What 60,000 Job Listings Reveal About Pay Bands

InsideTrack's database tracks over 60,000 active job listings across six categories: sales, executive, RevOps, AI/ML, fractional, and marketing/growth. The salary transparency data embedded in these listings provides a clear, current picture of what companies are paying in 2026, where the biggest compensation gaps exist, and how pay bands vary by function, seniority, and work arrangement. We pulled the numbers, compared them across categories, and organized the findings into the reference tables and analysis below.

Whether you're preparing for a salary negotiation, benchmarking a job offer, or planning your next career move, these figures give you a data-backed starting point. Every number here comes from posted salary ranges in active job listings, so they reflect what companies are willing to put on paper today.

Salary Ranges by Category

Median salary bands across InsideTrack's six job categories, broken down by seniority level. These ranges represent the middle of what companies post in their listings. Actual compensation varies by location, company stage, equity packages, and individual negotiation. Fractional roles are quoted in hourly rates, which is the standard billing format for that category.

Sales (AE, AM, SDR, SE)

Seniority Level	Base Salary Range
Entry (SDR/BDR)	$55,000 - $75,000
Mid (AE/AM)	$85,000 - $120,000
Senior (Sr. AE/SE)	$130,000 - $180,000
VP of Sales	$200,000 - $300,000+

Sales has the widest variance of any category because posted base salary tells only part of the story. A mid-level AE with a $100K base might have an OTE (on-target earnings) of $200K when commission is included. VP of Sales roles at well-funded startups routinely list base ranges of $200K-$300K but include equity packages worth $500K or more over four years. If you're evaluating a sales role, always ask about OTE, commission structure, accelerators, and quota attainability alongside the base number.

Executive

Seniority Level	Base Salary Range
Director	$150,000 - $200,000
VP	$200,000 - $280,000
C-Suite	$250,000 - $400,000+

Executive comp is the hardest to evaluate from job listings alone. C-suite roles at Series B and later companies frequently include equity grants that double or triple the base salary over a four-year vesting period. The posted range of $250K-$400K for a CFO or CRO can translate to $600K-$1.2M in total annual compensation when equity appreciation is factored in. Public companies are required to disclose executive pay, which gives you better benchmarks at that tier.

RevOps

Seniority Level	Base Salary Range
Analyst	$70,000 - $95,000
Manager	$100,000 - $140,000
Director	$150,000 - $200,000
VP of RevOps	$180,000 - $250,000

RevOps is the fastest-growing category in InsideTrack's database, with 15-20% more listings year over year compared to 2025. The function has consolidated what used to be separate sales ops, marketing ops, and CS ops roles into a single revenue operations discipline. That consolidation is pushing salaries up, particularly at the director and VP level where companies are competing for operators who can work across the full customer lifecycle.

AI/ML

Seniority Level	Base Salary Range
Junior Engineer	$90,000 - $120,000
Mid-Level Engineer	$130,000 - $170,000
Senior Engineer	$170,000 - $230,000
Staff / Principal	$230,000 - $350,000

AI/ML leads every other category in base compensation at every seniority level. A junior AI/ML engineer starts higher than a mid-level professional in most other functions. Staff and principal engineers at top-tier companies (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta FAIR) routinely see total compensation packages exceeding $600K-$800K when equity is included. The talent supply is still constrained relative to demand, which keeps these numbers climbing quarter over quarter.

Fractional

Role	Hourly Rate Range
Fractional CFO	$200 - $350/hr
Fractional CRO	$250 - $400/hr
Fractional CMO	$200 - $300/hr

Fractional executive roles are priced hourly or on a daily/monthly retainer basis because the engagement model is fundamentally different from full-time employment. A fractional CRO billing $300/hr for 20 hours per week generates $312K in annual revenue, but many fractional executives serve two to four clients simultaneously. The effective annual income for a well-booked fractional executive can exceed full-time C-suite base salary, though without the equity upside or benefits. Fractional CRO roles command the highest rates because revenue leadership has the most direct, measurable impact on company growth.

Marketing / Growth

Seniority Level	Base Salary Range
Coordinator	$50,000 - $70,000
Manager	$80,000 - $120,000
Director	$130,000 - $175,000
VP of Marketing	$175,000 - $250,000

Marketing and growth roles show a clear premium for candidates with performance marketing, analytics, or product-led growth experience. A Director of Growth Marketing with strong attribution and experimentation skills will land at the top of the $130K-$175K range or above it. Brand marketing and communications roles tend to sit at the lower end. The gap between "marketing" and "growth" in title and compensation is widening, and listings that include "growth" in the title post salary ranges 10-15% higher on average than equivalent "marketing" titles.

Remote vs. On-Site Pay Gap

The compensation gap between remote and on-site roles has narrowed significantly since 2023, when many companies applied blanket 10-20% salary reductions for remote workers. In 2026, the picture is more nuanced. InsideTrack's data shows that the size of the gap depends heavily on the job category, the company's compensation philosophy, and the seniority of the role.

AI/ML and engineering roles show the smallest remote penalty. For senior and staff-level positions, remote and on-site listings post nearly identical salary ranges, with the gap sitting at 3-5% or less. Companies competing for this talent have largely accepted that geographic pay adjustments cost them candidates, and the talent shortage makes it impractical to discount offers based on location.

Sales roles are the exception. Remote sales positions frequently list a lower base salary paired with a higher variable compensation component. The logic from the employer's side: a remote AE has lower overhead, and the company shifts more of the compensation structure toward performance-based pay. For a strong seller, this can work out to higher total earnings. For someone who prefers income predictability, it's worth noting during the offer stage.

Location-based pay adjustments still exist at large companies with formal compensation bands. A software engineer at a company with a San Francisco headquarters and a structured geo-pay model will see a 5-15% adjustment if they work from Austin or Denver. Smaller companies and startups are less likely to apply these adjustments because they lack the compensation infrastructure and because they're competing against companies that don't discount for location.

The trend line points toward continued convergence. As more companies settle into permanent remote or hybrid models, the administrative overhead of maintaining geo-adjusted pay bands is becoming harder to justify. Companies that hold onto large location discounts are losing candidates to competitors who pay the same rate regardless of geography.

The Seniority Premium

VP-level roles command 2x to 3x the base salary of entry-level positions in the same function. That multiplier holds across all six categories in InsideTrack's data. But the jumps aren't evenly distributed across the career ladder. The single largest salary increase comes at the Director-to-VP transition, where base compensation typically jumps 40-60%.

Here's how the progression looks in RevOps, as a representative example:

Transition	Typical Base Increase
Analyst to Manager	30-45%
Manager to Director	35-50%
Director to VP	40-60%

The Director-to-VP jump is disproportionately large because it represents a shift in scope, not just responsibility. Directors manage teams and execute strategy. VPs own P&L, set strategy, and report to the C-suite. Companies price that difference steeply because a VP's decisions have direct, measurable impact on revenue and company trajectory.

C-suite compensation often includes significant equity that doesn't show up in posted salary bands. A C-suite listing showing $250K-$400K base might include a 1-2% equity stake at a Series B company or RSUs worth $300K-$500K/year at a public company. The posted range captures the cash floor, but the ceiling is determined by equity and performance bonuses that vary widely by company stage and performance.

Which Categories Pay the Most

On pure base compensation, AI/ML leads at every seniority level. A mid-level AI/ML engineer ($130K-$170K) earns more in base salary than a marketing director ($130K-$175K) despite being two rungs lower on the organizational chart. The premium reflects both the scarcity of the talent pool and the revenue impact that AI capabilities have on product-led companies.

When total compensation is factored in, executive and fractional roles close the gap and often surpass AI/ML. A VP of Sales with a $250K base, $250K variable, and $400K in four-year equity is earning $625K/year in total comp. A fractional CRO billing $350/hr across three clients for 40 hours/week generates $728K annually. Neither of those numbers shows up in a salary band search, which is why base salary comparisons only tell part of the story.

RevOps deserves special attention as the fastest-growing category. The 15-20% year-over-year increase in RevOps listings signals that companies are investing in this function, and compensation is following. VP of RevOps was a rare title three years ago. Today it's a standard senior hire at companies with $20M+ ARR, and the salary bands ($180K-$250K) reflect the strategic importance companies are placing on revenue operations.

Sales has the widest variance of any category because commission structures create enormous range in total earnings. Two AEs at the same company with the same $100K base can earn $150K and $350K respectively depending on quota attainment and accelerators. If you're comparing a sales offer to a fixed-salary role, look at realistic OTE (ask current reps what actual attainment looks like, not the number on the offer letter) and build your comparison from there.

What Salary Transparency Laws Have Changed

Colorado led the way in 2021, and since then New York City, California, and Washington have enacted laws requiring employers to include salary ranges in job postings. Several other states and municipalities have passed similar legislation taking effect in 2026 and 2027. These laws have had a measurable impact on the quality and specificity of posted compensation data.

In InsideTrack's database, listings in states with transparency laws show narrower, more specific salary ranges. A software engineer posting in California might list $160K-$190K. The same role at the same company posted in a state without a transparency requirement might show $130K-$220K or simply say "competitive salary." The narrow range gives candidates useful information. The wide range is functionally meaningless.

The practical effects for job seekers:

• States with transparency laws produce salary data you can rely on for benchmarking. The ranges are tight enough to estimate what the company will offer, and the legal requirement means they can't lowball you outside the posted range without risk.
• States without transparency laws still have many employers who voluntarily post ranges, particularly in competitive hiring markets. But the ranges tend to be wider, and "competitive salary" or "DOE" (depends on experience) listings are common.
• Remote roles create an interesting edge case. A company headquartered in California hiring for a remote role must include a salary range that complies with California law, even if the employee works from Texas. This has effectively expanded salary transparency beyond the states that enacted it.

The trend across the country is toward more transparency. Each year, additional states introduce pay range requirements. Companies that operate in multiple states are increasingly standardizing on a single transparent approach for all listings rather than maintaining different versions for different jurisdictions. This is good for job seekers everywhere, because it means more data points for comparison and less guesswork during negotiations.

How to Use Salary Data in Your Job Search

Raw salary data is useful. Knowing how to apply it to your specific situation is what converts that data into a better offer. Here are four ways to use the numbers in this report during your search and negotiation process.

Know your market rate before negotiating

Walk into every salary conversation with a specific range backed by data. "Based on current listings for Senior RevOps Managers in my market, the range is $100K-$140K" is a stronger position than "I'm looking for something in the low six figures." Specificity signals that you've done your research and know what the market supports. It also anchors the conversation around real numbers rather than what the employer hoped you'd accept.

Compare across geographies

If you're open to relocation or remote work, salary data across multiple markets becomes a powerful tool. A Director of Marketing role in San Francisco posts at $150K-$175K. The same role in Austin might post at $130K-$160K. But if the Austin company hires remote workers at SF rates (increasingly common), you can capture the higher salary with the lower cost of living. Cross-reference the location policy in the listing with the salary range to identify these opportunities.

Read the range width

A narrow range ($140K-$160K) signals a firm budget and a clear level. The company knows what they want to pay, and your negotiation room is limited to that $20K band. A wide range ($120K-$200K) signals either flexibility or uncertainty about the level. Wide ranges often mean the company is open to hiring at multiple seniority levels for the same title, and there's more room to negotiate toward the top based on your experience. When you see a wide range, ask directly: "What determines where someone lands in this range?"

Ask about total comp

Base salary is the floor, not the ceiling. For every role above the individual contributor level, total compensation includes some combination of annual bonus (typically 10-30% of base at the director+ level), equity (RSUs or stock options), signing bonus, and benefits. At the VP and C-suite level, equity can equal or exceed base salary. A $200K base offer with $400K in four-year RSUs and a 25% annual bonus target is worth $325K/year. Don't evaluate a number that represents 60% of your actual compensation package.

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