Compensation surveys by industry

Aon's McLagan Global Asset Management, Hedge Fund and Private Equity & Private Capital surveys are the standard for investment firms, with Radford's Private Equity Portfolio Company survey and Aon's wealth-management data covering the adjacent segments.

Start with: Aon · SullivanCotter · Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

Aon's McLagan Investment Banking, Commercial Banking and Retail Banking surveys are the reference benchmarks for banks, and Marsh's FSS Commercial Banking survey covers the industry inside the Mercer database.

Start with: Aon · Pearl Meyer · Marsh

PAS is the construction specialist, with salary surveys for general contractors, construction management, support staff and heavy, highway and municipal trades.

Start with: PAS, Inc. · Pearl Meyer · Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

Korn Ferry's Retail & Consumer Products survey and CompData's Consumer Goods & Retail survey cover packaged-goods companies broadly.

Start with: Korn Ferry · CompData · Western Management Group

Marsh's MTCS, the Mercer Total Compensation Survey for the Energy Sector, is the deepest energy benchmark, with modules for downstream, oilfield services, chemicals and utilities, plus a North America Mining suite.

Start with: Marsh · Pearl Meyer · Empsight

Pearl Meyer and Empsight lead on executive pay surveys, and Equilar benchmarks public-company executives and boards from proxy disclosures rather than participant data.

Start with: Pearl Meyer · Empsight · Equilar

Aon's McLagan surveys are the financial-services standard, with separate surveys for investment banking, asset management, hedge funds, private equity, retail and commercial banking and insurance.

Start with: Aon · Pearl Meyer · Empsight

Marsh's Benchmark Database (MBD, formerly Mercer) and WTW's general-industry surveys are the standard cross-industry benchmarks for large employers, with Aon's Radford and Korn Ferry close behind.

Start with: Marsh · Willis Towers Watson (WTW) · Korn Ferry

Western Management Group's Government Contractors Compensation Survey and ERI's US Government Contractors survey for aerospace, defense and IT serve federal contractors.

Start with: Western Management Group · ERI Economic Research Institute · Marsh

SullivanCotter and MGMA are the dedicated healthcare publishers, with physician, advanced practice provider and nursing pay drawn from health systems and medical groups.

Start with: SullivanCotter · MGMA · Gallagher

CUPA-HR is the standard for colleges and universities, with separate surveys for administrators, faculty and professionals.

Start with: CUPA-HR · Western Management Group · Pearl Meyer

Marsh's US Hotel Industry Compensation Survey, Canadian Hotel Industry survey and US Restaurant Compensation and HR Practices Survey are the hospitality cuts of the Mercer database.

Start with: Marsh · CompData · Aon

LOMA, for life, health and financial-services carriers, and Milliman, with its Actuarial Salary Survey and life, health and P&C insurance surveys, are the insurance specialists.

Start with: LOMA · Milliman · Aon

Empsight's Law Department Compensation survey is the specialist benchmark for in-house legal teams at large companies.

Start with: Empsight · Marsh · CompData

Aon's Radford Global Life Sciences Survey and Culpepper's Life Sciences Compensation Survey are the specialist benchmarks for biotech, pharma and medical-device employers, with Radford's CRO and Medical Devices & Diagnostics surveys covering the adjacent segments.

Start with: Aon · Culpepper · Marsh

Marsh's US MBD Mercer Manufacturing Survey and Canadian Manufacturing Survey are the manufacturing cuts of the Mercer database.

Start with: Marsh · MRA · CompData

The Croner Company is the specialist here: its Entertainment, Animation & Visual Effects, Software Games, Digital Content & Technology and Local Media Sales surveys are the reference points for studios, networks, publishers and game developers.

Start with: The Croner Company · Aon · Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

MRA's Nonprofit Compensation & Benefits Survey and SullivanCotter's Endowment & Foundation Investment Staff survey are the dedicated nonprofit reports.

Start with: MRA · SullivanCotter · Birches Group

Pearl Meyer publishes a dedicated Real Estate Compensation Survey, and WTW's real-estate editions are available country by country.

Start with: Pearl Meyer · Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

Marsh's US Retail Compensation and Benefits Survey and Canadian Retail Survey are the retail cuts of the Mercer database.

Start with: Marsh · Korn Ferry · CompData

Aon's Radford Global Technology Survey is the long-standing technology benchmark, with startup, APAC and EMEA cuts.

Start with: Aon · Culpepper · The Croner Company

Marsh's US Transportation, Logistics & Warehousing Industry Survey and its US and Canadian Logistics & Supply Chain surveys are the deepest coverage of carriers, 3PLs and distribution operations.

Start with: Marsh · Gallagher · Western Management Group