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Salary Methodology

Salary guides are only helpful if you can actually use them. A single number with no context does not reflect the reality of HR compensation, where pay changes based on location, level, scope, industry, and company size.

At HR University, we use a consistent methodology to research salary ranges and explain what is driving them, so you can use our guides for negotiation, hiring, and career planning.

What’s Included On This Page:

What Makes HRU Qualified

HRU is built for HR professionals and people leaders who need practical guidance. That includes career content you can apply in the real world, like compensation research for HR titles that vary widely across companies.

When we publish a salary guide, we focus on clarity and usefulness:

  • What the role typically includes at different levels
  • What factors are most likely to move pay up or down
  • How to interpret ranges when titles and responsibilities do not line up cleanly

Why HRU Reviews Are Useful, Honest & Trustworthy

We bring you unbiased evaluation and information with editorial independence.

Furthermore, we are not trying to publish a headline number. We are publishing a range you can use.

That means:

  • No single-source ranges. Salary data can be skewed by small samples, self-reporting, and title mismatches.
  • Clear assumptions. If a role’s pay is being pushed by location, scope, industry, or seniority, we call that out.
  • Practical takeaways. Our salary guides are written to support real decisions, like offer negotiation, hiring plans, and career moves.

How We Research Salaries

We combine multiple categories of sources to triangulate a realistic range. The exact mix depends on the role, the availability of data, and how standardized the title is across the market.

Public And Research-Backed Wage Data

Useful for baseline reality and broad pay distribution, especially when titles map cleanly to occupational categories.

Job Boards And Employer-Reported Data

Useful for market movement and current hiring signals. Titles can be inconsistent, so we cross-check.

Compensation Aggregators

Useful for triangulation and directional trends. We treat these as one signal, not the final answer.

Real Job Postings With Pay Bands

When postings include pay ranges, they can be one of the best current signals. We also note when ranges are unusually wide and may not reflect typical offers.

How We Build And Normalize Salary Ranges

The biggest challenge in salary research is that titles are not standardized. The same job title can mean a different scope at different companies.

So we normalize ranges around the factors that most often change pay.

Role Scope

We consider whether the role is focused on execution, ownership, leadership, or strategy, and whether responsibilities include:

  • HR operations and systems ownership
  • Program management and cross-functional leadership
  • Change management, enablement, and adoption
  • Policy design, compliance, and governance
  • Analytics, reporting, and decision support

Level And Expectations

We look beyond titles and focus on responsibility signals like autonomy, complexity, stakeholder influence, and people leadership.

Location And Remote Compensation Strategy

Pay often shifts based on geography and company policy, even for remote roles. When location is likely driving the range, we note it.

Industry And Company Size

Regulated industries, high-growth companies, and large enterprises often pay differently for the same outcomes. When that pattern is clear, we explain it.

Salary Evaluation Criteria Explained

To keep salary guides consistent, we evaluate each role using core criteria.

Base Pay Versus Total Compensation

Where the data allows, we distinguish between base salary and total compensation signals like bonuses, incentives, and other variable components.

Title Clarity And Role Overlap

Many HR roles overlap across adjacent functions. We flag when titles commonly blur, for example, HR Manager vs HR Business Partner, or HR Operations vs HRIS-focused roles.

Data Quality And Range Distortions

We watch for common distortions like:

  • Overly broad pay bands in job postings
  • Samples concentrated in one location or industry
  • Small self-reported datasets
  • Mismatched role definitions across sources

Ethics And Transparency

Our salary guides are here to help you make better decisions.

Some HRU pages may include affiliate links. If a link earns a commission, it supports our editorial work. It does not control how ranges are determined or what we publish.

How To Use Salary Guides

Negotiating An Offer

Use the range to ask better questions:

  • What level is this role internally
  • What scope is included beyond the job title
  • What parts of compensation are flexible based on experience and impact

Planning A Career Move

Salary guides help you compare adjacent roles and understand how scope changes compensation.

Hiring And Pay Benchmarking

Use the ranges as a starting point, then adjust for location, level, and role scope.

Explore HRU Salary Guides

Here are the salary guides covered by this methodology:

If you want us to add a new role or update an existing salary range, the most helpful details are the role scope, location, industry, and any pay bands you are seeing in current postings.