Human Resources Specialists Salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
SOC 13-1071 · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$92,768
$44.60/hr
22.2% higher than the US national median ($75,941)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Human Resources Specialists salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS September 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q3 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$59K
P25$74K
P50$93K
P75$124K
P90$154K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: ACTIVE. Demand is active -- finance & insurance openings are at 4.2% (JOLTS, September 2026). A balanced market where the median is a solid, competitive anchor.
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Merit budget: Wages in financial activities are rising about 3.4% a year (BLS ECI, Q3 2026). Budget a 3.0-3.5% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $92,768 to $124,384 (market median to the 75th percentile). The median-to-P75 range keeps offers competitive.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Human Resources Specialists pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 4.2% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 3.4% wage growth of Finance & Insurance (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · MODERATE
Finance & Insurance is running a 4.2% job-openings rate with quits at 0.9% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has held near 4.2% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.7 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is wider than typical, so expect large pay differences by experience, employer size, and geography; build generous ranges and differentiate strongly.
What changed recently
Nov 3, 2026JOLTS September 2026: sector openings fell to 4.2% (down 42K; August revised down to 4.7%). Quits eased to 0.9%, the lowest of any major sector, and hires eased to a 1.6% rate.
Oct 30, 2026ECI Q3 2026: financial activities wages rose 3.4% over the year, up from 3.1% in Q2.
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings rose to 5.0% (up 49K; July revised up to 4.4%). Quits eased to 1.0%, so workers are still staying put.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS September 2026, ECI Q3 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Human Resources Specialists in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is $92,768 per year ($44.60/hr). This is 22.2% higher than the national median of $75,941.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. May perform other activities in multiple human resources areas.
Wage Percentiles: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$28.18
$58,614
+24.2%
P25
$35.51
$73,861
+26.0%
P50MEDIAN
$44.60
$92,768
+22.2%
P75
$59.80
$124,384
+25.2%
P90Top earners
$74.02
$153,962
+19.6%
How Seattle compares for Human Resources Specialists
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Human Resources Specialists in Seattle sits above the national range at every level: +24.2% at entry, +22.2% at the median and +19.6% at the top.
An offer at the national median of $75,941 would sit at about the 27th percentile in Seattle.
The top of the range earns 2.63 times the bottom here, close to the 2.73 times seen nationally.
Seattle employs 14,120 people in this role, 1.5% of the national total.
Ordered by BLS median. Shows only metros with published local data for this role.
What employers filed for Human Resources Specialists in Seattle
US Department of Labor, Labor Condition Applications · FY2026 Q3 (decisions 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Jun 2026)
Across 67 filings, the median base salary employers stated for this role in Seattle was $116,938, which sits at P69 on the Seattle BLS pay curve.
What this is, and is not. These are base salaries stated on Labor Condition Applications for visa-sponsored roles, floored by prevailing-wage rules: offered pay on a legal form, not a payroll extract, and base only, with no bonus or equity. It shows how employers position pay for the role, not what the whole market pays.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median human resources specialists salary in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue?
The median (P50) annual salary for Human Resources Specialists in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue is approximately $92,768, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 22.2% higher than the national median of $75,941. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
