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Human Resource Specialist salary

Quoted Experts
Sarah DeArmond Ph.D.,
Dr. Stephanie Mitchell

Average human resource specialist salary

$53,143

$25.55 hourly rate

Entry-level human resource specialist salary
$36,000 yearly salary
Updated June 25, 2024

How much does a human resource specialist make?

The average human resource specialist salary in the United States is $53,143. Human resource specialist salaries typically range between $36,000 and $77,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for human resource specialists is $25.55 per hour.

Human resource specialist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Human resource specialists earn the highest average salary in New Jersey.

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Human resource specialist salary by: 

Where can a Human Resource Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
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114k
94k
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Ashburn, VA$84,544
Urban Honolulu, HI$43,983
Compare salary by company
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Meta$116,569
Visa$90,857

Human Resource Specialist

A human resource specialist with 0-2 years of experience earns an average entry-level salary of $31,445. A mid-career human resource specialist with 3-6 years of experience makes $53,143 a year on average. A senior level human resource specialist with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $89,413.

According to Roger Adkins Ph.D. (DSO, ARO), Executive Director | Global Education at Earlham College, "Negotiate salary offers to set a higher earning potential for future career growth. Consider indirect compensation options for negotiation, such as educational benefits, remote work flexibility, and professional development funding." Furthermore, Dr. Stephanie Mitchell, Professor of History at Carthage College, advises, "A better question to ask yourself is: How much money do I need to give a life with dignity to myself and the people I love who will depend on my salary? Then, how can I earn that much money? A quick look at different fields will give you a sense of average salaries in different parts of our economy, and that kind of information should be a variable to incorporate as you pursue your vocational exploration and discernment."

Average human resource specialist salary by state

The highest-paying states for human resource specialists are New Jersey, Washington, and New York. The lowest average human resource specialist salary states are Montana, Florida, and Tennessee.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for human resource specialists

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1District of Columbia$84,465$40.61
2Delaware$62,490$30.04
3Alaska$60,073$28.88
4Washington$66,202$31.83
5New York$62,852$30.22
6Virginia$62,795$30.19
7Rhode Island$61,827$29.72
8Wyoming$51,512$24.77
9Pennsylvania$58,792$28.27
10Maryland$62,849$30.22
11Connecticut$62,447$30.02
12Massachusetts$59,320$28.52
13Vermont$52,352$25.17
14New Jersey$68,216$32.80
15Oregon$53,657$25.80
16Michigan$53,277$25.61
17California$58,827$28.28
18North Carolina$49,363$23.73
19Illinois$51,815$24.91
20North Dakota$51,218$24.62
21Ohio$50,713$24.38
22West Virginia$47,934$23.05
23Maine$46,911$22.55
24New Hampshire$46,915$22.56
25Texas$49,582$23.84
26Minnesota$49,855$23.97
27Colorado$51,656$24.83
28Nevada$45,566$21.91
29Kansas$46,963$22.58
30Indiana$48,178$23.16
31Idaho$47,271$22.73
32Arizona$44,566$21.43
33Hawaii$43,975$21.14
34New Mexico$48,208$23.18
35Wisconsin$45,737$21.99
36Iowa$43,637$20.98
37Georgia$45,707$21.97
38South Dakota$42,287$20.33
39Nebraska$42,202$20.29
40Louisiana$45,705$21.97
41Montana$41,838$20.11
42Kentucky$44,547$21.42
43Utah$44,210$21.25
44South Carolina$43,397$20.86
45Florida$41,767$20.08
46Missouri$43,548$20.94
47Alabama$42,930$20.64
48Tennessee$41,272$19.84
49Oklahoma$39,209$18.85
50Arkansas$36,692$17.64
51Mississippi$39,172$18.83

Highest paying cities for human resource specialists

The highest-paying cities for human resource specialists are Washington, DC, Edison, NJ, and Seattle, WA.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Washington, DC$84,544$40.65
2Edison, NJ$68,299$32.84
3Seattle, WA$66,862$32.15
4Arlington, VA$65,316$31.40
5San Francisco, CA$64,796$31.15
6Baltimore, MD$63,209$30.39
7New York, NY$63,137$30.35
8Philadelphia, PA$59,238$28.48
9Boston, MA$59,132$28.43
10Chicago, IL$52,078$25.04
11Denver, CO$51,697$24.85
12Columbus, OH$50,081$24.08
13Saint Paul, MN$49,927$24.00
14Fort Worth, TX$49,798$23.94
15Charlotte, NC$48,332$23.24
16Indianapolis, IN$47,960$23.06
17Alpharetta, GA$45,940$22.09
18Las Vegas, NV$44,952$21.61
19Phoenix, AZ$44,658$21.47
20Urban Honolulu, HI$43,983$21.15

Human Resource Specialists are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Washington, DC
  2. Edison, NJ
  3. Seattle, WA
  4. Arlington, VA
  5. San Francisco, CA

Human Resource Specialist salary details

A human resource specialist's salary ranges from $36,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $77,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Human Resource Specialist Salary Graph
Average Human Resource Specialist Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a human resource specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$77,000$6,417$37
75th Percentile$64,000$5,333$31
Average$53,143$4,429$26
25th Percentile$43,000$3,583$21
10th Percentile$36,000$3,000$17

Highest paying human resource specialist jobs

The highest paying types of human resource specialists are senior human resources generalist, human resources analyst, and human resources supervisor.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Employment Coordinator$40,810$3,401$19.6236,231
Recruiting Coordinator$45,459$3,788$21.8656,602
Staffing Recruiter$44,207$3,684$21.2533,547
Human Resources Coordinator$44,074$3,673$21.1953,322
Human Resources Clerk$35,149$2,929$16.90107,374
Human Resources Technician$40,933$3,411$19.6839,846

How would you rate the starting salaries for Human Resource 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 human resource specialists now:

  1. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jobs (94)
  2. Amazon Jobs (129)
  3. Citi Jobs (122)
  4. Ernst & Young Jobs (79)
  5. Fluor Corporation Jobs (118)

Which companies pay human resource specialists the most?

Human resource specialist salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average human resource specialist salary at companies like Microsoft and NVIDIA are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Meta$116,569$56.04
2Google$116,102$55.82
3Microsoft$109,458$52.62
4NVIDIA$103,595$49.81
5Abiomed$98,507$47.36
6Jacob Realty Boston$97,796$47.02
7Southern California Edison$97,293$46.78
8Adobe$96,600$46.44
9MongoDB$96,346$46.32
10Intuitive Surgical$95,792$46.05
11UBS$95,182$45.76
12Shenzhen Capital Group$94,360$45.37
13Deutsche Bank$93,151$44.78
14CF Industries$92,465$44.45
15Skillshare$92,281$44.37
16Novartis$92,115$44.29
17Bloomberg$91,635$44.06
18Banco Itaú$91,238$43.86
19GFI Group$91,222$43.86
20Visa$90,857$43.68

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$56,000$55,200$54,400$53,600$52,800$52,000
MaleFemale

Human Resource Specialist salary by industry

The average human resource specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average human resource specialist salary in the government industry is $67,295, the highest of any industry.
  • The average human resource specialist salary in the finance industry is $63,091.
  • Human resource specialists in the health care industry earn an average salary of $53,507, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for human resource specialists

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Government$67,295$32.35
2Technology$63,091$30.33
3Telecommunication$61,876$29.75
4Finance$57,236$27.52
5Manufacturing$55,597$26.73
6Professional$53,898$25.91
7Health Care$53,507$25.72

High Paying Human Resource Specialist Jobs

Human Resource Specialist salary trends

The average human resource specialist salary has risen by $7,035 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average human resource specialist earned $46,108 annually, but today, they earn $53,143 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for human resource specialists over the last decade.

Compare human resource specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average human resource specialist salary over time

Compare human resource specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Human Resource Specialist salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2024$53,100$25.55+2.5%
    2023$51,800$24.92+1.7%
    2022$51,000$24.50+0.9%
    2021$50,500$24.29+1.9%
    2020$49,500$23.81+1.4%

    Recently added human resource specialist salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Sparksoft CorporationHR SpecialistColumbia, MD10/03/2023$65,000
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgSan Jose, CA10/02/2023$120,000
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgWashington, DC10/01/2023$149,999
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgBethesda, MD10/01/2023$149,999
    Crossvale, Inc.Human Resources SpecialistSpring, TX10/01/2023$60,000
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgPhiladelphia, PA09/03/2023$86,001
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgRiverside, NJ09/03/2023$86,001
    Sparksoft CorporationHR SpecialistMaryland City, MD09/03/2023$65,000
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgHouston, TX09/02/2023$110,000
    Ernst & Young U.S. LLPHuman Resources Specialists-KbgfjgHouston, TX09/02/2023$110,000

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