Chief Executive Group Research
Not all CEO paychecks are created equal. And while company size continues to trump most other variables, the sector in which a company operates can make a substantial difference in what its chief executive earns.
According to new data from our 2026–2027 survey of 1,551 U.S. companies, financial services CEOs are projected to receive the highest median cash compensation among private-company leaders in 2026, at $581,222. That’s more than twice the $280,100 expected for CEOs in education, government and nonprofit organizations, which occupy the bottom of the rankings.
But that’s only part of the story. A closer look into shifting trends reveals a more complicated picture.
CEOs in financial services sit at the top of the rankings, with median expected cash compensation of $581,222 in 2026, including a $418,722 base salary and $162,500 bonus.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology CEOs follow at $549,677, while energy, utilities, oil and gas rank third at $486,631.
Architecture and engineering ($450,138) and technology, telecommunications and software ($440,000) round out the five highest-paying industries.
At the other end of the spectrum, CEOs in education, government and nonprofit organizations expect median cash compensation of $280,100. Media and publishing follow at $354,000, with advertising, marketing and sales ($365,000), retail ($373,500) and agriculture, forestry and fishing ($379,100) completing the bottom five.
That puts a roughly $300,000 gap between the highest- and lowest-paying sectors.
The gap isn’t entirely surprising. Industries differ in company size, business models, profitability and the financial resources available to compensate executives. A financial services firm and a nonprofit organization may have dramatically different compensation structures, even when both are led by experienced executives.
That’s why industry data is most useful alongside benchmarks for company revenue, ownership structure and other factors.
Actual 2025 compensation data shows that among companies generating $10 million to $99.9 million in annual revenue, pharmaceutical and biotechnology CEOs earned the highest median cash compensation of the industries examined, at $515,335.
Financial services followed at $496,602, with energy at $447,333 and architecture and engineering at $435,000.
Technology CEOs, meanwhile, earned a median $431,250—close to the leaders, despite ranking fifth in the overall 2026 forecasts.
The picture changes again among companies generating $100 million to $999.9 million.
Pharma/biotech and financial services are virtually tied at the top, with median CEO cash compensation of $832,684 and $831,475, respectively. But technology moves into third place among the industries represented, at $780,000, followed by architecture and engineering at $762,900.
Energy, which ranks third overall in the 2026 forecast, falls to $662,000 in this revenue band—below several other industries.
The findings don’t mean that the industry rankings are wrong. They show why a simple industry average can be misleading. A sector with a greater concentration of large companies may report higher overall executive compensation, even when CEOs at similarly sized businesses in other industries earn as much—or more.
For companies benchmarking CEO pay, the lesson is straightforward: Industry matters, but company size matters at least as much.
The industry differences also reflect how companies generate value—and the demands placed on their leadership.
Financial services companies operate in businesses where capital management, regulatory requirements, risk and investment decisions can be central to performance. Their executive compensation arrangements also carry the largest bonus opportunities in dollar terms: Among the industries surveyed, financial services CEOs anticipate the largest median bonuses in 2026, at $162,500. Measured against base salary, though, architecture and engineering leads the field, at 50.2 percent of salary.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies face a different set of challenges. Product development timelines, scientific uncertainty, regulatory approvals and substantial research investments can create unusually complex leadership demands. The sector’s expected median CEO bonus of $150,000 in 2026 is second only to financial services.
Technology companies also tend to place a premium on leadership capable of managing innovation, changing business models and rapid shifts in competitive conditions. Their stronger position in the company-size comparisons suggests that the sector’s overall ranking doesn’t fully capture its compensation competitiveness.
At the other end, education, government and nonprofit organizations operate under substantially different financial and governance constraints. Compensation may be influenced by mission, funding sources and public or stakeholder scrutiny in ways that don’t apply to most commercial businesses.
Retail and other consumer-facing businesses face their own pressures. Labor costs, operating margins and demand volatility can constrain the resources available for executive incentives.
A historical comparison adds another dimension to the benchmarking exercise.
Financial services has consistently occupied the top of the rankings in the past three years, but its projected compensation has fluctuated. In 2024, financial services CEOs forecasted a median cash compensation of $597,500. That declined to $540,265 the following year, before recovering to $581,222 in 2026.
Pharma/biotech followed a similar, though more pronounced, trajectory. Expected compensation fell from $532,312 in 2024 to $476,517 in 2025 before rebounding to $549,677 in 2026.
The data shows that much of the latest rebound comes from bonuses. Pharma/biotech CEOs expect a median $150,000 bonus this year, compared with $90,000 in the 2025 forecast, while base salaries have increased much more modestly.
That pattern is consistent with a sector in which compensation opportunities can vary with business performance and expectations.
Energy tells a different story: Expected CEO cash compensation in energy, utilities, oil and gas has barely moved across the three years: $485,256 in 2024, $491,616 in 2025 and $486,631 in 2026. While the sector remains among the highest-paying overall, its relatively stable compensation contrasts with the larger movements in financial services and biotech.
And at the bottom of the rankings, education, government and nonprofit organizations have shown striking consistency: $275,850 in 2024, $278,600 in 2025 and $280,100 in 2026.
Media and publishing has also remained near the bottom, with expected compensation of $359,250, $350,510 and $354,000 across the same three years.
Among commercial industries, retail stands out for moving in the opposite direction from the leaders.
Retail CEOs anticipated median cash compensation of $411,695 in 2024. That slipped to $406,672 in 2025 and is projected to fall further to $373,500 in 2026. Much of the decline comes from bonuses, which fell from $117,632 in the 2024 forecast to $75,000 in 2026. Base salaries, by comparison, have remained relatively stable.
That makes variable pay the more interesting part of retail’s compensation story. It may reflect the importance of financial performance in executive incentive arrangements, although differences between the annual survey samples could also contribute.
Wholesale and distribution shows a different trajectory. After expected compensation fell from $433,400 in 2024 to $383,933 in 2025, the 2026 forecast rebounded to $423,338.
Industrial manufacturing also recovered from a decline in 2025. Expected median CEO cash compensation fell from $408,000 in 2024 to $390,000 in 2025 but is projected to reach $412,500 in 2026.
Consumer-goods manufacturing, meanwhile, has remained relatively steady, with expected compensation of $431,500 in 2026 compared with $423,500 in 2024.
These movements may reflect changing financial conditions, compensation expectations or the composition of each year’s respondents. They are signals worth watching.
For boards and companies reviewing CEO compensation, three findings stand out.
The lesson for companies isn’t to ignore industry comparisons. It’s to use them more carefully.
For more benchmarks by company size, industry and ownership structure, explore Chief Executive Group Research’s latest CEO & Senior Executive Compensation Report.
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