Small Businesses, Big Paychecks

Small-business people may have plenty of reasons to complain about their jobs—the long hours, the tight credit, the unreliable help—but their salaries, it seems, aren't one of them. According to a survey released yesterday by Salary.com, the national median salary this year for a small-business CEO overseeing a company with an average of 92 employees was $233,500. The top execs at companies that have grown to 500 employees make an average of $500,000.

The Salary.com survey used data from 2,237 businesses in a range of industries and locations. Other findings of note:

• CEOs in finance, construction, and real estate tend to make even more than their peers. Small-biz owners in the rental and leasing industry, for example, brought in an average of $320,000 this year. (The average salary for their assistants? $46,100.)

• The more their companies earn, not surprisingly, the more CEOs take home. CEOs of businesses with $25 million to $35 million in revenue earned 113 percent of the national median salary (about $263,000). For owners with more than $50 million in revenue, the number jumped to 159 percent (about $371,000).

Small-biz owners may have their struggles—and as the election season heats up, you can count on hearing about them—but chances are, they're making more than your lawyer.

Tags: CEOs | salaries | small business | executive pay

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