Key Employee Salary
$23.5K - $24.5K
1% of jobs
$24.5K - $25.5K
8% of jobs
$25.5K - $26.5K
9% of jobs
$27K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$26.5K - $27.5K
12% of jobs
$27.5K - $28.5K
14% of jobs
The median wage is $28.7K / yr.
$28.5K - $29.5K
23% of jobs
$30.1K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$29.5K - $30.5K
10% of jobs
$30.5K - $31.5K
6% of jobs
$31.5K - $32.5K
5% of jobs
$32.5K - $33.5K
6% of jobs
$33.5K - $34.5K
3% of jobs
$23.5K
$29K
$36K
$29,746
/year
$14.30
/hour
Key Employee Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$29,746
Columbus
Ohio
$28,732
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How much does a Key Employee make?
As of Sep 12, 2026, the average annual pay for a Key Employee in the United States is $29,746 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $14.30 an hour. This is the equivalent of $572/week or $2,478/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $36,000 and as low as $23,500, the majority of Key Employee salaries currently range between $27,500 (25th percentile) to $31,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $35,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Key Employee varies little (about 4000), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
A Key Employee in your area makes on average $28,732 per year, or $1,014 (3.409%) less than the national average annual salary of $29,746. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Key Employee salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Key Employee jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Key Employee on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Key Employee Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Key Employee job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Irvine, CA, and Cresskill, NJ, close behind in the second and third positions. Cresskill, NJ, beats the national average by $9,343 (31.4%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $9,914 (33.3%) above the $29,746 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Key Employee appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 6% between Pennington County, SD, and Streamwood, IL, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Key Employee role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Pennington County, SD | $39,660 | $19.07 |
Irvine, CA | $39,659 | $19.07 |
Cresskill, NJ | $39,089 | $18.79 |
Louisville, CO | $38,488 | $18.50 |
Commack, NY | $38,325 | $18.43 |
Braintree, MA | $37,926 | $18.23 |
Montebello, CA | $37,828 | $18.19 |
Aurora, CO | $37,372 | $17.97 |
Catonsville, MD | $37,121 | $17.85 |
Streamwood, IL | $37,062 | $17.82 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Key Employee Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Key Employee category.
For example Fss jobs pay as much as $30,281 (101.8%) more than the average Key Employee salary of $29,746. If you're qualified, finding work as a Fss may help you make more money than that of the average Key Employee position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Fss | $60,027 | $28.86 |
Crisis 24 | $53,410 | $25.68 |
Addiction Recovery Specialist | $52,998 | $25.48 |
Mental Health Support Specialist | $51,399 | $24.71 |
Crpa | $46,726 | $22.46 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
