Salary by function: what U.S. professional jobs advertise
Median and middle-half advertised pay for 21 functions, from 83,609 live postings that state pay, with the gap against other functions once the job mix is matched. As of November 9, 2026.
By Justin KullaLast updated
Pay by function
Sorted by median. Open one for its pay by level.
| Group | Median | Middle half | Gap, job mix matched | Postings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product | $190,000 | $155,000 to $228,000 | +16.4% | 2,544 | 1,086 |
| Data & Analytics | $172,500 | $129,000 to $222,500 | +12.6% | 4,838 | 1,703 |
| Security | $167,500 | $125,000 to $215,000 | +10.2% | 1,953 | 823 |
| Engineering | $161,500 | $124,500 to $206,500 | +17.5% | 19,966 | 3,712 |
| Design | $160,000 | $105,000 to $205,000 | +3.5% | 1,236 | 668 |
| Strategy | $155,000 | $135,000 to $198,000 | −3.9% | 929 | 479 |
| Executive Leadership | $150,000 | $114,500 to $190,000 | −15.9% | 324 | 212 |
| Marketing | $145,000 | $100,000 to $187,500 | −7.1% | 3,704 | 1,882 |
| Investment | $141,000 | $109,000 to $185,000 | +2.1% | 652 | 331 |
| Legal | $137,500 | $92,500 to $185,500 | +3.5% | 2,564 | 1,269 |
| Research | $125,000 | $89,500 to $171,500 | −5.1% | 921 | 440 |
| Clinical | $122,500 | $91,500 to $165,000 | −4.8% | 1,784 | 647 |
| Finance | $122,500 | $87,500 to $158,500 | −9% | 5,786 | 2,500 |
| Customer Success | $120,000 | $87,500 to $155,000 | −20.1% | 1,272 | 679 |
| Sales | $118,000 | $77,500 to $169,000 | −8.1% | 13,365 | 3,715 |
| Programs | $117,500 | $77,000 to $158,000 | −9% | 1,932 | 866 |
| Human Resources | $115,000 | $80,000 to $157,500 | −10.6% | 3,102 | 1,677 |
| Operations | $110,000 | $82,500 to $147,500 | −15.3% | 8,779 | 3,208 |
| Fundraising & development | $105,000 | $82,500 to $141,500 | n/a | 171 | 130 |
| Academic | $101,000 | $71,000 to $141,000 | n/a | 223 | 176 |
| Administration | $69,000 | $46,000 to $90,000 | −16.8% | 1,352 | 852 |
Questions about this data
- Which functions pays the most?
- By median advertised pay, Product leads at $190,000 (2,544 paid postings from 1,086 employers). The table also shows each group's gap with the rest of the job mix matched.
- Why show a gap with the job mix matched?
- A raw median mixes in which roles and levels a group happens to hold. The matched gap compares postings of the same function, level and industry, so it shows what is left after that.
Method, download and how to cite
Data as of November 9, 2026. Rebuilt daily.
Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.
A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.
Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Advertised pay in U.S. professional job postings, by function”, data as of November 9, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data/function
See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.
More pay data
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