What small businesses pay for 17 jobs in 2026:
the wage roll-up
Before you post a job you need one number, and the sites that offer it mostly show you what people say they earn. This page shows what the Bureau of Labor Statistics measured: for each of the 17 desk jobs small businesses post most, the 10th percentile, the median and the 90th, from the May 2025 estimates released on 2026-05-15, and what the median salary costs an employer once benefits are added at the split BLS measured in June 2026. The medians run from $38,010 for a receptionist / phone CSR to $166,790 for a marketing manager (generalist). The sheet is free to download at the bottom.
Last updated
The table
Each job links to its full hiring guide, which carries the 25th and 75th percentiles, the hourly figures, the six largest metros and the day the data was read. "Median all-in" is the median salary divided by 0.70, the share of employer cost that wages and salaries were in private industry in June 2026, rounded to the nearest hundred; it is an estimate of salary plus benefits before recruiting, equipment and training, not a quote.
| Job | The occupation BLS files it under | 10th | Median | 90th | Median all-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionist / phone CSR | Receptionists and Information Clerks (43-4171) | $28,760 | $38,010 | $49,950 | about $54,300 |
| Customer service / support rep | Customer Service Representatives (43-4051) | $31,750 | $44,770 | $63,590 | about $64,000 |
| Translation and localization specialist | Interpreters and Translators (27-3091) | $37,070 | $60,170 | $103,660 | about $86,000 |
| Graphic and brand designer | Graphic Designers (27-1024) | $39,520 | $62,960 | $104,910 | about $89,900 |
| PR / communications coordinator | Public Relations Specialists (27-3031) | $44,110 | $74,750 | $135,150 | about $106,800 |
| Video editor (short-form) | Film and Video Editors (27-4032) | $40,280 | $75,420 | $148,550 | about $107,700 |
| Recruiting coordinator and sourcer | Human Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $47,180 | $75,940 | $128,720 | about $108,500 |
| Executive / administrative assistant | Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants (43-6011) | $50,560 | $76,590 | $109,850 | about $109,400 |
| Copywriter / content marketer | Writers and Authors (27-3043) | $44,310 | $76,910 | $139,870 | about $109,900 |
| Data, reporting and research analyst | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) | $43,390 | $78,760 | $155,480 | about $112,500 |
| Email, lifecycle and SMS marketer | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) | $43,390 | $78,760 | $155,480 | about $112,500 |
| Influencer and creator coordinator | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) | $43,390 | $78,760 | $155,480 | about $112,500 |
| Paid media / ads manager | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) | $43,390 | $78,760 | $155,480 | about $112,500 |
| SEO / AEO specialist | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) | $43,390 | $78,760 | $155,480 | about $112,500 |
| Social media manager | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161) | $43,390 | $78,760 | $155,480 | about $112,500 |
| Website builder / designer | Web and Digital Interface Designers (15-1255) | $53,750 | $104,000 | $201,550 | about $148,600 |
| Marketing manager (generalist) | Marketing Managers (11-2021) | $90,260 | $166,790 | $293,610 | about $238,300 |
Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15); O*NET 31.0 (August 2026). Last updated 2026-09-19.
How to read the table
- BLS has no line for most of these titles. Social media, email, SEO, paid media and influencer work are all counted under Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161), because that is the occupation the statistics agency files them in. The figure is for the wider occupation, which is why several rows share it. The hiring guide for each job explains the mapping.
- The 10th to 90th range is the honest range. The median is one number; the spread tells you what a junior posting and a senior posting look like in the same occupation. A small business posting its first hire usually lands between the 10th and the median.
- Metros differ a lot. The national median for a marketing specialist is $78,760; in the six largest metros the median runs from about eighty thousand to well over a hundred, and the hiring guides show each. Post the range for your metro, not the national one.
- All-in is not the invoice. The 70/30 split is an average across private industry. A one-person office paying no health plan will be under it; a business with a generous plan will be over it. Use it to size the decision, then use your own numbers.
The employer's arithmetic
Take the salary you intend to post. Divide by 0.70 to add benefits at the June 2026 split. Add what you already know you will spend on recruiting, a computer and the first month of training. That is the yearly cost of the hire, and the number the other ways of getting the job done should be compared with.
A $60,000 posting is about $85,700 a year at the split, before those extras. A $45,000 posting is about $64,300. A $78,760 posting, the marketing specialist median, is about $112,500.
Using the number in the posting
Put the range in the posting. Our guide on writing a job posting that fills explains the pay-transparency laws that now require it in many states and why the range improves who applies everywhere. Anchor the range to the row above for your job and your metro, and post the number you would actually pay.
How Allying does this
Allying prices its work off the same number: when a business posts a job, Allying does that job as the employee described in the posting for 30% of the posted salary, billed monthly, with each job's minimum on the pricing page. The salary you post is the salary the proposal is priced from, so this table is also the table behind every worked example on this site. The first week of the job is done before any conversation, and the owner decides after reading the work.
The work is done with AI and overseen by a named specialist who answers for it.
Mae Santos, Allying's co-founder, is the person you talk to; write to hello@allying.com and she answers. The work is reviewed before it reaches you.
Questions owners ask
Why not use the salary sites?
They are useful for a second opinion. Their figures are what people report about themselves, and they are not always dated. The BLS figures are measured from employer surveys, published on a known day, and the same for everyone.
When does this table change?
Once a year, when BLS releases the next May estimates (the May 2026 figures are due in the spring of 2027), and when the employer-cost split moves in the quarterly release. The date at the top is the day the figures were last checked.
Where are the hourly figures?
In each job's hiring guide and in the downloadable sheet, which has the 25th and 75th percentiles and the hourly median for every row.
What about a bookkeeper or a sales rep?
A sales rep is not a job Allying does today, and bookkeeping (month-end close) is newer than this table: its figures are on the bookkeeper hiring guide. The BLS occupation pages carry both; the method above works the same way.
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (released 2026-05-15), national workbooks: every wage figure in the table. Read on 2026-09-19.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released 2026-09-09): in private industry, wages and salaries were 70.0 percent of employer costs per hour worked and benefits 30.0 percent. Read on 2026-09-19.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026): the occupation each job is filed under. Read on 2026-09-19.
- The downloadable sheet: the table above as CSV, with the 25th and 75th percentiles and the hourly median. Read on 2026-09-19.