What is the average CEO salary in the United States?

Across the 209 U.S. public companies CEOPayWatch tracks from SEC DEF 14A filings, the average CEO total compensation is $12.2M, and the median is $12.0M. Most of that is long-term equity (RSUs and PSUs) reported at FASB ASC 718 grant-date fair value rather than cash. Base salary alone for an average S&P 500 CEO is typically $1M-$2M; the remainder of the headline number is annual cash incentive plus equity grants.

Why is the median lower than the average?

CEO pay is heavily right-skewed: a small number of very-high-paid CEOs (Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, the Tesla 2018 grant) pull the average up substantially above the median. In this dataset the average is $12.2M but the median sits at $12.0M. The 25th-percentile CEO earns about $8.0M; the 75th-percentile earns $12.0M; the 90th-percentile earns $18.0M. For most analytical purposes, median is the more representative number.

How does CEO pay vary by company size?

Dramatically. CEO total compensation roughly scales with the natural log of company revenue or market cap. CEOs of mega-cap companies ($500B+ market cap) average $25M-$50M; large-cap S&P 500 CEOs ($10B-$500B market cap) average $15M-$25M; mid-cap CEOs ($2B-$10B) average $7M-$15M; small-cap public-company CEOs ($300M-$2B) average $3M-$7M. Industry mix and individual performance can move any specific CEO meaningfully above or below the size-band median.

How much of CEO pay is base salary vs equity?

For an average S&P 500 CEO, base salary is typically $1M-$2M, the annual cash incentive (bonus) is $2M-$4M, and the remaining $10M-$30M+ comes from stock and option awards. Stock awards (RSUs and PSUs) make up roughly 60-80% of total compensation for most large-cap CEOs. The shift from cash-heavy to equity-heavy structures was driven by IRC Section 162(m) (which capped salary deductibility above $1M while exempting performance-based equity until 2017), FASB ASC 718 (which required equity expensing), and proxy advisor preferences for pay-for-performance alignment.

What is the highest-paid CEO making?

The single highest-paid CEO in the dataset earns $40.0M in reported total compensation in the most recent fiscal year — driven primarily by a large equity grant under FASB ASC 718 grant-date fair value. Realized pay (what the executive actually banks when stock vests or options are exercised) can be higher or lower than the headline number depending on share-price performance.

How does U.S. CEO pay compare internationally?

U.S. CEO compensation is dramatically higher than European and Japanese pay at comparable revenue scales. Typical large-cap U.S. CEO total compensation runs 2-4x higher than UK FTSE 100 CEOs, 4-8x higher than DAX 30 CEOs in Germany, and 10-20x higher than Nikkei 225 CEOs in Japan. The gap is driven primarily by the size and structure of long-term equity awards.

Average CEO Salary 2026: How Much Do CEOs Really Make?, CEOPayWatch

The average CEO at a U.S. public company earns $12.2M per year in total compensation, with the median sitting at $12.0M. The gap between the two numbers reflects how heavily CEO pay is right-skewed — a small number of very-high-paid CEOs pull the average above the median by several million dollars.

The Headline Number

Across the 209 U.S. public companies CEOPayWatch tracks from SEC DEF 14A filings, the average CEO total compensation is $12.2M and the median is $12.0M. Both numbers reflect the most recent fiscal year of disclosure, drawn from each company’s Summary Compensation Table under SEC Regulation S-K Item 402.

Most of that headline number is long-term equity. For an average S&P 500 CEO:

Base salary: $1M-$2M (typically capped near $1M for tax reasons under IRC Section 162(m))
Annual cash bonus: $2M-$4M (paid against a board-approved scorecard)
Stock awards (RSUs, PSUs): $10M-$25M+ (vesting over three-to-four years)
Option awards: $0-$5M (now rare in S&P 500 CEO packages)
Pension change & other: typically under $1M

The Distribution Is Heavily Right-Skewed

A handful of very-high-paid CEOs pull the average meaningfully above the median. Across the dataset:

25th percentile: $8.0M — half of all CEOs in the bottom quartile earn less than this.
50th percentile (median): $12.0M — the typical CEO.
75th percentile: $12.0M — the threshold for “upper-tier” pay in this dataset.
90th percentile: $18.0M — what it takes to break into the top 10% of CEO pay.
Average: $12.2M — pulled above the median by the very top of the distribution.

When CEO pay is reported in the press, the headline number is usually either a high-profile individual CEO or the average across the S&P 500. The median is more representative of what a typical large-cap U.S. CEO actually earns.

How CEO Pay Varies by Company Size

CEO compensation roughly scales with the natural log of company revenue or market capitalization. Larger companies pay larger CEOs:

Mega-cap ($500B+ market cap): Average CEO compensation typically $25M-$50M. Almost entirely long-term equity. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, NVIDIA territory.
Large-cap S&P 500 ($10B-$500B market cap): Average $15M-$25M. The bulk of the dataset CEOPayWatch tracks falls into this band.
Mid-cap ($2B-$10B market cap): Average $7M-$15M. Salary still capped near $1M; annual bonus and equity grant scaled down proportionally.
Small-cap public ($300M-$2B): Average $3M-$7M. Cash and equity in roughly even split for many companies.

Industry mix and individual performance can move any specific CEO meaningfully above or below the size-band median. Pharmaceuticals, technology, and financials tend to pay above the size-adjusted median; utilities and consumer staples tend to pay below.

How CEO Pay Varies by Industry

See industry-specific breakdowns:

Highest-Paid CEOs — overall ranking, all industries
Highest-Paid Bank CEOs — commercial and investment banks
Highest-Paid Healthcare CEOs — pharma, biotech, devices, insurance
Highest-Paid Female CEOs

How U.S. CEO Pay Compares Internationally

U.S. CEO compensation is dramatically higher than European and Japanese CEO pay at comparable revenue scales. The gap is structural, not just incremental:

UK FTSE 100: CEO total compensation is typically 2-4x lower than U.S. peers. Equity grants are smaller; salary is a larger fraction of the package.
German DAX 30: 4-8x lower than U.S. peers. Heavy stakeholder governance; supervisory boards include worker representatives who scrutinize executive pay.
Japanese Nikkei 225: 10-20x lower than U.S. peers. Cultural norms around executive pay and lifetime-employment structures keep CEO compensation closer to senior-employee compensation.

The gap is driven primarily by the size and structure of long-term equity awards, plus differences in proxy advisor norms, tax treatment, and shareholder voting culture.

Where the Numbers Come From

Every figure on this page is sourced from the SEC DEF 14A proxy statement that each company files ahead of its annual shareholder meeting. The proxy is freely available on the SEC’s EDGAR system. The Summary Compensation Table inside the filing is the authoritative source. Equity awards are reported at FASB ASC 718 grant-date fair value, which is an accounting estimate at the time of grant rather than realized pay. Realized pay is disclosed separately in the “Option Exercises and Stock Vested” table.

For a deeper explanation of how the package is built, see How CEO Pay Works and Why Are CEOs Paid So Much.