Employers held advertised pay steady for the same jobs this quarter, even as the raw national median dropped sharply. Across 857,229 deduplicated, pay-bearing US job postings from 94,588 employers (July 3 through September 30, 2026), the median advertised base pay was $71,136, down 8.8% from $78,000 in the prior 90 days. But when the comparison is limited to the 406 job titles with enough postings in both windows, advertised pay was flat at 0.0%. The fall in the raw median is a mix effect: a larger share of summer and early-fall postings were hourly roles, which carry lower annualized pay.
This is the second monthly release from SalaryCube Data Lab, following the August 2026 report. 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.
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| Measure (90 days ending Sep 30, 2026) | Value | Change vs prior 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Median advertised base pay, US, all industries | $71,136 | -8.8% (composition effect) |
| Matched-title advertised pay change (406 titles) | 0.0% | the like-for-like figure |
| Postings advertising a true salary range | 72.1% | 27.9% still list a single rate |
| Median advertised range width | 24.0% of midpoint | 24.4% in the August report |
| Postings quoting an hourly or periodic rate | 51.5% | 49.5% in the August report |
| Remote share of advertised jobs (where stated) | 26.3% | down from 31.6% |
| Remote vs onsite advertised pay premium | +30.6% | down from 34.6% |
| New pay-bearing postings added, last 30 days | 410,104 | 12.1% of the 12-month corpus |
Sample: 857,229 deduplicated pay-bearing US job postings from 94,588 employers.
What happened to advertised pay in the last 90 days?
The median advertised base pay across all US industries was $71,136 (25th percentile $45,739, 75th percentile $117,978). The prior 90-day window, April 4 through July 2, had a median of $78,000, so the raw median fell 8.8%.
The matched-title comparison tells a different story. Across 406 job titles with enough postings in both windows to compare fairly (145,921 postings in the current window), the median change in advertised pay was 0.0%. Pay for a given job did not move. What moved was the mix of jobs being posted: hourly and periodic-rate roles made up 51.5% of pay-bearing postings this window, up from 49.5% in the August report, and those roles anchor the low end of the annualized pay distribution.
For comp teams, the practical read is the same as last quarter but firmer. Market movement for a given role is flat. Teams refreshing ranges for the fall cycle should not expect the market data to justify broad increases, and they should treat any headline about an 8.8% drop in advertised pay as a statement about which jobs are being posted, not about pay cuts. The quarterly SalaryCube US Advertised Pay Index for Q3 2026 tracks this like-for-like figure on its own. 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?
72.1% of pay-transparent postings advertise a true range; 27.9% list a single rate. That is a one-point gain in range share since the August report (71.1%). Among postings with a range, the median range spans 24.0% of its midpoint.
Seniority still changes the picture. Executive postings advertise a range 85.5% of the time, Director postings 81.5%, and Manager postings 81.2%, while individual-contributor postings do so only 69.9%. Range width is consistent by level: 22.2% of midpoint for Director roles, 24.0% for individual contributors, 25.0% for Manager roles, and 26.1% for Executive roles.
For employers in pay-transparency states, this is the compliance benchmark to know: just under 3 in 10 pay-transparent postings nationally still advertise a single number, and a range near a quarter of its midpoint remains 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?
51.5% of pay-bearing US postings quoted an hourly or other periodic rate rather than an annual salary, up two points from the August report. More than half of advertised US hiring is now hourly, which is the single biggest reason all-industries data behaves differently from tech-only datasets, where hourly pay barely exists.
The state spread remains wide. New Hampshire (66.8%), North Dakota (66.1%), Wisconsin (65.0%), Maine (64.9%), and Vermont (63.8%) advertise hourly most often. Washington DC is again the outlier at the other end at 31.4%, followed by New York (42.6%), Virginia (42.7%), Delaware (44.3%), and Maryland (45.9%).
Where does the same job pay most and least?
Three deliberately non-technical roles show how much geography moves advertised pay. National medians over the trailing 180 days: HR Generalist $72,500 (1,605 postings), Staff Accountant $70,000 (1,183 postings), Maintenance Technician $54,080 (9,560 postings). All three national figures are within $500 of the August report. Cells marked with an asterisk are directional (30 to 99 postings).
| Role | Highest-paying states (median) | Lowest-paying states (median) |
|---|---|---|
| Staff Accountant | CA $75,000 · CO $74,318* · NY $74,000* | FL $64,740* · PA $65,000* · GA $67,500* |
| HR Generalist | WA $79,020* · CA $77,652 · MA $75,500* | OH $62,816* · GA $65,000* · TN $65,000* |
| Maintenance Technician | KY $63,440 · SC $62,400 · NE $60,320* | ID $45,760* · FL $47,840 · AR $48,726* |
A Staff Accountant posting in California advertises about 16% more than the same title in Florida. An HR Generalist posting in Washington advertises about 26% more than one in Ohio. 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?
Yes on the first, and the second keeps getting clearer. Among postings that state a work arrangement (about 4 in 10 do), remote roles advertise a median of $100,000 against $76,575 for onsite roles, a 30.6% premium. Hybrid roles top both at $102,100. The premium narrowed from 34.6% in the prior window, and it narrowed from the onsite side: onsite medians rose from $74,298 to $76,575 while the remote median held at $100,000. The premium still 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 31.6% to 26.3% quarter over quarter, a drop of more than 5 points, and it is down from 28.8% in the August report. Roughly one in four advertised jobs that state an arrangement is now remote. If your retention case for remote or hybrid flexibility rests on "everyone else is offering it," that claim is weaker again this quarter.
How fresh is this data?
Bigfoot Live added 410,104 new pay-bearing postings in the 30 days ending September 30, 2026, and 12.1% of the trailing 12-month corpus (3,332,321 postings) is dated in the last 30 days. Of the 3,112 job titles tracked continuously, 89.7% received at least one new posting in the last 30 days. The all-time count of pay-bearing US postings passed 4 million this period (4,000,510 from 205,913 employers). Annual salary surveys refresh once a year; this dataset turns over more than a tenth of itself every month.
Which sectors are moving?
Very little, which is itself the finding. On a matched-title basis across 17 sectors with enough volume to compare (sector classification covers 99.9% of postings), 10 sectors came in exactly flat at 0.0%. The risers were Aerospace & Defense (+6.0%), Manufacturing & Industrial (+1.9%), Technology & Software (+1.8%), Nonprofit & Social Services (+0.9%), and Consumer & Personal Services (+0.8%). The only decliners were Retail & Consumer Goods (-0.3%) and Transportation & Logistics (-0.2%). Aerospace & Defense was also the top riser in the August report.
Sector medians tell the same composition story as the national figure. Healthcare & Life Sciences, the largest sector by postings, saw its raw median fall from $70,200 to $63,000 while its matched-title change was 0.0%: more lower-paid roles were posted, not lower pay for the same roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average advertised salary in the US in 2026?
The median advertised base pay across all US industries was $71,136 in the 90 days ending September 30, 2026, based on 857,229 pay-bearing employer job postings. The 25th percentile was $45,739 and the 75th percentile was $117,978. 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 was flat (0.0%) quarter over quarter across 406 matched job titles. The raw national median fell 8.8% 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. In the August report the matched-title figure was +0.5%, so the trend over two releases is flat to slightly positive.
What percentage of job postings include a salary range?
72.1% of pay-transparent US postings advertise a true range; 27.9% list a single rate. Senior roles get ranges more often: 85.5% of Executive postings and 81.5% of Director postings include a range, versus 69.9% of individual-contributor postings. The median advertised range spans 24.0% 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 $76,575 for onsite roles, a 30.6% premium, and hybrid roles top both at $102,100. The premium partly reflects which kinds of jobs go remote. Remote's share of advertised jobs fell from 31.6% to 26.3% 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: 4 million+ pay-bearing US postings collected to date, with 410,104 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, October 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 September 30, 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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