Salary survey

A salary survey is a questionnaire or survey asking participating firms what salaries they pay their employees for various jobs. The information is combined with responses of other employers in a way that protects confidentiality of the participating organizations, while providing a report of average pay rates provided for the various jobs identified in the survey.

Some surveys also query respondents on information related to pay adjustments, employee benefits, or personnel policies.

Salary and compensation surveys are often conducted by area chambers of commerce, professional or industry associations, compensation consulting firms, or certain government agencies. The U. S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles and makes available at no charge a significant amount of compensation data.