How much does an employee relations specialist make?

The average employee relations specialist salary in the United States is $56,574. Employee relations specialist salaries typically range between $39,000 and $81,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for employee relations specialists is $27.2 per hour. Employee relations specialist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Employee relations specialists earn the highest average salary in Massachusetts.

Employee relations specialist salary

Q: What state pays Employee Relations Specialists the most?

Massachusetts pays Employee Relations Specialists the most in the United States, with an average salary of $79,646 per year, or $38.29 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an employee relations specialist?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an employee relations specialist if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in District of Columbia you should be paid close to $76,268 per year.

Q: How much do you make as an employee relations manager?

An employee relations manager makes $80,000 a year, on average ($38.60 an hour). The range in how much an employee relations manager can make starts from as little as $58,000 to as much as $110,000 a year.

Q: What is the average salary of a specialist?

The average salary of a specialist is $56,162 a year or $15.97 an hour. However, the range in salary can vary significantly, starting as low as $14 an hour to as high as $24 an hour. Factors such as location and the company can impact earning potential.

Quoted expert

Sarah DeArmond Ph.D.

Average employee relations specialist salary

$56,574

$27.2 hourly rate

Entry-level employee relations specialist salary

$39,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Average Employee Relations Specialist Salary

The average salary for an Employee Relations Specialist is approximately $56,574 per year or about $27 per hour. This figure can vary significantly depending on factors such as location, industry, and individual experience. For instance, specialists in high-demand sectors like technology or healthcare often earn higher salaries compared to those in non-profit organizations.

Where Can You Earn More?

States known for higher salaries include California, New York, and Washington, often reflecting the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals. Additionally, certain industries, including finance and consulting, tend to offer competitive compensation packages. Job seekers should also consider local job markets, as metropolitan areas typically provide more opportunities and potentially higher wages.

Salary Trends

According to various salary estimates, as you gain experience in employee relations, your earning potential can increase. Entry-level positions tend to start lower, but with several years of experience, salaries can rise significantly. Understanding these trends can help individuals make informed career decisions in this essential field.

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Employee relations specialist salary by:

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Where can an Employee Relations Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location

99k

79k

59k

39k

19k

Columbus, OH$79,665

Saint Louis, MO$49,340

Compare salary by company

124k

104k

84k

64k

44k

Adobe$108,081

Neiman Marcus Group$74,499

Employee relations specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, the average salary for an employee relations specialist typically falls between $56,574 and $78,650.

zippia

$56,574yearly

glassdoor[1]

$73,642yearly

ZipRecruiter[2]

$78,650yearly

Average employee relations specialist salary by state

The highest-paying states for employee relations specialists are Massachusetts, Michigan, and Connecticut. The lowest average employee relations specialist salary states are Florida, Texas, and Hawaii.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for employee relations specialists

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Massachusetts	$79,646	$38.29
2	District of Columbia	$76,268	$36.67
3	Rhode Island	$65,656	$31.57
4	Vermont	$67,940	$32.66
5	Michigan	$74,014	$35.58
6	Connecticut	$70,845	$34.06
7	California	$69,685	$33.50
8	Oregon	$63,289	$30.43
9	Nevada	$69,248	$33.29
10	Arizona	$61,872	$29.75
11	New Jersey	$69,096	$33.22
12	Iowa	$60,711	$29.19
13	Delaware	$63,791	$30.67
14	New Hampshire	$64,434	$30.98
15	New York	$60,906	$29.28
16	Alabama	$61,836	$29.73
17	Virginia	$62,494	$30.05
18	Minnesota	$58,356	$28.06
19	West Virginia	$61,854	$29.74
20	Colorado	$60,752	$29.21
21	Pennsylvania	$56,800	$27.31
22	Maine	$56,280	$27.06
23	Wyoming	$54,910	$26.40
24	Kentucky	$58,899	$28.32
25	Illinois	$56,912	$27.36
26	Kansas	$59,599	$28.65
27	Utah	$54,433	$26.17
28	Alaska	$53,343	$25.65
29	Washington	$60,905	$29.28
30	New Mexico	$56,328	$27.08
31	Tennessee	$50,780	$24.41
32	Idaho	$56,425	$27.13
33	North Carolina	$50,311	$24.19
34	Ohio	$50,626	$24.34
35	Nebraska	$50,499	$24.28
36	Georgia	$50,187	$24.13
37	Arkansas	$51,862	$24.93
38	Montana	$45,533	$21.89
39	Oklahoma	$46,686	$22.45
40	Indiana	$51,042	$24.54
41	North Dakota	$51,879	$24.94
42	Missouri	$49,533	$23.81
43	Mississippi	$48,050	$23.10
44	Maryland	$47,822	$22.99
45	South Carolina	$41,240	$19.83
46	South Dakota	$44,551	$21.42
47	Texas	$43,423	$20.88
48	Florida	$44,092	$21.20
49	Wisconsin	$37,615	$18.08
50	Hawaii	$42,888	$20.62
51	Louisiana	$42,369	$20.37

Top employee relations specialist jobs near you

Highest paying cities for employee relations specialists

The highest-paying cities for employee relations specialists are Boston, MA, Washington, DC, and Foster City, CA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Boston, MA	$79,665	$38.30
2	Washington, DC	$76,301	$36.68
3	Foster City, CA	$75,197	$36.15
4	Dearborn, MI	$74,106	$35.63
5	Reno, NV	$73,093	$35.14
6	Jersey City, NJ	$69,294	$33.31
7	Providence, RI	$65,601	$31.54
8	McLean, VA	$65,014	$31.26
9	Portland, OR	$62,752	$30.17
10	Phoenix, AZ	$62,143	$29.88
11	Seattle, WA	$61,339	$29.49
12	New York, NY	$61,060	$29.36
13	Denver, CO	$60,763	$29.21
14	Minneapolis, MN	$58,368	$28.06
15	Allentown, PA	$57,331	$27.56
16	Vernon Hills, IL	$57,286	$27.54
17	Salt Lake City, UT	$54,179	$26.05
18	Raleigh, NC	$50,783	$24.41
19	Atlanta, GA	$50,307	$24.19
20	Saint Louis, MO	$49,340	$23.72

Employee relations specialist salary details

An employee relations specialist's salary ranges from $39,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $81,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average employee relations specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an employee relations specialist's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$81,000	$6,750	$39
75th Percentile	$68,000	$5,667	$33
Average	$56,574	$4,715	$27
25th Percentile	$46,000	$3,833	$22
10th Percentile	$39,000	$3,250	$19

Highest paying employee relations specialist jobs

The highest paying types of employee relations specialists are labour relations manager, employee relations manager, and senior human resources generalist.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Human Resources Recruiter	$47,549	$3,962	$22.86	73,383
Human Resources Analyst	$69,001	$5,750	$33.17	90,211
Human Resources Supervisor	$64,757	$5,396	$31.13	46,523
Human Resources Generalist	$56,159	$4,680	$27.00	44,365
Labour Relations Manager	$86,150	$7,179	$41.42	31,787
Labour Relations Representative	$67,214	$5,601	$32.31	32,650

How would you rate the starting salaries for employee relations specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Sarah DeArmond Ph.D.

Management and Human Resources Department Chair, Professor of Human Resource Management, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

Before the pandemic, starting salary prospects were quite positive in human resource management. I expect to see salaries down a bit. Generally, companies have a slight edge now in salary negotiations, as there is more available talent than may have been the case before the pandemic. However, there have not been as significant of job losses in human resource management as has been the case in some other fields (e.g., hospitality management).

Top companies hiring employee relations specialists now:

Which companies pay employee relations specialists the most?

Employee relations specialist salaries at Adobe and Asana are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average employee relations specialist salary at companies like Intuitive Surgical and Bloomberg are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Adobe	$108,081	$51.96
2	Asana	$100,667	$48.40
3	Intuitive Surgical	$96,398	$46.35
4	Bloomberg	$96,117	$46.21
5	KLA	$95,001	$45.67
6	Snowflake Computing	$94,754	$45.55
7	Stripe	$92,626	$44.53
8	Amazon	$90,045	$43.29
9	ResMed	$88,095	$42.35
10	Argonne National Laboratory	$84,826	$40.78
11	Zoox	$84,632	$40.69
12	Activision Blizzard	$80,661	$38.78
13	Huntington National Bank	$80,035	$38.48
14	2k	$79,887	$38.41
15	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$79,806	$38.37
16	BNP Paribas	$78,328	$37.66
17	DuPont	$76,036	$36.56
18	Health First	$75,409	$36.25
19	Palantir	$75,057	$36.09
20	Neiman Marcus Group	$74,499	$35.82

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$60,000$59,000$58,000$57,000$56,000$55,000

MaleFemale

Employee Relations Specialist salary by industry

The average employee relations specialist salary varies across industries:

The average employee relations specialist salary in the finance industry is $62,671, the highest of any industry.
The average employee relations specialist salary in the finance industry is $62,096.
Employee relations specialists in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $51,817, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for employee relations specialists

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Finance	$62,671	$30.13
2	Manufacturing	$62,096	$29.85
3	Health Care	$61,494	$29.56
4	Transportation	$57,513	$27.65
5	Retail	$57,242	$27.52
6	Government	$56,880	$27.35
7	Hospitality	$51,817	$24.91

High paying employee relations specialist jobs

Employee relations specialist salary trends

The average employee relations specialist salary has risen by $14,893 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average employee relations specialist earned $41,681 annually, but today, they earn $56,574 a year. That works out to a 18% change in pay for employee relations specialists over the last decade.

Compare employee relations specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average employee relations specialist salary over time

Compare employee relations specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Employee relations specialist salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$56,600	$27.20	+5.8%
2024	$53,300	$25.63	+1.8%
2023	$52,400	$25.17	+6.8%
2022	$48,800	$23.47	+1.4%
2021	$48,100	$23.14	+5.6%

Recently added employee relations specialist salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Golden 1 Talent Acquisition Team	HR-Employee Relations-Senior ADA and Leave Management Specialist	Sacramento, CA	06/29/2025	$92,300
Rice University	Employee Relations Specialist	Houston, TX	06/29/2025	$68,000
Evoke Consulting	Management Employee Relations Specialist-Mid Level \| Insider Threat Management and Analysis [Ditma	Quantico, VA	06/29/2025	$60,000
Department of Homeland Security	International Relations Specialist	Washington, DC	06/28/2025	$84,601
Snow College	HR Employee Relations Specialist	Richfield, UT	06/28/2025	$33,704
State of Virginia	Employee Relations Senior Specialist	Mechanicsville, VA	06/28/2025	$79,900
LHH	Employee Relations Specialist	Portland, OR	06/27/2025	$80,000
Cubic Corporation	Senior Employee Relations Specialist	Pine, AZ	06/26/2025	$110,000
Unitedhealth Group	Employee Relations Analyst-Remote In PST or MST	Phoenix, AZ	06/26/2025	$59,500
City of Franklin, Tn	Employee Relations Specialist-Human Resources	Franklin, TN	06/26/2025	$78,152

Employee relations specialist salary FAQs

What state pays Employee Relations Specialists the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an employee relations specialist?

How much do you make as an employee relations manager?

What is the average salary of a specialist?

Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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