Wage Benchmark Comparator
Compare salary growth with a selected wage series.
Wage Benchmark Comparator: Scenario Inputs
Annual percentage rate or benchmark index change.
Inflation & Purchasing Power Analysis
Over 3 years at 3.5% inflation, a $75,000 salary requires $83,154 to retain equal purchasing power. Without matching raises, your real compensation experiences an effective reduction of $7,355 (-9.81%).
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How Wage Benchmark Comparator Works?
The Wage Benchmark Comparator works by indexing your salary and the benchmark wage series to 100 at the same start date.
Enter your pay history
Type your salary for each year.
Pick a benchmark series
Choose an overall or industry wage series.
Index both to 100
The comparator rebases both series to the same start year.
Read the relative position
The output shows the gap in index points and your pay relative to the benchmark path.
Wage Benchmark Comparator Formula
The Wage Benchmark Comparator formula divides your pay index by the benchmark index.
Relative % = (Your Indext ÷ Benchmark Indext − 1) × 100
Matchedt = Salary0 × Benchmarkt ÷ Benchmark0
Variables
- Your Indext
- Your salary path, start = 100
- Benchmark Indext
- Wage series path, start = 100
Worked example
After 5 years your pay index stands at 117.1 and the benchmark at 122.9. Your pay trails the benchmark by -4.79%.
Wage Benchmark Comparator Conversion Table
This table compares 5 years of your raises with an example benchmark wage series.
| Year | Your raise | Benchmark growth | Your index | Benchmark index | Relative position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 3.0% | 3.1% | 103.0 | 103.1 | -0.10% |
| Year 2 | 2.5% | 4.4% | 105.6 | 107.6 | -1.92% |
| Year 3 | 4.0% | 5.2% | 109.8 | 113.2 | -3.03% |
| Year 4 | 3.5% | 4.5% | 113.6 | 118.3 | -3.96% |
| Year 5 | 3.0% | 3.9% | 117.1 | 122.9 | -4.79% |
Benchmark growth rates are illustrative examples.
What is Wage Benchmark Comparator?
The Wage Benchmark Comparator is a tool that compares your salary growth with a published wage series, such as average hourly earnings for your industry. The comparator answers whether your pay kept up with pay for similar workers, not only with prices.
Common benchmarks include Average Hourly Earnings (AHE) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) average weekly earnings series in the UK.
What are the uses of Wage Benchmark Comparator?
There are 4 main uses of the Wage Benchmark Comparator.
Check market position
See whether pay kept pace with others in the same field.
Support market adjustments
Back a market-rate raise with published wage data.
Review pay strategy
Employers check whether pay bands track market wage growth.
Separate two gaps
Distinguish a gap against prices from a gap against market wages.
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