Employers advertised slightly higher pay for the same jobs this summer, even though the raw national median fell. Across 828,050 deduplicated, pay-bearing US job postings from 85,442 employers (May 27 through August 24, 2026), the median advertised base pay was $74,340, down 4.1% from the prior 90 days. But when the comparison is restricted to the same job titles present in both windows, advertised pay rose 0.5%. The drop in the raw median is a mix effect, not a pay cut: a larger share of summer postings were hourly and lower-paid roles.
This is the first monthly release from SalaryCube Data Lab. It is written for HR and compensation professionals who need to know what the hiring market is offering right now, not what last year's survey said. Every number below is advertised pay from US employer job postings, computed from the job-postings layer of SalaryCube's Bigfoot Live engine. It is what employers are offering, not what current employees are paid, and nothing here is a forecast.
Quick Answer
Advertised pay for matched job titles rose 0.5% in the 90 days ending August 24, 2026, while the raw national median fell 4.1% on a summer shift toward hourly roles. Remote's share of advertised jobs dropped from 33.7% to 28.8%, and remote postings advertise a 35.8% higher median than onsite. 71% of pay-transparent postings list a true range; 29% still list a single rate.
Who this is for
HR and compensation professionals who need to know what employers are offering in the hiring market right now, not what last year's survey said.
Why it matters
Raw medians move with the mix of jobs posted; the matched-title figure is the like-for-like signal to use when refreshing ranges, and the remote share tells you whether a flexibility-based retention case still holds.
Key fact
Across 828,050 deduplicated, pay-bearing US job postings from 85,442 employers, advertised pay for the same job titles rose 0.5% quarter over quarter (SalaryCube Data Lab, August 2026).
Key numbers at a glance
| Measure (90 days ending Aug 24, 2026) | Value | Change vs prior 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Median advertised base pay, US, all industries | $74,340 | -4.1% (composition effect) |
| Matched-title advertised pay change (408 titles) | +0.5% | the like-for-like figure |
| Postings advertising a true salary range | 71.1% | 28.9% still list a single rate |
| Median advertised range width | 24.4% of midpoint | first report baseline |
| Postings quoting an hourly or periodic rate | 49.5% | first report baseline |
| Remote share of advertised jobs (where stated) | 28.8% | down from 33.7% |
| Remote vs onsite advertised pay premium | +35.8% | up from 33.2% |
| New pay-bearing postings added, last 30 days | 133,893 | 11.2% of the 12-month corpus |
Sample: 828,050 deduplicated pay-bearing US job postings from 85,442 employers.
What happened to advertised pay in the last 90 days?
The median advertised base pay across all US industries was $74,340 (25th percentile $46,332, 75th percentile $121,027). The prior 90-day window had a median of $77,500, so the raw median fell 4.1%.
The matched-title comparison tells the more useful story. Across 408 job titles with enough postings in both windows to compare fairly, advertised pay rose 0.5%. When a raw median and a matched-title median disagree, the difference is composition: which jobs happened to be posted, not what any given job pays. This summer's mix tilted toward hourly and lower-paid roles, which pulled the raw median down while like-for-like pay held steady with a slight rise.
For comp teams, the practical read is that market movement for a given role is roughly flat to slightly positive. Teams refreshing ranges this quarter are unlikely to see broad-based increases in the market data, but they should not read headlines about falling medians as evidence that pay is being cut. For a walkthrough of how percentile-based benchmarks work, see our explainer on what the 75th percentile means in salary.
How many employers post a real salary range?
71.1% of pay-transparent postings advertise a true range; 28.9% list a single rate. Among postings with a range, the median range spans 24.4% of its midpoint.
Seniority changes the picture. Executive postings advertise a range 84.0% of the time and Director postings 81.0%, while individual-contributor postings do so only 68.9%. Range width is fairly consistent by level: 22.3% of midpoint for Director roles, 24.4% for individual contributors, 25.6% for Manager roles, and 25.8% for Executive roles.
For employers in pay-transparency states, this is the compliance benchmark to know: roughly 3 in 10 pay-transparent postings nationally still advertise a single number, and a range near a quarter of its midpoint is the market norm. Teams building ranges from scratch can see how defensible ranges are constructed in Range Builder.
How much of US hiring is hourly?
49.5% of pay-bearing US postings quoted an hourly or other periodic rate rather than an annual salary. This is one of the clearest reasons all-industries data behaves differently from tech-only datasets, where hourly pay barely exists.
The state spread is wide. Maine (65.7%), Wisconsin (64.9%), Vermont (63.7%), North Dakota (63.1%), and Ohio (61.2%) advertise hourly most often. Washington DC is the outlier at the other end at 29.8%, followed by Wyoming (40.2%), South Dakota (40.3%), New York (40.3%), and Delaware (41.1%).
Where does the same job pay most and least?
Three deliberately non-technical roles show how much geography moves advertised pay. National medians in the current window: HR Generalist $72,500 (1,522 postings), Staff Accountant $70,000 (1,124 postings), Maintenance Technician $54,569 (8,823 postings). Cells marked with an asterisk are directional (30 to 99 postings).
| Role | Highest-paying states (median) | Lowest-paying states (median) |
|---|---|---|
| Staff Accountant | NY $75,000* · CA $74,440 · CO $74,000* | TX $65,000* · PA $65,000* · FL $65,000* |
| HR Generalist | CA $79,700 · NY $77,500 | TN $65,780* · OH $62,500* |
| Maintenance Technician | KY $63,485 · SC $62,400 · IL $60,465 | FL $47,840 · OK $47,840* · ID $45,760* |
A Staff Accountant posting in New York advertises about 15% more than the same title in Texas or Florida. A Maintenance Technician posting in Kentucky advertises nearly 39% more than one in Idaho. Teams pricing roles across locations can benchmark any of the roles above against live data in Bigfoot Live.
Do remote jobs still pay more, and is remote hiring shrinking?
Both, and the second part is the bigger story this quarter. Among postings that state a work arrangement (about 4 in 10 do), remote roles advertise a median of $100,000 against $73,658 for onsite roles, a 35.8% premium. Hybrid roles top both at $105,000. The premium partly reflects which kinds of jobs go remote: office and knowledge roles rather than the hourly positions that anchor onsite medians.
Remote's share of advertised jobs fell from 33.7% to 28.8% quarter over quarter, a drop of nearly 5 points. If your retention case for remote or hybrid flexibility rests on "everyone else is offering it," that claim is weakening in the posting data.
How fresh is this data?
Bigfoot Live added 133,893 new pay-bearing postings in the 30 days ending August 24, 2026, and 11.2% of the trailing 12-month corpus (3,156,235 postings) arrived in the last 30 days. Of the 2,965 job titles tracked continuously, 90.4% received at least one new posting in the last 30 days. Annual salary surveys refresh once a year; this dataset turns over its most recent tenth every month.
Which sectors are moving?
On a matched-title basis across 17 sectors with enough volume to compare, the biggest risers were Aerospace & Defense (+6.0%), Consumer & Personal Services (+3.1%), and Technology & Software (+1.4%). The decliners were Automotive & Mobility (-1.9%), Real Estate & Property (-1.7%), and Nonprofit & Social Services (-1.6%). Most sectors sat within a point of flat, consistent with the matched-title national figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average advertised salary in the US in 2026?
The median advertised base pay across all US industries was $74,340 in the 90 days ending August 24, 2026, based on 828,050 pay-bearing employer job postings. The 25th percentile was $46,332 and the 75th percentile was $121,027. This is advertised pay in job postings, not average earnings of current employees.
Are salaries going up or down in 2026?
On a like-for-like basis, advertised pay rose 0.5% quarter over quarter across 408 matched job titles. The raw national median fell 4.1% in the same period, but that drop reflects a shift in which jobs were posted (more hourly, lower-paid roles), not pay cuts for existing roles.
What percentage of job postings include a salary range?
71.1% of pay-transparent US postings advertise a true range; 28.9% list a single rate. Senior roles get ranges more often: 84.0% of Executive postings and 81.0% of Director postings include a range, versus 68.9% of individual-contributor postings. The median advertised range spans 24.4% of its midpoint.
Do remote jobs pay more than onsite jobs in 2026?
Yes, in advertised terms. Among postings that state a work arrangement, remote roles advertise a median of $100,000 versus $73,658 for onsite roles, a 35.8% premium, and hybrid roles top both at $105,000. The premium partly reflects which kinds of jobs go remote. Remote's share of advertised jobs fell from 33.7% to 28.8% quarter over quarter.
Where does SalaryCube's salary data come from?
Bigfoot Live draws on multilayered US sources, including live job postings, public filings, and direct client participation, updated daily. The statistics in this report are computed specifically from the job-postings layer: 3.5 million+ pay-bearing US postings collected to date, with 133,893 added in the last 30 days. Full details are on the data methodology page.
How to cite this report
Cite as: SalaryCube Data Lab, "US Advertised Pay Report, August 2026," salarycube.com/data-lab. Figures may be republished with attribution and a link. All releases, the latest numbers, and citation guidance live on the Data Lab hub. Journalists and researchers who want cuts not shown here can reach us via the contact page.
Where do these numbers come from?
All figures are advertised pay from US employer job postings, computed from the job-postings layer of SalaryCube's Bigfoot Live engine for the 90 days ending August 24, 2026, compared with the prior 90 days. Postings with the same title, employer, location, and pay figures are counted once. Hourly and other periodic rates are annualized at 2,080 hours. Where a posting lists a range, its midpoint is used. An outlier fence removes mis-parsed figures. No statistic is published from fewer than 30 postings and 5 employers, and no single employer contributes more than half of any published cell; state and title cells built on 30 to 99 postings are labeled directional. Sector figures use employer-level sector classification. Full details, including what feeds Bigfoot Live and what these numbers can and cannot tell you, are on our data methodology page.
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