2027 Salary Guide From Robert Half

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This is not the final Salary Guide. Do not share this preview before September 10 to avoid distributing information that may change before launch. This draft version is intended for internal review and training purposes only.

As AI adoption, shifting business priorities and cost pressures reshape workforce needs, companies are competing for professionals with specialized skills. While projected starting salary growth has moderated, strong compensation packages are essential to attract top talent. Pay transparency is also raising candidates’ expectations for clear salary communication.

The 2027 Salary Guide From Robert Half provides projected starting salaries for more than 425 roles in 7 professional fields. This data-driven resource helps employers make informed decisions about compensation, talent retention and workforce planning—and gives professionals valuable insight into earning potential and career opportunities.

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Trends by profession

Dive into salary ranges and compensation trends in 7 professional fields. Choose your field

Total rewards

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2027 U.S. compensation trends

Competition for candidates with specialized skills is intensifying, prompting employers to adjust their pay strategies, despite tight budgets and modest overall starting salary increases.

Data at a glance

72%

of employers are modestly increasing compensation budgets to help attract and retain top talent while balancing other cost pressures.

57%

are offering salaries above their planned range, with 87% citing the need to secure candidates with specialized skills as a top reason.

72%

are offering higher pay for relevant AI skills, with 42% offering more for AI-related expertise than for other tech skills.

Value of benchmarking

External salary benchmarking helps employers validate pay decisions and identify needed adjustments. Two-thirds of companies are reviewing salaries for parity, and 57% are increasing compensation budgets to address pay gaps.

91% of employers use—or plan to use—external market data to benchmark salaries.

93% intend to establish clear pay bands across roles and levels.

Benefits of pay transparency

Pay transparency is becoming a business priority as regulations expand and organizations focus on fair, competitive pay. Employers say it can lead to:

of employers include salary ranges in job postings or plan to.

are taking pay transparency beyond legal requirements.

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Why you can trust our salary numbers

The Salary Guide From Robert Half is the original—trusted since 1950 by employers, job seekers and industry leaders.

425+

roles benchmarked

2.3M+

salaries analyzed

15,000+

skills tracked

Salaries and trends by profession

Get 2027 starting salaries and salary insights in 7 professional fields.

Finance and accounting

Technology

Marketing and creative

Legal

Administrative and customer support

Non-clinical healthcare

Human resources

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Frequently asked questions

The 2027 Salary Guide provides projected starting salaries and compensation trends in 7 professional fields. It helps employers make hiring, retention and workforce planning decisions and supports job seekers with career planning and salary negotiation.

Salary guides help employers set competitive pay and professionals negotiate fair compensation based on their skills and experience. While expanding pay transparency legislation and initiatives give professionals more visibility into salaries for individual roles, knowing how compensation compares across companies adds another layer of insight. That’s where data like ours comes in.

We use a rigorous, multistep process to develop starting salary benchmarks that reflect projected market trends. The ranges in the guide are based on compensation data for candidates our recruiters have placed nationwide, plus third-party job posting data we use for independent validation, and insights from our recruiting professionals who validate the data against real-world hiring and compensation trends. The result is salary information that is both data-informed and recruiter validated.

Yes. Use our Salary Calculator to find figures for more than 250 markets in the United States.

No. The guide shows starting salaries only—pay for someone new to the role or company. They do not include bonuses or annual merit increases. For information on bonuses and other incentives, explore the total rewards section in our guide.

We determine market variances with input from our data science team and talent solutions professionals, who assess local cost of living, talent supply and demand, and the concentration of high-paying industries in each metropolitan area.

Salary growth is expected to be more measured in 2027, but employers are still investing in competitive pay for critical roles, hard-to-staff positions and candidates with specialized skills. Pay transparency is also increasing demand for current salary data to support benchmarking, salary range communication and consistent pay decisions.

Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report covers hiring trends and workforce strategies in 7 profession fields. Our labor market overview brings together the latest employment data from Robert Half and other industry sources to provide a clearer picture of labor market shifts.

Explore a world of salary and hiring insights

The salary benchmarks in the Salary Guide From Robert Half are the result of a rigorous, multistep process designed to reflect projected market trends for 2027. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has placed nationwide, along with third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use for independent validation. Learn more about our methodology. Non-salary data is based on online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Respondents include hiring managers and workers at small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000-plus employees) private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the United States.

The Salary Guide is solely for noncommercial use, and the copyright is the exclusive property of Robert Half. This guide may not be reproduced or disseminated in any part without Robert Half’s written permission.