 |
| Land Subdivision | $79340 | $38.15 |
| Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing | $78920 | $37.94 |
| Nondepository Credit Intermediation | $78490 | $37.73 |
| Communications Equipment Manufacturing | $78320 | $37.66 |
| Insurance Carriers | $78170 | $37.58 |
| Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services | $78070 | $37.53 |
| Radio and Television Broadcasting | $77820 | $37.41 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $77520 | $37.27 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $77370 | $37.20 |
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