25th Percentile - The level below which 25 percent of a given sample falls. In our reports, this is occasionally substituted for the minimum of a salary range when that data is not available.
75th Percentile - The level below which 75 percent of a given sample falls. In our reports, this is occasionally substituted for the maximum of a salary range when that data is not available.
Aging Salary Data - The practice of taking salary survey data from a survey source with a specific effective date and multiplying it by a pay movement factor to bring the data forward to either todays or a future date. For example, assume that pay movement or pay increases are averaging 3% a year. If we used a salary data point from a source with an effective date of one year ago, we would increase that number by 3%. Note: Our factors for aging are computed by using multiple sources that forecast projected pay movements.
Annual Salary - The base salary that would be earned in an entire year. Monthly data can be multiplied by 12 to equate annual data. Hourly data can be multiplied by 2,080 (the number of hours in a year on a 40 hours-per-week schedule) to equate annual data.
Base City - The specific city that you are requesting salary information for based on market geographic differential factors.
Benchmark Position - Key jobs that are well known and understood by most employers. They are generic positions that are common throughout almost all industries (i.e. Accountant, Receptionist, etc.)
Bonus - Number of Firms - What percentage of organizations are paying bonus/incentives in addition to base salaries or wages.
Bonus - Percentage - Of those organizations paying bonus and/or incentive, this identifies the average percentage of base pay being given.
Data Point Salary - A single line of salary data from one salary source.
Effective Date, Source - This is the point in time that a given salary survey source collects all of their market data. This is an important date because an effective date of one month ago is much more current than one year ago. If pay movement data indicates that salary increases are averaging 4% a year than the data from exactly one year ago has to be increased by 4% to bring it forward to today's date.
Functional Area - A specific department or area such as Accounting, Production, Human Resources etc.
Geographic Differential - A percentage number used to indicate the difference in salary levels for two different regions or cities. The U.S. National Average would have a value of 100.0, as it is usually the point of comparison. For example, at a salary of $48,000, Cincinnati, Ohio has a geographic differential of 99.4, which means it is 99.4% of the U.S. National Average.
Hourly Wage - The amount of base pay earned for one hour of work. Annual data can be divided by 2,080 to equate hourly data. Monthly data can be divided by 173.33 to equate hourly data.
Incumbents, Number of - The number of individuals reported for a particular position in a Salary Survey source.
Job Description - A general description of the duties performed and skills or education required for a particular position. Job descriptions balance the need for properly describing the uniqueness of the position with the probability of finding matches in other organizations. For use with a product such as Salary Source, descriptions can not be overly detailed or specific, otherwise customers would not be able to match jobs on a general basis.
Maximum or Max - The top of the salary range for particular job grade or position.
Mean - The arithmetic average of a sample.
Median - The middle response when responses are organized from lowest to highest.
Midpoint or Mid - The middle salary level in a salary range for a particular job grade or position. This is usually not far from the average of the minimum and maximum in a salary range.
Minimum or Min - The lowest salary level in a salary range for a particular job grade or position.
Monthly Salary - The base salary that would be earned in a calendar month. Annual data can be divided by 12 to equate monthly data. Hourly data can be multiplied by 173.33 to equate monthly data.
Pay Movement Factor - A percentage that represents the average market adjustment for pay increases for a specific period of time.
Salary Range - The salary guidelines for a given job grade or specific position. The salary range typically includes a Minimum, Midpoint, and Maximum. The numbers are not directly related to what any individual(s) are actually receiving in terms of compensation. Rather, they are used as guides in making decisions in pay practices such as new hires, merit increases, promotions etc.
Source, Salary - The name of this on-line product. Also describes a single reference or publication used to survey market salaries.
U.S. National Average - This represents an average of salaries encompassing the
entire United States for a specific positions. This is the point of comparison for geographic differentials
that are used to pinpoint a salary for a specific city or region.
Weighted Average - The sum of all the responses divided by the number
of incumbents. Basically, every individual reported is given equal treatment. As an example,
imagine we have a surveyed position and only two companies are responding as follows:
|
Incumbents |
Avg. Salary Reported |
| Company A |
10 |
$30,000 |
| Company B |
1,000 |
$25,000 |
A true average of the two companies would be $27,500 (i.e. ($30,000 + $25,000) divided by 2). Unfortunately, $27,500 would not be an accurate representation of the market for this position because many more individuals are represented from Company B. A more accurate representation is achieved by weighing the data based on the number of incumbents for each Company. This is accomplished by the following basic mathematical formula:
((10*$30,000)+(1000*$25,000)) divided by the 1,010 total incumbents. The resulting weighted average is $25,050. This result is quite different from the straight company average of $27,500.
