Best degree programs for Compensation and Benefits Managers, ranked by enrollment
5 college programs and 2,350 schools train Compensation and Benefits Managers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $149,230 median wage, 22,940 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
5 college programs at 2,350 schools train compensation and benefits managers, graduating 373,411 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Business Administration and Management, General. The job pays a median of $149,230 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About compensation and benefits managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate compensation and benefits activities of an organization.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
5 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201 | 348,906 | 93.4% | 2,305 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.1001 | 18,033 | 4.8% | 518 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1003 | 3,311 | 0.9% | 116 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 4 | CIP 52.1701 | 1,798 | 0.5% | 69 | $56,988 | $22,500 |
| 5 | CIP 52.1002 | 1,363 | 0.4% | 26 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What compensation and benefits managers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $166,730 | 2,970 | 1.10× | 226 | 57,411 |
| Arizona | $129,890 | 510 | 1.07× | 35 | 24,940 |
| Texas | $136,930 | 2,230 | 1.07× | 134 | 23,643 |
| Florida | $127,960 | 1,670 | 1.14× | 97 | 19,147 |
| New York | $175,620 | 2,260 | 1.58× | 139 | 15,301 |
| North Carolina | $135,240 | 880 | 1.21× | 111 | 13,468 |
| New Hampshire | $136,950 | 100 | 1.02× | 17 | 13,364 |
| Utah | $132,620 | 200 | 0.77× | 12 | 11,605 |
| Indiana | $118,180 | 170 | 0.37× | 45 | 11,598 |
| Colorado | $165,770 | 280 | 0.66× | 30 | 10,817 |
| Massachusetts | $184,070 | 670 | 1.24× | 60 | 10,612 |
| Virginia | $153,660 | — | — | 58 | 10,601 |
| Pennsylvania | $139,040 | 770 | 0.86× | 108 | 10,226 |
| Illinois | $151,730 | 780 | 0.86× | 84 | 9,283 |
| Georgia | $163,060 | 1,010 | 1.40× | 82 | 9,090 |
| Ohio | $141,920 | 460 | 0.56× | 86 | 8,499 |
| New Jersey | $168,370 | 950 | 1.51× | 49 | 7,545 |
| Michigan | $151,620 | 580 | 0.90× | 70 | 7,096 |
| Maryland | $139,860 | 430 | 1.04× | 39 | 6,879 |
| Alabama | $118,470 | 90 | 0.29× | 41 | 6,853 |
| Minnesota | $163,390 | 360 | 0.82× | 50 | 6,712 |
| Kentucky | $114,290 | 110 | 0.37× | 45 | 6,018 |
| Idaho | $90,020 | 100 | 0.76× | 10 | 5,682 |
| Louisiana | $99,840 | 220 | 0.76× | 29 | 5,365 |
| Tennessee | $132,780 | 670 | 1.37× | 52 | 4,740 |
| South Carolina | $99,630 | 330 | 0.97× | 45 | 4,441 |
| Wisconsin | $127,920 | — | — | 49 | 3,972 |
| Missouri | $106,490 | 250 | 0.57× | 50 | 3,940 |
| Oklahoma | $107,760 | 180 | 0.71× | 32 | 3,915 |
| Connecticut | $197,970 | 480 | 1.91× | 19 | 3,707 |
| Washington | $199,190 | 460 | 0.88× | 47 | 3,440 |
| Nebraska | $121,630 | 140 | 0.90× | 21 | 3,302 |
| Iowa | $118,250 | 120 | 0.54× | 42 | 3,003 |
| Mississippi | $89,250 | 70 | 0.41× | 26 | 2,487 |
| Kansas | $114,070 | 70 | 0.34× | 34 | 2,164 |
| District of Columbia | $160,990 | 130 | 1.25× | 10 | 2,142 |
| Arkansas | $100,810 | 140 | 0.73× | 33 | 2,033 |
| Oregon | $161,470 | 240 | 0.84× | 27 | 1,800 |
| New Mexico | $124,390 | 40 | 0.32× | 23 | 1,615 |
| Maine | $129,690 | 50 | 0.54× | 16 | 1,199 |
| Nevada | $115,180 | 180 | 0.77× | 7 | 1,100 |
| Rhode Island | $149,340 | 50 | 0.70× | 11 | 1,076 |
| Delaware | $166,070 | 50 | 0.65× | 6 | 990 |
| Hawaii | $110,120 | 60 | 0.69× | 7 | 729 |
| Alaska | $122,490 | 30 | 0.66× | 7 | 374 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Direct preparation and distribution of written and verbal information to inform employees of benefits, compensation, and personnel policies.
- Design, evaluate, and modify benefits policies to ensure that programs are current, competitive, and in compliance with legal requirements.
- Fulfill all reporting requirements of all relevant government rules and regulations, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
- Analyze compensation policies, government regulations, and prevailing wage rates to develop competitive compensation plan.
- Identify and implement benefits to increase the quality of life for employees by working with brokers and researching benefits issues.
- Manage the design and development of tools to assist employees in benefits selection, and to guide managers through compensation decisions.
- Administer, direct, and review employee benefit programs, including the integration of benefit programs following mergers and acquisitions.
- Mediate between benefits providers and employees, such as by assisting in handling employees' benefits-related questions or taking suggestions.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Writing4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Active Learning3.8
- Monitoring3.4
- Mathematics3.0
Knowledge areas
- Personnel and Human Resources4.3
- English Language4.1
- Administration and Management4.0
- Customer and Personal Service3.8
- Economics and Accounting3.4
- Mathematics3.3
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Written Expression4.0
- Problem Sensitivity3.8
- Speech Clarity3.8
Core activities
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.5
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.4
- Getting Information4.3
- Working with Computers4.3
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.2
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
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 348,906 degrees in 2024-25, 93.4% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Human Resources Management and Services, Insurance. Together they graduate about 373,411 people a year.
How much do compensation and benefits managers earn?+
The median is $149,230 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $89,160 at the 10th percentile to $256,570 at the 90th. 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?+
2,350 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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