Best degree programs for Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists, ranked by enrollment
4 college programs and 2,366 schools train Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $78,210 median wage, 112,380 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
4 college programs at 2,366 schools train compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists, graduating 418,178 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Business Administration and Management, General. The job pays a median of $78,210 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
Conduct programs of compensation and benefits and job analysis for employer. May specialize in specific areas, such as position classification and pension programs.
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.
4 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 | 83.4% | 2,305 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0801 | 49,441 | 11.8% | 753 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1001 | 18,033 | 4.3% | 518 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 4 | CIP 52.1701 | 1,798 | 0.4% | 69 | $56,988 | $22,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists 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 | $91,410 | 13,430 | 1.02× | 222 | 58,021 |
| Texas | $74,800 | — | — | 135 | 27,987 |
| Arizona | $74,930 | 2,230 | 0.95× | 35 | 26,275 |
| Florida | $65,020 | 6,610 | 0.92× | 97 | 23,265 |
| New York | $83,200 | 11,470 | 1.64× | 142 | 17,290 |
| North Carolina | $67,970 | 3,930 | 1.10× | 111 | 14,711 |
| New Hampshire | $80,810 | 380 | 0.77× | 18 | 13,767 |
| Indiana | $68,300 | 1,820 | 0.78× | 44 | 12,601 |
| Utah | $52,090 | — | — | 12 | 12,587 |
| Massachusetts | $95,890 | 3,390 | 1.29× | 60 | 12,049 |
| Pennsylvania | $70,640 | 4,910 | 1.12× | 110 | 11,923 |
| Virginia | $81,190 | 3,500 | 1.18× | 58 | 11,222 |
| Colorado | $92,560 | 1,980 | 0.95× | 30 | 11,214 |
| Ohio | $75,780 | 2,950 | 0.74× | 88 | 11,149 |
| Illinois | $79,300 | 4,410 | 1.00× | 87 | 10,606 |
| Georgia | $66,690 | 4,780 | 1.35× | 82 | 10,501 |
| New Jersey | $85,040 | 3,150 | 1.02× | 49 | 8,838 |
| Michigan | $79,480 | 2,480 | 0.78× | 71 | 8,340 |
| Alabama | $57,710 | 1,000 | 0.66× | 41 | 8,163 |
| Maryland | $79,700 | 1,650 | 0.83× | 39 | 7,581 |
| Minnesota | $78,770 | — | — | 52 | 7,488 |
| Kentucky | $64,690 | 670 | 0.47× | 45 | 6,579 |
| Louisiana | $62,700 | 1,050 | 0.75× | 29 | 6,321 |
| Idaho | $63,680 | 500 | 0.81× | 10 | 5,894 |
| Tennessee | $69,990 | 2,150 | 0.91× | 52 | 5,632 |
| South Carolina | $63,450 | 1,160 | 0.70× | 46 | 5,593 |
| Wisconsin | $72,130 | 1,840 | 0.87× | 50 | 5,333 |
| West Virginia | $48,080 | 580 | 1.14× | 25 | 4,862 |
| Connecticut | $83,100 | 1,140 | 0.93× | 19 | 4,703 |
| Missouri | $74,260 | 1,670 | 0.79× | 51 | 4,555 |
| Washington | $86,630 | 3,350 | 1.30× | 48 | 4,183 |
| Oklahoma | $64,260 | 1,200 | 0.97× | 32 | 4,173 |
| Iowa | $67,160 | 1,070 | 0.95× | 42 | 3,854 |
| Nebraska | $67,410 | 460 | 0.62× | 21 | 3,640 |
| Kansas | $67,990 | 640 | 0.62× | 35 | 2,910 |
| Mississippi | $51,670 | 370 | 0.44× | 26 | 2,900 |
| District of Columbia | $86,710 | 650 | 1.28× | 11 | 2,748 |
| Arkansas | $61,280 | 490 | 0.52× | 33 | 2,687 |
| Oregon | $83,320 | 1,330 | 0.94× | 27 | 2,080 |
| New Mexico | $83,540 | 340 | 0.54× | 23 | 1,650 |
| Rhode Island | $80,330 | 300 | 0.83× | 11 | 1,638 |
| Delaware | $99,560 | 290 | 0.83× | 6 | 1,446 |
| Maine | $77,400 | 180 | 0.38× | 16 | 1,330 |
| North Dakota | $70,480 | 100 | 0.33× | 16 | 962 |
| South Dakota | $64,630 | 630 | 1.91× | 15 | 904 |
| Hawaii | $64,090 | 260 | 0.57× | 7 | 868 |
| Vermont | $76,030 | 170 | 0.78× | 6 | 642 |
| Wyoming | $69,090 | — | — | 7 | 437 |
| Montana | $75,290 | 190 | 0.51× | 15 | 407 |
| Alaska | $79,160 | 180 | 0.78× | 7 | 389 |
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
- Administer employee insurance, pension, and savings plans, working with insurance brokers and plan carriers.
- Ensure company compliance with federal and state laws, including reporting requirements.
- Research employee benefit and health and safety practices, and recommend changes or modifications to existing policies.
- Advise managers and employees on state and federal employment regulations, collective agreements, benefit and compensation policies, personnel procedures, and classification programs.
- Plan and develop curricula and materials for training programs and conduct training.
- Assist in preparing and maintaining personnel records and handbooks.
- Develop and administer compensation programs, such as merit or incentive pay.
- Evaluate job positions, determining classification, exempt or non-exempt status, and salary.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Active Listening3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Active Learning3.4
- Writing3.4
- Mathematics3.1
- Monitoring3.1
Knowledge areas
- Personnel and Human Resources4.2
- English Language4.0
- Customer and Personal Service3.8
- Mathematics3.8
- Administration and Management3.6
- Economics and Accounting3.3
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.0
- Written Comprehension3.9
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Inductive Reasoning3.6
- Deductive Reasoning3.6
- Problem Sensitivity3.6
Core activities
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.3
- Getting Information4.2
- Working with Computers4.2
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.2
- Analyzing Data or Information4.1
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.0
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
- Less than 5 years
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 4 majors mapped to Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
- 52.0801Finance, General
- 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
- 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, 83.4% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Finance and Financial Management Services, Human Resources Management and Services, Insurance. Together they graduate about 418,178 people a year.
How much do compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists earn?+
The median is $78,210 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $49,480 at the 10th percentile to $128,920 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, benefits, and job analysis specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +5.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 8,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
2,366 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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, benefits, and job analysis specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Benefits Analyst, Benefits Specialist, Compensation Analyst, Compensation Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1141.
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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