Recruiter salary in Athens-Clarke County, GA

Pay in Athens-Clarke County against Georgia and the US

Recruiters at the 90th percentile earn $98,190, 2.7 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.7. The middle half of recruiters in Athens-Clarke County earns $45,300–$75,650. The mean ($62,130) is 8% over the median, so a group of high earners pulls the average up; price a typical hire from the median. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $30,350 wide, against $41,930 across Georgia and $40,770 nationally: employers in Athens-Clarke County pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a recruiter here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $18,320 over the median, the 25th only $12,030 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $23,639 a year in employer cost. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $75,940 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in Athens-Clarke County, and the Georgia statewide median of $70,570 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local recruiters earn.

What a hire really costs in Athens-Clarke County

At the $57,330 median, a local hire costs about $73,974 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $16,644 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

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 fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Athens-Clarke County

Of the 15 roles we track in Athens-Clarke County, this one ranks #6 by median pay, between office managers ($59,200) and payroll specialists ($52,920). Project Coordinator is the highest at $82,430.

Measured against the US median, recruiters rank #14 of the 15 roles we track in Athens-Clarke County (-24.5%), between administrative assistants (-24.0%) and sales development representatives (-29.2%). The typical role here is at -16.4%, so, measured against the US, recruiters cost less in Athens-Clarke County than the area's general pay level would suggest. Recruiters hold 5.3% of the jobs in these 15 roles in Athens-Clarke County, 6.3% across Georgia and 5.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Georgia

Across the 18 areas of Georgia with data for this job, the median runs from $55,260 in Valdosta to $77,920 in Warner Robins, a gap of $22,660 a year. All 10 areas in Georgia with more recruiters than Athens-Clarke County also pay more, among them Atlanta-Sandy Springs, GA ($75,410) and Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC ($67,120).

Athens-Clarke County against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Athens-Clarke County is #293 of 521 US areas for this job. It is a mid-sized market, and its pay is in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Georgia, Gainesville and Little Rock-North Little Rock pay just above Athens-Clarke County and Tallahassee and Las Cruces just below. All four are within $310 a year of the median in Athens-Clarke County. Of the three markets with about as many recruiters, all three pay more.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.