Key finding:
In March 2026, the 500-plus group averaged $68.03 per hour. The 1–49 group averaged $37.36. Both groups cover U.S. private establishments. The large group was 82% higher. Its benefit costs were 147% higher.
The figures include wages, salaries and benefit costs.
Hourly Compensation Costs by Establishment Size
| Compensation component | 1–49 workers | 500+ workers | Dollar gap | 500+ group versus 1–49 group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total compensation | $37.36 | $68.03 | $30.67 | 82.1% higher |
| Wages and salaries | $27.68 | $44.07 | $16.39 | 59.2% higher |
| Total benefits | $9.68 | $23.95 | $14.27 | 147.4% higher |
RecurSave used BLS data for March 2026. The source is Table 6 in the ECEC report.
What the Data Show
The gap was much wider for benefits than for wages.
In the 500-plus group, wage costs were 59.2% higher. Benefit costs were 147.4% higher.
Benefits made up 35.2% of total cost in the 500-plus group. They made up 25.9% in the 1–49 group. The gap was 9.3 percentage points.
These are costs to the employer. They are not take-home pay.
Method
The data come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS. Its report is called Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, or ECEC.
Table 6 splits private industry by site size. RecurSave compared two groups. One group had 1 to 49 workers. The other had 500 or more.
The formula is:
Percentage gap = (500-plus cost − 1–49 cost) ÷ 1–49 cost × 100
BLS gives each dollar value to the nearest cent. RecurSave used those values for each gap. The table shows each gap to one decimal place. The headline uses whole numbers.
Limitations
An establishment is one work site. A company may own several sites. So these figures do not show company size.
These are group averages. They do not compare the same job at a small and large site.
Job type can change the cost. So can industry, region, hours, union status and staff mix. This study does not adjust for those traits.
The data do not prove that site size caused the gap.
BLS gets these estimates from a sample. It also gives a relative standard error for each estimate.
Benefit costs cover all workers in each group. This includes workers with no plan. It also includes workers who do not take part.
Why the Finding Is Useful
BLS lists the hourly cost for each size group. Its main table does not give the gaps.
RecurSave calculated the dollar and percent gaps. This makes the two groups easy to compare. It also shows a wider gap for benefits than for wages.