What is LinkedIn Salary?
LinkedIn Salary is an insights tool available on LinkedIn that shows the estimated market rate for salaries based on role, location, experience level, company size, industry, and other compensable factors. It aims to provide more transparency around pay rates to help professionals evaluate job opportunities and negotiate salaries more effectively.
LinkedIn gathers salary data from its over 800 million members as well as from salary submissions and compensations sharing initiatives. It then aggregates and analyses this data to come up with estimated salary ranges for specific job titles in certain cities, states, countries and regions.
Here are some key things to know about LinkedIn Salary:
- Shows salary ranges, not exact or average salaries
- Personalized for your location, experience level and other factors
- Free to access with a LinkedIn account
- Available for a wide range of job titles and locations
- Data is anonymized and aggregated
Overall, Salary provides a useful benchmark to evaluate compensation packages, prepare for salary negotiations, and understand pay parity. However, it does not account for every variable, so should be considered as just a general guideline.
Who has access to Salary on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn Salary is available to all LinkedIn members globally, as long as your account and job title meet the following criteria:
- You must be logged into your LinkedIn account
- Your LinkedIn profile must be set to public
- You must have a current position listed on your profile
- This job title must be one that LinkedIn has salary data for
- The location listed on your profile must also have available data
- You must have 5+ years of experience listed for your position
If any of these requirements are not met, you may not be able to access salary insights on LinkedIn. You can check if insights are available by navigating to Salary on LinkedIn and entering your current job title and location.
How to find salary insights on LinkedIn
Here are simple step-by-step instructions for how to find salary insights for your specific job title on LinkedIn:
- Log into your LinkedIn account on desktop or mobile
- Go to your homepage and scroll down to the Salary module, or search for “Salary” and click on the Salary page
- Enter your current job title in the “Get your personalized estimate” section
- Select your location from the dropdown menu
- If available, your salary range personalized for your title, location and experience will populate
- Scroll down to see salary ranges for that title adjusted for other locations
- Click “See More Salaries” to browse ranges for other jobs
If salary insights are available for your title, you will see a salary range personalized based on the location and years of experience listed on your LinkedIn profile. You can also enter customized inputs for location, title and experience level to view different salary ranges.
What salary information is provided?
For job titles with available data, LinkedIn Salary provides the following insights:
- Your personalized salary range: Based on location and experience on your profile
- Salary ranges by location: Ranges for that title in other metro areas and regions
- Salary ranges by years of experience: Range adjustments for entry-level, mid-career and experienced professionals
- Salary trends over time: How the salary range has shifted over the past year
- Top locations hiring for that role: Cities with the most job openings for that title
- Related job titles: Other positions with similar compensation ranges
The salary data aims to provide a comprehensive overview of pay rate impacts and benchmarks to inform your career and negotiations.
What locations and currencies are covered?
LinkedIn Salary provides data for job titles across more than 115 countries. Coverage is focused on countries and cities with the largest LinkedIn membership bases. Locations currently supported include:
- United States (in USD)
- Canada (in CAD)
- United Kingdom (in GBP)
- France (in EUR)
- Germany (in EUR)
- Italy (in EUR)
- Spain (in EUR)
- Netherlands (in EUR)
- Australia (in AUD)
- India (in INR)
- Singapore (in SGD)
- Brazil (in BRL)
Support for additional regions and currencies may be added in the future based on growing international membership and salary data availability.
What job titles can I get salary insights for?
Salary ranges are available for a wide variety of job titles, with over 15,000 covered as of 2022. However, insights are not available for all jobs. Access depends on having enough salary data submissions for that specific role and location.
Some of the most popular job titles supported include:
- Software Engineer
- Project Manager
- Human Resources Manager
- Financial Analyst
- Marketing Manager
- Customer Service Representative
- Product Manager
- Data Scientist
- Registered Nurse
Titles most likely to have insights are those common across many companies and industries. Roles that are very senior, niche or unique may not have enough data.
How accurate and up-to-date is the data?
LinkedIn states that Salary results are based on data submitted within the past 12 months. However, accuracy can vary due to a number of factors:
- Self-reported data: Ranges rely on voluntary submission of salaries by members, which may impact sample sizes
- Anonymized data: Exact compensation numbers and sources are not shown
- Not customized: Does not account for every individual factor like education, certifications
- Varying sample size: Data quality depends on sample size volume for that title and location
Results should be considered as general estimates rather than precise figures in all cases. Insights based on larger sample sizes likely carry more weight.
Limitations and considerations
While helpful, there are some limitations to keep in mind when using LinkedIn Salary:
- Insights not available for all jobs or regions
- Self-reported data varies in accuracy and recency
- No insight on actual offers or salaries companies pay
- May not fully reflect your exact situation and qualifications
- Employers ultimately determine individual offers
- Does not replace research on fair compensation for your role
LinkedIn Salary offers estimated ranges, not definitive benchmarks. You still need to do your own research on typical pay for your role at specific companies to get a complete picture.
Use cases for LinkedIn Salary
When used with the understanding of the limitations, LinkedIn Salary can still provide valuable insights for:
- Job searching: Gauge if a salary offer is aligned to typical range for that role and location
- Negotiating: Benchmark pay to help negotiate your salary for a new job or promotion
- Switching roles: Compare pay ranges to consider switching into a new career path
- Researching markets: Identify locations and titles with the highest current compensation
- Understanding trends: See how much salary ranges have grown and where they are heading
Even though it does not provide exact figures, the directional data can inform your career strategy and negotiations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about LinkedIn Salary:
Is Salary information definitely accurate?
No, Salary insights should be considered estimates. Ranges are based on aggregated, self-reported data that may vary in accuracy and recency. Actual salary offers may differ.
How is experience level defined and factored in?
Entry-level is defined as 0-2 years of experience, mid-level is 3-5 years, experienced professional is 6-8 years, and expert is 9+ years. The salary range shown adjusts based on these levels.
Can I customize the inputs for title, location and experience?
Yes, you can manually enter and select different options beyond your own profile details to browse salary ranges for other scenarios.
Is Salary data available for all locations globally?
No, Salary is only available for countries and cities that have sufficient data. Support is focused on regions with the largest LinkedIn membership to allow for robust data.
Do the ranges reflect total compensation or just base salary?
LinkedIn Salary provides base salary ranges only, not full compensation. It does not include bonuses, equity, benefits and other additional pay.
Can I see the specific salary data submitted for a title and location?
No, the underlying salary data is anonymized so you cannot see the specific compensation numbers submitted or who submitted them.
Table of Popular Job Titles and Sample Salary Ranges
| Job Title | Location | Salary Range |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | San Francisco, CA | $115K – $185K |
| Project Manager | New York, NY | $90K – $140K |
| Data Scientist | Seattle, WA | $105K – $175K |
| Marketing Manager | Chicago, IL | $80K – $125K |
| Human Resources Manager | Atlanta, GA | $70K – $115K |
This table provides sample salary ranges for a few common job titles in major US cities. Ranges are estimates only, but help provide context on compensation benchmarks.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Salary offers a useful, albeit imperfect snapshot of potential salary ranges based on your specific job title, location and experience level. While the crowdsourced data has limitations in recency and precision, it can still provide directional insights to inform your career moves and salary negotiations.
Remember to treat any salaries shown as benchmarks rather than definitive numbers. Combine Salary insights with further research on typical pay at specific companies in your industry to get the best sense of your earning potential.
