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Business internship salary

Quoted expert
Kim Chatani

Average business internship salary

$35,282

$16.96 hourly rate

Entry-level business internship salary
$27,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Business Internship Salaries

In the realm of business internships, the average salary stands at $35,282 per year. This amount reflects a wide spectrum of internship experiences, industries, and geographical locations. For example, business interns in metropolitan areas like San Francisco often earn more than their counterparts in smaller cities.

Factors Influencing Salary

Several factors can influence the salary of a business intern:

  • Location: States such as California and New York are known for higher pay scales.
  • Industry: Interns in finance or technology sectors generally command higher wages.
  • Experience: Previous internships or relevant coursework can lead to increased pay.

Salary Variability

Understanding these dynamics is crucial for aspiring interns. Knowing where to focus your job search can significantly impact your potential earnings. Utilize resources like Zippia to explore job listings, salary estimates, and internship opportunities tailored to your career goals.

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Where can a Business Internship earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
63k
43k
23k
3k
Columbus, OH$40,408
Atlanta, GA$32,806
Compare salary by company
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70k
50k
30k
10k
Sandia National Labs$51,622
RubinBrown$39,552

Business internship salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, the average salary for a business internship typically falls between $33,096 and $60,014.
zippia
$35,282yearly
glassdoor[1]
$60,014yearly
indeed[2]
$44,599yearly
Salary.com[3]
$33,096yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$36,146yearly

Average business internship salary by state

The highest-paying states for business interns are Alaska, North Dakota, and New Jersey. The lowest average business internship salary states are New Mexico, Alabama, and South Dakota.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for business interns

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Alaska$42,800$20.58
2North Dakota$41,959$20.17
3Rhode Island$39,852$19.16
4Pennsylvania$39,591$19.03
5Connecticut$40,223$19.34
6Wisconsin$36,991$17.78
7Michigan$36,355$17.48
8Illinois$40,180$19.32
9New Hampshire$38,147$18.34
10Idaho$35,140$16.89
11New Jersey$40,324$19.39
12Minnesota$35,605$17.12
13Vermont$34,540$16.61
14Maine$34,373$16.53
15Massachusetts$38,635$18.57
16Washington$39,450$18.97
17Delaware$34,918$16.79
18Kansas$33,455$16.08
19West Virginia$33,253$15.99
20New York$37,805$18.18
21Nebraska$32,908$15.82
22Iowa$32,965$15.85
23Louisiana$33,908$16.30
24Missouri$33,409$16.06
25Oregon$35,194$16.92
26Ohio$32,352$15.55
27Kentucky$32,063$15.41
28California$37,624$18.09
29Virginia$35,776$17.20
30Indiana$32,692$15.72
31North Carolina$33,860$16.28
32Oklahoma$32,144$15.45
33Maryland$35,490$17.06
34Tennessee$31,892$15.33
35Nevada$32,043$15.41
36Arizona$33,660$16.18
37District of Columbia$34,134$16.41
38South Dakota$29,567$14.21
39Montana$30,358$14.60
40Georgia$32,807$15.77
41Colorado$33,310$16.01
42Hawaii$31,690$15.24
43Wyoming$29,127$14.00
44Mississippi$30,454$14.64
45New Mexico$30,101$14.47
46Texas$31,863$15.32
47South Carolina$30,597$14.71
48Arkansas$27,457$13.20
49Alabama$29,577$14.22
50Florida$31,378$15.09
51Utah$29,024$13.95

Highest paying cities for business interns

The highest-paying cities for business interns are Jersey City, NJ, Chicago, IL, and Providence, RI.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Jersey City, NJ$40,408$19.43
2Chicago, IL$40,291$19.37
3Providence, RI$39,869$19.17
4Philadelphia, PA$39,776$19.12
5Seattle, WA$39,586$19.03
6San Francisco, CA$39,104$18.80
7Boston, MA$38,651$18.58
8New York, NY$37,760$18.15
9Madison, WI$36,664$17.63
10McLean, VA$36,648$17.62
11Minneapolis, MN$35,579$17.11
12Wilmington, DE$35,057$16.85
13Washington, DC$34,169$16.43
14Phoenix, AZ$33,710$16.21
15Charlotte, NC$33,547$16.13
16Kansas City, KS$33,539$16.12
17Reno, NV$33,352$16.03
18Denver, CO$33,284$16.00
19Omaha, NE$32,956$15.84
20Atlanta, GA$32,806$15.77

Business Interns are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Jersey City, NJ
  2. Chicago, IL
  3. Providence, RI
  4. Philadelphia, PA
  5. Seattle, WA

Business internship salary details

A business internship's salary ranges from $27,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $44,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average business internship salary graph
Average business internship salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a business internship's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$44,000$3,667$21
75th Percentile$40,000$3,333$19
Average$35,282$2,940$17
25th Percentile$31,000$2,583$15
10th Percentile$27,000$2,250$13

Highest paying business internship jobs

The highest paying types of business interns are business developer, business advisor, and wealth management internship.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Summer Analyst$66,837$5,570$32.1344,912
Market Analyst Internship$63,476$5,290$30.5273,684
Wealth Management Internship$87,382$7,282$42.01119,112
Business Advisor$96,469$8,039$46.38125,154
Sales And Marketing Internship$42,269$3,522$20.32142,820
Data Analyst Internship$38,752$3,229$18.63135,614

How would you rate the starting salaries for business internships, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Kim Chatani

Assistant Professor, Concordia University Irvine

Starting salaries will continue to increase but will be more dictated by supply and demand for the skill sets that graduates will provide. The current COVID 19 pandemic has put traditional thinking on its head. Employers will be evaluating employee skills in a multi-dimensional plane, competency, mobility, and transferability.

Top companies hiring business interns now:

  1. Sandia National Labs jobs (16)
  2. Grant Thornton jobs (22)
  3. Thomson Reuters jobs (53)
  4. Ernst & Young jobs (53)
  5. Pwc jobs (18)

Which companies pay business interns the most?

Business internship salaries at Sandia National Labs and HP are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average business internship salary at companies like Baker Hughes and Salesforce are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Sandia National Labs$51,622$24.82
2HP$50,051$24.06
3Baker Hughes$48,006$23.08
4Salesforce$47,937$23.05
5SAP$46,037$22.13
6Deloitte$46,034$22.13
7Cubic$45,798$22.02
8Ernst & Young$45,476$21.86
9VMware$45,357$21.81
10Alliant Energy$42,530$20.45
11Teledyne Technologies Incorporated$42,380$20.38
12Intel$42,060$20.22
13KPMG LLP$41,706$20.05
14Tucson Electric Power$40,989$19.71
15Seagate Technology$40,940$19.68
16USAA$40,778$19.60
17International Rescue Committee$40,244$19.35
18Palo Alto Networks$39,876$19.17
19Quorum International$39,696$19.08
20RubinBrown$39,552$19.02

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$36,000$35,400$34,800$34,200$33,600$33,000
MaleFemale

Business Internship salary by industry

The average business internship salary varies across industries:

  • The average business internship salary in the professional industry is $38,332, the highest of any industry.
  • The average business internship salary in the finance industry is $37,262.
  • Business interns in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $35,435, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for business interns

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Professional$38,332$18.43
2Technology$37,262$17.91
3Media$36,143$17.38
4Finance$35,724$17.18
5Telecommunication$35,655$17.14
6Manufacturing$35,435$17.04

High paying business internship jobs

Business internship salary trends

The average business internship salary has risen by $5,192 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average business internship earned $30,090 annually, but today, they earn $35,282 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for business interns over the last decade.

Compare business internship salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average business internship salary over time

Compare business internship salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Business internship salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$35,300$16.96+3.8%
2024$33,900$16.32+2.3%
2023$33,100$15.93+0.7%
2022$32,900$15.82+1.4%
2021$32,400$15.60+1.3%

Recently added business internship salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
CMA CGM GroupInternship-Business Process ExcellenceKansas City, KS06/30/2025$41,740
University of North DakotaUAS Business InternGrand Forks, ND06/30/2025$41,740
Volvo GroupIntern: Business Control (Fall 2025)Greensboro, NC06/25/2025$33,392
Interpublic GroupBusiness Transformation InternNew York, NY06/18/2025$35,479
General DynamicsIntern, Business Support (Continuous Improvement Engineering)Lincoln, NE06/14/2025$44,871
BMW GroupIntern Energy & Charging Business Innovation-Fall/WinterMountain View, CA06/14/2025$57,393
Massachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityBusiness Operations Intern (Stations)Boston, MA06/13/2025$50,088
Ludlow Public SchoolsTemporary School Business Office Summer Interns (2)Ludlow, MA06/12/2025$31,305
James AllenBusiness Intelligence InternNew York, NY06/10/2025$52,175
Mission Support & Test Services, LLC (MSTSUndergraduate Business Internship (Associate In Business-Levels I-IV)Santa Barbara, CA06/10/2025$31,305

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