Free Access No Registration Updated: 2026-06-01

Payroll Specialist Career Market Report 2026

2,068 active jobs. 817 companies. Median salary $87K. Data from Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby, SmartRecruiters, Workable, and 14 additional ATS sources. Last computed: 2026-06-01.

2,068
Active Job Openings
817
Companies Hiring
$87K
Median Salary (US)
72%
With Salary Data

About This Report

The Payroll Specialist market data on this page is updated daily from 800,000+ active job postings across 20 ATS platforms.

Greenhouse Lever Workday Ashby SmartRecruiters Workable + 14 more ATS sources

Salary: Extracted via NLP. Only USD $5K-$3M included. Skills: Named entity recognition, noise-filtered (generic soft skills excluded). Experience: Inferred from title + description. Coverage: 72% of positions include salary data.

Key Findings

Median salary: $87K in the US

Middle 50% of salaries range from $62K to $150K.

Remote roles pay 6% above the US national median

Remote-first employers competing nationally for talent. The premium reflects company quality (remote-first firms tend to be well-funded), not a work-mode bonus.

Payroll is the most-demanded skill at 49%

SAP demand rose +14.9pp — fastest-growing skill

Strada leads hiring with 69 open positions

Biggest salary jump: Senior → Lead (+$55K, +74%)

Salary increase: +$55K · Sample: Senior → Lead

AI automation risk: medium-high (score 70/100)

Score: 70/100 · AI/LLM demand: 26% of postings

Salary by Experience Level

LevelJobsP25MedianP90
Manager69$90K$95K$150K
Senior40$60K$75K$138K
Junior23$46K$52K$80K
Mid-Level12$44K$71K$175K
Director10$100K$133K$206K
Lead7$79K$130K$225K

What jumps out

Senior → Lead: +$55K (74%) — the biggest single-step increase. The salary curve is back-loaded: the largest raises come at transitions where scope changes from executing tasks to owning outcomes, or from owning outcomes to shaping architecture across teams.

Salary by Country

CountryJobsMedianCurrency
United States144$90KUSD
Remote24$95KUSD
Canada8$80KUSD
United Kingdom3$24KGBP

Work Mode

ModeShare
On-Site1.2%
Remote18.3%
Hybrid2.1%

~80% of postings do not specify work mode. Figures show only positions where it is explicitly stated.

Top Skills in Demand

Payroll
49%
Excel
44%
AI/LLM
26%
SAP
15%
C++
11%
SOX Compliance
8%
Tax Preparation
8%
Auditing
7%
Data Analysis
7%
Project Management
5%
Financial Reporting
4%

Skills on the Rise

SAP ↑+14.9ppPayroll ↑+11.0ppExcel ↑+9.7ppAuditing ↑+7.1ppData Analysis ↑+6.8pp

Declining in Demand

Journalism ↓-35.9ppAttention to Detail ↓-25.2ppHRIS ↓-16.2ppCustomer Service ↓-10.9ppMental Health ↓-7.4pp

Top Companies Hiring

CompanyOpeningsShare
Strada693.3%
Angi693.3%
Jobgether643.1%
Remotecom633.0%
Rippling271.3%
Acrisure241.2%
Globalhr120.6%
Deel100.5%

Top Countries by Job Volume

CountryJobs
United States518
Remote250
India75
United Kingdom68
Canada52
Philippines45
Australia34
Germany33

Education Requirements

LevelSharePositions
Associate Degree59.4%882
Master's Degree14.6%217
Bachelor's Degree11.9%176
MBA0.5%7
High School / GED0.2%3
PhD / Doctorate0.1%1

Certifications

CPA (2%)

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