HR Executive Pay Trends

HR Executive Pay Trends, an Equilar publication, analyzes the compensation for the top-paid human resources (HR) executives at Equilar 500 companies over the past five fiscal years. Using data collected in accordance with SEC disclosure guidelines, the Equilar Top 50 Survey data is blended together with Top 5 data from proxies to create the Equilar TrueView methodology, which is featured throughout the report as the primary data sampling. CHRO Association provides independent commentary highlighting how HR executives are navigating an era defined by AI and organizational change.

Key Findings

• The median total compensation for Equilar 500 HR executives increased 18% in 2025
• The largest companies in the study reported the highest HR executive compensation at $3.6 million
• Women hold 65.3% of top HR executive roles, down from 75.9% in 2021
• Men in HR executive roles saw a 148.6% increase in compensation since 2021, while compensation for women declined 6.5% over the same period