Nebraska·Management Occupations·SOC 11-3111

Best Compensation programs in Nebraska, ranked by enrollment

Plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an.

21 schools in Nebraska run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,302 people a year. The job pays a median of $121,630 in Nebraska across about 140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledBenefits ManagerCompensation ManagerCompensation DirectorCompensation and Benefits ManagerPayroll ManagerBenefits AdvisorBenefits DirectorPersonnel Manager
Graduates / yr
3,302
in Nebraska
Median pay · Nebraska
$121,630
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
140
people employed
Schools
21
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
49%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,162
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Nebraska that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Nebraska that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Nebraska (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Nebraska page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0201In Nebraska
3,130
94.8%
21$43,506$25,000
2
CIP 52.1001In Nebraska
124
3.8%
3$49,084$26,536
3
CIP 52.1003In Nebraska
48
1.5%
3$49,084$26,536

Top 21 schools in Nebraska

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 17 of the 21 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
727Business Administration and Management, General$60,93133%$29,230
2Central Community College
Grand Island, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
576Business Administration and Management, General$33,89848%
3University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
366Business Administration and Management, General$47,66367%87%
4University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
297Business Administration and Management, General$50,06947%87%
5Metropolitan Community College Area
Omaha, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
258Business Administration and Management, General$43,95629%
6Wayne State College
Wayne, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
188Business Administration and Management, General$43,49052%
7University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
172Business Administration and Management, General$48,86158%89%
8Chadron State College
Chadron, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
138Business Administration and Management, General$43,12450%
9Southeast Community College Area
Lincoln, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
121Business Administration and Management, General$36,78138%
10Creighton University
Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
96Business Administration and Management, General$47,42783%$27,35380%
11Mid - Plains Community College
North Platte, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
60Business Administration and Management, General$33,90654%
12Peru State College
Peru, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
60Business Administration and Management, General$42,84738%
13Northeast Community College
Norfolk, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
58Business Administration and Management, General$24,49756%
14Midland University
Fremont, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
44Business Administration and Management, General42%$23,16266%
15Hastings College
Hastings, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
39Business Administration and Management, General$47,52549%$20,42472%
16Doane University
Crete, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
38Business Administration and Management, General$50,85657%$25,10398%
17Western Nebraska Community College
Scottsbluff, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
22Business Administration and Management, General37%
18York University
York, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Business Administration and Management, General$34,17052%$19,34652%
19Union Adventist University
Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Business Administration and Management, General$44,04552%$20,543100%
20College of Saint Mary
Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Business Administration and Management, General61%$14,62945%
21Nebraska Indian Community College
Macy, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
1Business Administration and Management, General22%

All 21 schools in Nebraska

Every school in Nebraska with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Nebraska that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Bellevue UniversityBellevuePrivate not-for-profit7272
Central Community CollegeGrand IslandPublic5761
University of Nebraska - LincolnLincolnPublic3662
University of Nebraska at OmahaOmahaPublic2972
Metropolitan Community College AreaOmahaPublic2581
Wayne State CollegeWaynePublic1882
University of Nebraska at KearneyKearneyPublic1721
Chadron State CollegeChadronPublic1382
Southeast Community College AreaLincolnPublic1211
Creighton UniversityOmahaPrivate not-for-profit961
Mid - Plains Community CollegeNorth PlattePublic601
Peru State CollegePeruPublic602
Northeast Community CollegeNorfolkPublic581
Midland UniversityFremontPrivate not-for-profit441
Hastings CollegeHastingsPrivate not-for-profit391

What compensation and benefits managers earn in Nebraska

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Nebraska
$121,630
Mean annual
$129,020
Jobs in state
140
What the range looks like
10th pct$83,200Median$121,63090th pct$183,490
Versus the national median
-18.5%

U.S. median $149,230. Nebraska pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.90×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Nebraska

Omaha, NE-IA
$122,070median
90 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+0.2%
Little or no change
Openings per year
1,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
0
20,900 → 20,900
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Compensation and Benefits Managers page.

How to become a Compensation

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
5 years or more

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningWritingSpeakingCritical ThinkingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Nebraska

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 5 majors mapped to Compensation and Benefits Managers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
  • 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
  • 52.1002Labor and Industrial Relations
  • 52.1003Organizational Behavior Studies
  • 52.1701Insurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing compensation and benefits managers programs in Nebraska.

What degree do you need to become a Compensation?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 3,130 degrees in Nebraska in 2024-25, 94.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Compensation?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Human Resources Management and Services. Together they graduate about 3,302 people a year in Nebraska.

How much do compensation and benefits managers earn in Nebraska?+

The median is $121,630 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 18.5% below the U.S. median of $149,230. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for compensation and benefits managers growing?+

BLS projects a +0.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Nebraska?+

21 institutions in Nebraska reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do compensation and benefits managers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Benefits Manager, Compensation Manager, Compensation Director, Compensation and Benefits Manager among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-3111.

Compensation and Benefits Managers in other statesCaliforniaArizonaTexasFloridaNew YorkNorth CarolinaNew HampshireUtah

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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