2024

What is the Average HR Analyst Salary?

The HR analyst role is a technical yet essential role for the human resources department. It involves choosing and using the appropriate technological tools for HR functions. Therefore, the role requires a strong HR background and solid computer science skills. According to popular salary reporting platforms Glassdoor, the HR analyst salary lies between the $42,000 and $137,000 range.

The salary for HR analysts depends on their technical skillset and years of experience within the field. However, many external factors affect the role’s compensation across different industries. Therefore, you should know what the numbers look like to plan and prepare better.

This article takes you through the average HR analyst salary statistics and gives a better picture by discussing an area-wise breakdown of compensation figures.

Average HR Analyst Salary

In the United States, the average HR analyst salary varies from region to region. Like all other positions, the average base salary depends on the cost of living, company size, industry, and other similar factors. Furthermore, the total years of experience also impacts how much an HR analyst gets paid.

According to different salary reporting websites, here are some salary estimations and figures for the HR analyst role.

Glassdoor

According to Glassdoor, the average full-time HR analyst earns a total pay of $74,578 per year. This pay has a breakdown of $58,998 as the base pay and $15,581 as additional pay.

Furthermore, the overall salary range starts from $42,000 and goes up to $136,000.

An important thing to remember here is that the above figures are just the national average computed using reports obtained from different cities, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, to name a few.

ZipRecruiter

According to the platform, the national average salary for HR analysts is $63,552 per year. It also mentions that the compensation can go to a high of $99,500 and a low of $33,500.

PayScale

As per the reports from PayScale, the median HR analyst salary goes up to $79,000 in the United States. In addition, it mentions an average base salary of $60,442, bonuses of up to $8,000, and profit-sharing of up to $7,000.

Career Outlook for an HR Analyst

An HR analyst’s salary depends on the skill set of individuals, their experience, and their industry. Therefore, they can climb the ladder and gain better compensation by occupying more senior roles. However, such positions come with an increase in responsibilities.

After gaining more expertise and skill, an HR analyst can become a senior HR analyst. Then, with additional years of experience, they become significantly well-versed in human resources functions and can transition to a senior manager of HR role. Finally, as they handle more serious duties with higher stakes, they can get promoted to senior lead HR analysts and then to the director of HR role.

If you’re interested in learning more about the human resources field and gaining crucial knowledge necessary for well-paying roles, you should look into the HR certification courses at HR University.

The average salaries for more senior positions on the HR generalist career path (as per Glassdoor and reported in March 2022) are given below:

Senior HR Analyst

This role handles bigger and more technical responsibilities than an average HR analyst. Therefore, they have a higher average annual compensation of $74,578. As per Glassdoor, there are more than three thousand opportunities for a senior HR analyst in the US.

Senior Manager of HR

While they may sound similar, this role differs from the senior HR manager role. The senior manager of HR is a senior position within the department, but they focus on an aspect such as data handling and analytics. Therefore, they receive an average annual salary of $120,899. According to Glassdoor, there are many vacancies for this role (almost 25 thousand) in the US.

Senior Lead HR Analyst

This role involves overseeing a team of HR analysts in their daily tasks while guiding and training new recruitments. Additionally, they make important decisions about the HR department’s technological tools.

A senior lead HR analyst can receive an annual salary of up to $133,328.

The HR analyst role requires crucial analytical skills. However, it also asks for significant knowledge of human resources to apply those skills. Therefore, you should look into the top-notch HR certifications at HR University to gain critical HR knowledge and become a competent HR analyst.

Human Resources Certifications

Top Paying Cities for HR Analysts

According to ZipRecruiter, these cities offer the most attractive opportunities for HR analysts.

U.S. West Coast

Average annual salaries for HR business partners are as follows:

  • Santa Cruz: $75,168
  • Santa Rosa: $73,473

U.S. Midwest/Rocky Mountains

Average annual salaries for HR business partners are as follows:

  • Chicago: $60,979

U.S. East Coast

Average annual salaries for HR business partners are as follows:

  • Manhattan: $71,804
  • Airlington: $70,515

Education Level for HR Analyst Role

The HR analyst role requires more than solid human resources skills. The individual also needs to have competent computer science and analytical abilities. Therefore, an HR analyst needs the right set of qualifications to land a well-paying role.

You should at least have a Bachelor’s in computer science, HR administration, or business administration to achieve an HR analyst position. Additionally, an MBA can land you a senior HR analyst role directly.

Since the HR analyst requires considerable analytical and problem-solving skills, one can pursue certifications to prove their skill set. Some top options are given below:

  • HR University: It offers a top-notch HR management certification that prepares you for any human resources role.
  • eCornell: They offer many human resources certifications, including a dedicated HR analytics program.
  • SHRM: It offers a ‘People Analytics Speciality’ that prepares an HR professional for all duties of an HR analyst.  

To learn more about the educational requirements for the role, watch below or skip ahead.

HR Analyst Salary Across Top Companies

As per Glassdoor, here is what the annual average HR analyst salary looks like in some of the top firms across different industries.

  • Comcast: $79,945
  • Walmart: $69,415
  • Verizon: $75,427
  • PepsiCo: $73,000 
  • Cisco Systems: $43,217

Conclusion

The right analytical skills combined with sharp business acumen and solid human resources knowledge can help you pave a path for a successful HR analyst career. You can then advance to a more senior role and receive handsome compensation for your experience and expertise. However, the final pay depends on many external factors.


If you are new to Human Resources and are looking to break into an HR analyst role, we recommend taking our HR Certification Courses, where you will learn how to build your skillset in human resources, build your human resources network, craft an excellent HR resume, and create a successful job search strategy.

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Josh Fechter
Josh Fechter is the founder of HR.University. He's a certified HR professional and has managed global teams across 5 different continents including their benefits and payroll. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.