Pay and hiringRead at source, 23 September 2026
How Much Should I Pay My Employees? Finding the Market Rate, Choosing Where to Sit, and What the Posted Rate Does to Hiring
Pay what the local market pays for the job, then decide deliberately whether to sit at, above or below it. Start with the local median wage for the occupation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which publishes pay by metro area; check it against the legal floors (the federal minimum is $7.25, and most states and many cities set higher) and against what competitors are posting now. Paying at the median is the default. Paying above it makes sense when the role is hard to fill or turnover is expensive; paying below it works only if something else in the job is clearly better. Then price the total cost — payroll taxes, workers’ comp and benefits — before you commit.
Step 1: Find the market rate for the job, where you are
“Market rate” means what employers in your area pay for the same work. Three sources, in order of reliability:
BLS occupational wage data for your metro area
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program publishes the 10th, 25th, median, 75th and 90th percentile wage for hundreds of occupations in every metro area. Match your job to the occupation by what the person does, not the title. The median is the middle of the local market; the 25th and 75th percentiles bracket where most employers sit.
Current postings from competitors for applicants
Search the job title within your commuting radius and note the rates in the first lines of the ads. Official data runs a year or more behind; postings show where the market is today, especially for hourly roles after a minimum wage increase.
Your own applicant and offer data
If candidates decline offers or stop replying after the rate is mentioned, the market is telling you something that no survey will.
National medians for common frontline roles
| Occupation | Median hourly | Median annual |
|---|---|---|
| Lifeguards and recreational protective service | $16.14 | $33,580 |
| Childcare workers | $16.82 | $34,980 |
| Waiters and waitresses | $16.94 | $35,230 |
| Security guards | $18.28 | $38,020 |
| Preschool teachers | $18.34 | $38,140 |
| Veterinary technologists and technicians | $22.78 | $47,380 |
| Public safety telecommunicators (911 dispatchers) | $25.50 | $53,040 |
| Chefs and head cooks | $30.03 | $62,470 |
| Surgical technologists | $31.08 | $64,650 |
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and OEWS, May 2025. National medians hide large local differences; use the metro figure for your decision.
Wage surveys and pay benchmarking for hourly roles
Pay benchmarking for hourly roles means matching each job to a published wage survey by what the person does, reading the local percentiles, and adjusting for how old the data is and what it leaves out. A wage survey is any dataset of what employers pay for defined jobs. For frontline work the free federal one is the natural place to start, and a paid survey or your own posting scan fills the gaps.
| Source | What it gives you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OEWS (free) | Employment and the 10th, 25th, median, 75th and 90th percentile wage by occupation, for the nation, states, metro and nonmetropolitan areas | The May 2025 estimates reflect a May 2025 reference date and are modeled from three years of survey data, so they trail current postings |
| State labor market information office (free) | The same OEWS wages presented by your state, often alongside state employment projections | Same survey underneath, so the same lag |
| Paid or industry salary surveys | Job-specific cuts by industry, company size or benefits | Check sample size in your market and how jobs were matched |
| Competitor postings | What employers are offering today, often with the shift | Posted ranges are offers, not what incumbents earn |
How to benchmark an hourly role in five steps
- Match on duties, not title. A “team member” could be a cashier, a stocker or a cook. OEWS classifies jobs by the Standard Occupational Classification, so pick the SOC occupation that fits the work.
- Use your labor market, not the nation. Take the metro or nonmetropolitan area your applicants commute from.
- Compare base to base. BLS says OEWS wages are “straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay,” and that overtime pay and shift differentials are excluded, while tips and production bonuses are included. Compare your base rate to OEWS, then add your differential on top.
- Age the number. Check whether a state or city minimum wage has risen since the reference date, and scan current postings to see how far the market has moved.
- Set a position and a range. Decide whether you sit at the median or above it (Step 3 below), then turn that into the range you post.
Don't trade pay data with competitors
Using published surveys is ordinary practice. Swapping current or planned pay rates directly with the employers you compete with for workers is a different thing. The FTC and DOJ's January 2025 Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers say that exchanging competitively sensitive information about compensation “may be illegal even if companies use a third party or intermediary—including a third party using an algorithm—to share such information.” If a local group or vendor offers a pay-sharing arrangement, get legal advice first. General information, not legal advice.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 data tables and OEWS technical notes, read at source 24 September 2026.
What to pay common hourly roles in 2026
The table gives the national pay ladder for the hourly roles employers most often ask about, from BLS’s May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Read the columns as positions on the ladder: the 25th percentile is a realistic starting rate for someone new to the work, the median is what an employer paying the going rate offers a competent worker, the 75th percentile is what experience commands, and the 90th percentile is lead or top-of-scale pay. Then localize it, as Step 1 above describes, because a national figure can sit several dollars away from your metro area. Never post below your state or local minimum wage, whatever the 25th percentile says.
| Role (BLS occupation) | Entry (25th pct) | Median | Experienced (75th pct) | Lead / top (90th pct) | Boostpoint median cost per applicant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto detailer (cleaners of vehicles and equipment, 53-7061) | $14.62 | $17.23 | $19.73 | $22.89 | — |
| Commercial cleaner (janitors and cleaners, 37-2011) | $15.50 | $17.71 | $21.18 | $24.17 | — |
| House cleaner (maids and housekeeping cleaners, 37-2012) | $14.59 | $17.07 | $19.03 | $23.35 | — |
| Painter (construction and maintenance, 47-2141) | $21.46 | $23.75 | $29.65 | $37.89 | $14.14 (skilled trades, nearest row) |
| CNA (nursing assistants, 31-1131) | $17.91 | $20.32 | $22.70 | $24.99 | $7.72 |
| Warehouse worker (hand laborers and material movers, 53-7062) | $17.35 | $19.35 | $22.56 | $26.51 | $9.83 (warehouse / production) |
| Stocker or order picker (stockers and order fillers, 53-7065) | $16.56 | $17.95 | $21.47 | $23.68 | $9.83 (warehouse / production) |
| Restaurant cook (cooks, restaurant, 35-2014) | $16.35 | $17.98 | $21.45 | $23.03 | — |
| Daycare worker (childcare workers, 39-9011) | $14.12 | $16.82 | $18.55 | $22.12 | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates, hourly wage percentiles, read September 24, 2026. OEWS wages are straight-time base pay and include tips, so tipped roles read higher than the rate an employer pays. Cost per applicant: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta, role-family medians, costs inclusive of campaign management; a dash means the benchmark has no row for the role. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Two things the table does not do. It does not tell you where to sit on the ladder; that is Step 3, and for a role you need to fill quickly the answer is usually at or above the median. And it does not include what the employee costs you beyond the wage, which for an average private employer adds roughly 43% on top of the wage line; the employee cost calculator works that out for your own numbers. For landscaping and lawn-care crews, including crew leads, the pay ladder is on our landscaping recruiting page.
Step 2: Check the legal floors
- Minimum wage. The federal minimum is $7.25 an hour, but most frontline employers are bound by a higher state or city minimum. California’s is $16.90 in 2026. Our minimum wage by state page has the current rates.
- Overtime and classification. Decide whether the role is hourly or salaried exempt before you set the number; a salary does not remove overtime for a role that fails the duties test. See exempt vs non-exempt.
- Pay transparency. Several states and cities require a pay range in the job posting. See pay transparency laws by state.
- Prevailing wage. Public construction and some service contracts set their own rates; see prevailing wage by state.
Step 3: Decide where to sit against the market
| Position | When it fits | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Above market (60th–75th percentile) | Hard-to-fill or credentialed roles; high turnover cost; you need to hire quickly | Higher payroll; watch compression with incumbents |
| At market (median) | Most roles, most of the time | You compete on everything else: schedule, speed, the ad |
| Below market | Only when the job is clearly better in another way: schedule, benefits, training, childcare, stability | Fewer applicants; you must say what the trade is |
If you raise the starting rate, raise the people already in the job at the same time or you will create wage compression — see our page on wage compression for how to price that.
Step 4: Price the total cost
The wage is not the cost. Employer payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, benefits and paid time off all sit on top of it, and they vary by state and role. Our employee cost calculator builds the full figure from the wage you choose, so you can see what an extra dollar an hour costs in a year before you post it.
What the posted rate does to hiring
Our view, from running hourly campaigns: the rate matters most in two places — whether it is in the ad at all, and whether it is below what the candidate can get down the road. A rate at or above the local median, stated in the first line, removes the most common reason a qualified person scrolls past. A rate below the median, stated clearly, will still attract applicants but fewer, and the ad has to say what the trade is.
What the rate does not fix is the rest of the funnel. Across the 891 campaigns in our 2026 benchmark, the apply experience after the click explained 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant, and the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant. An employer paying the market rate behind a long application will get fewer applicants than one paying the same rate behind a one-minute form. Before raising pay to fix applicant volume, check that the rate is in the ad, that the application takes under a minute, and that someone calls applicants the same day.
Related: Earned Wage Access, Childcare Benefits for Employees, Employee Transportation.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I pay my employees?
Pay around the local market rate for the job, which you can find in BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data for your metro area and in competitors’ current postings. Pay the median by default, above it for hard-to-fill roles, and below it only if the job offers something clearly better, such as schedule or benefits. Never pay below the applicable minimum wage.
How do I find the market rate for a job?
Look up the occupation in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data for your metro area, which shows the 10th, 25th, median, 75th and 90th percentile wages. Then check rates in current job postings within your commuting radius, since official data lags the market.
How much should a small business pay employees?
The same method applies: the local median for the occupation is the starting point. Small businesses that cannot match larger employers on pay usually compete on schedule flexibility, speed of hiring and the working environment, and should say so in the job ad.
Should I pay above market rate?
Paying above the median makes sense for hard-to-fill or credentialed roles, when turnover is expensive, or when you need to hire quickly. If you raise the starting rate, adjust incumbents at the same time to avoid wage compression.
Does higher pay get more applicants?
A competitive rate stated in the first line of the ad helps, especially if the previous rate was below market. But in Boostpoint’s 2026 benchmark the apply experience explained 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant, so a short application and fast follow-up often matter as much as the rate.
What does an employee cost beyond wages?
Employer payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, benefits and paid time off, which vary by state, industry and role. Build the total from your own figures before setting the rate.
Should I put the pay rate in the job ad?
Yes. Pay is the first thing most hourly candidates look for, and several states and cities require a pay range in job postings. An ad without a rate competes with every ad that has one.
What is a wage survey?
A wage survey is a dataset of what employers pay for defined jobs in a given area, usually shown as percentiles. For hourly roles in the US, the free starting point is the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which publishes the 10th, 25th, median, 75th and 90th percentile wages by occupation for states and metro areas.
How do you benchmark pay for hourly employees?
Match each job to a survey occupation by its duties, pull the local percentiles for your metro area, and compare your base rate to the survey's base rate. OEWS excludes overtime and shift differentials, so add those separately. Then check current competitor postings and any minimum wage increases since the survey date, and decide whether to pay at the median or above it.
How much should I pay my detailing employees?
Nationally, BLS puts auto detailers (cleaners of vehicles and equipment) at a median of $17.23 an hour in May 2025, with $14.62 at the 25th percentile for new hires and $19.73 at the 75th for experienced detailers; lead or top-of-scale detailers reach about $22.89. Check your metro area’s figure and your state minimum wage, then post the rate in the first line of the ad.
How much should I pay my cleaning employees?
BLS’s May 2025 median is $17.71 an hour for janitors and commercial cleaners and $17.07 for maids and house cleaners. A starting rate near the 25th percentile ($15.50 and $14.59) is likely to attract fewer applicants than one at the median, and experienced cleaners earn $19.03 to $21.18 at the 75th percentile. Your local minimum wage sets the floor.
How much should I pay painting employees?
Construction and maintenance painters earned a national median of $23.75 an hour in May 2025, according to BLS. New painters start near $21.46 (25th percentile), experienced painters earn about $29.65 (75th), and crew leads or top painters about $37.89 (90th). Pay varies by metro area, so use your local figure.
How much should I pay CNAs?
BLS puts nursing assistants at a national median of $20.32 an hour in May 2025, with $17.91 at the 25th percentile and $22.70 at the 75th. CNA pay is set by local competition among care facilities more than by the national number, so check the metro figure and what nearby facilities post. In Boostpoint’s 2026 benchmark, CNA campaigns cost a median $7.72 per applicant.
How much should I pay warehouse workers?
BLS’s May 2025 median is $19.35 an hour for hand laborers and material movers and $17.95 for stockers and order fillers. New warehouse hires typically start around the 25th percentile ($17.35 and $16.56) and experienced workers earn $21.47 to $22.56 at the 75th percentile. In Boostpoint’s 2026 benchmark, warehouse and production campaigns cost a median $9.83 per applicant.
How much should I pay restaurant employees?
For restaurant cooks, BLS’s May 2025 median is $17.98 an hour, with $16.35 at the 25th percentile and $21.45 at the 75th. Servers are different: OEWS wage figures include tips, so the waiter and waitress median of $16.94 is not the rate an employer pays, and tipped minimum-wage rules vary by state. Set cook pay from the local figure and check your state’s tipped wage rules for front-of-house staff.
Put the right rate in front of the right people.
Boostpoint runs local Facebook and Instagram recruitment campaigns with the pay in the first line and a one-minute application.
Book a Demo