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Recruiter salary and cost of hiring in the US

A recruiter finds and attracts candidates, screens them, manages the interview process and closes offers for the hiring managers.

$75,940US median wage
$108,486employer cost with benefits
912,430recruiters employed
District of Columbiahighest-paying state

BLS occupation 13-1071[1]; benefits share[2]. Checked 2026-10-16.

Request profilesPay by state

US salary range

Range10thMedian90th
United States$47,180$75,940$128,720
10th to 90th percentilemiddle half (25th to 75th)median

Salary by state

Linked states have a detailed page with metro areas.
StateMedian90th percentileJobs
District of Columbia
$110,970
$170,3306,910
Massachusetts
$85,630
$145,13027,300
Washington
$84,550
$136,07022,770
New York
$84,380
$149,99054,610
Maryland
$83,910
$139,40015,530
California
$83,500
$151,410104,000
Connecticut
$82,890
$134,8109,010
Virginia
$82,090
$136,66028,540
Colorado
$80,840
$133,85019,450
New Jersey
$80,690
$132,77021,690
Minnesota
$78,760
$127,06017,240
Oregon
$78,060
$126,28010,620
Vermont
$77,800
$114,0901,270
Delaware
$77,700
$132,0302,720
Rhode Island
$77,560
$128,2503,320
Alaska
$76,990
$114,3301,420
Illinois
$76,820
$123,94035,430
North Dakota
$75,630
$116,9901,710
Hawaii
$73,750
$113,3202,570
North Carolina
$73,070
$126,00031,140
Utah
$71,750
$123,7809,900
Maine
$71,630
$105,8403,020
Nevada
$71,610
$119,0506,520
Arizona
$71,390
$112,90020,230
Kansas
$70,870
$115,9207,560
New Hampshire
$70,840
$122,5604,270
Georgia (US state)
$70,570
$125,54032,110
Wisconsin
$70,540
$105,27017,360
Pennsylvania
$70,450
$119,85036,960
Ohio
$70,180
$118,34033,500
Michigan
$69,520
$110,71025,520
Kentucky
$69,010
$107,94010,900
Texas
$68,920
$117,06084,930
New Mexico
$68,050
$117,1704,090
South Dakota
$67,590
$104,5501,340
Tennessee
$67,370
$109,99021,460
Missouri
$66,990
$110,66017,650
Wyoming
$66,970
$115,7901,000
West Virginia
$66,860
$115,9203,130
Iowa
$66,710
$110,6407,930
Florida
$66,410
$115,92062,730
Indiana
$65,600
$106,83017,110
South Carolina
$65,370
$118,59013,720
Idaho
$64,990
$102,4903,930
Alabama
$64,940
$112,88011,080
Montana
$63,790
$108,1802,340
Nebraska
$61,930
$98,4807,220
Oklahoma
$61,630
$103,4609,370
Louisiana
$61,300
$100,4207,240
Mississippi
$60,300
$108,9504,850
Arkansas
$55,010
$99,9906,230

Top-paying metro areas

Areas with at least 500 people in the job.

Metro areaMedianJobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
$112,140
7,970
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
$103,140
16,420
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
$100,830
24,450
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
$92,770
14,120
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA
$90,290
710
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
$90,270
21,770
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$89,780
52,370
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA
$86,700
1,410
Boulder, CO
$86,200
1,480
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT
$85,550
2,350

What the job involves

  • Write job ads and outreach messages
  • Source on LinkedIn, job boards and communities
  • Run screening calls
  • Coordinate interviews and collect feedback
  • Report on pipeline metrics

Tools

  • LinkedIn Recruiter
  • an ATS (Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby)
  • Gem or similar outreach tools
  • Google Sheets

How to test candidates

Remote work

Remote recruiting is common; overlap is needed for calls with candidates and hiring managers.

Local or remote

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for recruiters we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee[3]; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool[4].

$108,486local hire, first year incl. benefits
-remote hire, first year incl. fee
-difference in year one
-of the local cost saved

Questions

What is the average recruiter salary in the US?

The BLS median was $75,940 a year in May 2025 and the mean $81,990.

Which state pays recruiters the most?

District of Columbia, with a median of $110,970 a year.

Hire recruiters remotely

Sources

  1. BLS OEWS May 2025, 13-1071: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131071.htm
  2. BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm
  3. Silkstaff pricing: https://silkstaff.com/#pricing
  4. Deel pricing, contractor management: https://www.deel.com/pricing/

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Data checked 2026-10-16.