There is a huge difference between major U.S. companies that pay their employees the most and those that pay the least. The highest-paying companies have several things in common, as do those who pay very poorly.
To identify the 25 highest paying companies in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Highest and Lowest Paid Workers in the S&P 500, published by MyLogicIQ. For the report, the AI-powered Securities and Exchange Commission research company used SEC filings of S&P 500 companies. Based on the report, the highest paying company in America is Alphabet, parent of Google.
While not included here, the 25 lowest paying companies include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Dollar Tree, Yum! Brands, Starbucks, and McDonald’s. McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Yum! are also among the largest employers in America. Low-paying companies tend to have large numbers of hourly workers, and they are most often in the hotel, fast-food, or retail businesses. Massive customer-facing public corporations dominate this list. (These are big U.S. companies paying workers less than $10 an hour.)
Conversely, very high-paying companies are heavily concentrated in the high-tech industry. Most went public in the past three decades. Also, many of the people who work at the companies have PhDs in areas such as software engineering and development.
Several of the 25 highest paying companies are among the most valuable in the world, based on their market capitalizations. Each of these is worth several hundred billion dollars. Most are in the energy, tech, or biotech fields. Unlike low-paying companies, they also tend to have high profit margins. Exxon is among these, as are Twitter, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook.
The highest paying company in America is Alphabet, the parent of Google. The median pay of Alphabet workers is $295,884. Meta is a close second with a median annual pay of employees at $292,785. (This is the lowest paid Fortune 500 CEO in America.)
Alphabet currently has a market cap of $1.5 trillion, which makes it the third most valuable public company in the U.S. Meta Platforms ranks sixth at $515 billion. In the first quarter of this year, Alphabet reported revenue of $68 billion, up 23% from the same quarter in 2021. Net income was $16.4 billion, down from $17.9 billion in the year-ago period. Most of the company’s revenue comes from ads on Google and YouTube.
Click here to see the highest paying company in America
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
25. Devon Energy Corp
> Median employee pay: $179,900
[in-text-ad]
Source: JHVEPhoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
24. Salesforce, Inc.
> Median employee pay: $181,612
Source: jewhyte / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
23. Chevron Corp
> Median employee pay: $183,531
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
22. Eog Resources Inc
> Median employee pay: $185,838
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: JHVEPhoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
21. Invesco Ltd.
> Median employee pay: $187,854
Source: zodebala / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
20. Exxon Mobil Corp
> Median employee pay: $189,082
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
19. Arista Networks, Inc.
> Median employee pay: $190,816
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
18. Hess Corp
> Median employee pay: $197,547
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
17. Valero Energy Corp
> Median employee pay: $198,219
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: brightstars / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
16. Verisign Inc
> Median employee pay: $201,444
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
15. Citrix Systems Inc
> Median employee pay: $201,540
[in-text-ad]
Source: JasonDoiy / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
14. Netflix Inc
> Median employee pay: $201,743
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
13. Fortinet Inc
> Median employee pay: $202,875
12. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
> Median employee pay: $206,292
[in-text-ad-2]
11. F5, Inc.
> Median employee pay: $206,330
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
10. Gilead Sciences Inc
> Median employee pay: $211,687
[in-text-ad]
Source: vzphotos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
9. Nvidia Corp
> Median employee pay: $217,542
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images News via Getty Images
8. Etsy Inc
> Median employee pay: $231,338
Source: hocus-focus / Getty Images
7. Twitter, Inc.
> Median employee pay: $232,626
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
6. Servicenow, Inc.
> Median employee pay: $233,859
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
5. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc
> Median employee pay: $234,107
[in-text-ad]
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
4. Broadcom Inc.
> Median employee pay: $247,541
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
3. Incyte Corp
> Median employee pay: $248,810
Source: Derick Hudson / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
2. Meta Platforms/Facebook
> Median employee pay: $292,785
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
1. Alphabet Inc.
> Median employee pay: $295,884
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)
Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.
Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.
Click here now to get started.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
