Looking to Benchmark Pay?
Median
The median describes the central tendency of the data to minimize the effects of extreme values. It is the MIDDLE value in a set of ranked salaries:
| Example 1 (Odd # Data Set) | Example 2 (Even # Data Set) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data – High-Low | Middle Value | Data – High-Low | Middle Value | |
| $40 | $14 | |||
| $39 | $13 | |||
| $38 | $38 Median (middle #) | $12 | $11 Median | |
| $37 | $10 | (average of 2 middle #s) | ||
| $36 | $10 | |||
| $8 | ||||
Mean
The weighted average (mean) calculates the average of what all employees are paid in a salary survey. The unweighted average (mean) calculates the average of what all companies pay in a salary survey.
| Example 1 | Example 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Employees | Total Comp | Total Comp | |||
| Company 1 | 20 | $41,000 | Company 1 | $41,000 | |
| Company 2 | 15 | $36,000 | Company 2 | $36,000 | |
| Company 3 | 10 | $38,500 | Company 3 | $38,500 | |
| Company 4 | 75 | $48,000 | Company 4 | $48,000 | |
| Weighted Average | 120 | $44,542 | Unweighted Average | $40,875 | |
Range
The range is the difference between the high and low values of a data set.
Standard Deviation
The standard deviation is a measure of dispersion which indicates a relative distance between each data point and the mean.
Standard Error
The standard error (SE) is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of statistics, most commonly of the mean. In order to be able to judge the reliability of survey results, it is important to review the standard error.
R Squared
The coefficient of determination, denoted R² or r² and pronounced R squared, is a number that indicates how well data fits a statistical model—sometimes a simple line or a curve.
Percentile
Percentile is a value that a given percentage of the data is less than - typically determined by calculating proportionally between data points. The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile are common calculations within a salary survey.
The example below displays reported percentiles and the median for three levels of the accountant position. Industries.
You can see that the survey Median base salary for a Level 2 Accountant is $80,619 where the 25th percentile is $74,194 and the 75th percentile is $88,971.
You can also see that the survey Median total cash compensation for the Level 2 Accountant is $83,586 where the 25th percentile is $76,924 and the 75th percentile is $92,245.
Memory Jogger
A number that indicates how well data fits a statistical model is the: