Every Level of Salary, and What Changes at Each One

10. A part-time job

One chief executive's salary was $1, yet total pay passed 25 million. Ten pay levels, and what changes at each one. Number ten: a part-time job. Starbucks' median employee, a part-time barista, made $17,279 in fiscal twenty twenty-five.

A median is the middle pay: roughly half are paid more and half less. Flexible part-time roles lower that median, which spans the global workforce. It counts a year of base wages and leaves out health care and other benefits. By our count, a month of that pay is about $1,440.

17,279 divided by twelve is about 1,440. If this helps, subscribe: every listed pay figure in this video comes from the companies' own filings, linked below.

9. A store chain's median

Number nine: a store chain's median. In its fiscal twenty twenty-six, Walmart's median associate had total pay of $30,520. To find the median associate, the company ranked gross pay. Those count wages, overtime, bonuses and any company shares that vested during the year.

Its count includes part-time, seasonal and temporary associates. A discount card and medical benefits are available to associates generally. When they buy company shares through a purchase plan, the company adds a limited 15% match. By our count, Walmart's median is about 1.8 times Starbucks'.

30,520 divided by 17,279 is about 1.8. Pay and benefits differ from place to place, and this is one company's median.

8. A warehouse club's median

Number eight: a warehouse club's median. At Costco, the median employee's total pay was $49,186 in fiscal twenty twenty-five. That median includes part-time, seasonal and temporary workers. Among full-time workers only, the median is $66,262.

These are two different groups' medians: all workers counted, and full-time workers only. To find the middle worker, it combined salary, bonus, stock awards and other measurable benefits. By our count, Costco's full-time median is about $17,000 higher. 66,262 minus 49,186 is 17,076.

Pay depends on the role, the hours and the market.

7. A tech company's median

Number seven: a tech company's median. Apple put its median employee's pay at $139,483 for fiscal twenty twenty-five. To find the median, the company counted base salary, bonuses, commissions and the grant value of stock. Employees can join a stock purchase plan and get a product discount.

Its benefit programs also include service awards based on tenure, matching gifts and vacation cash-out. Health and welfare programs and a retirement plan are part of the benefits too. By our count, Apple's median is about 2.8 times Costco's. 139,483 divided by 49,186 is about 2.8.

Stock grants are valued on the day they are given, not when they pay out.

6. A median over three hundred thousand

Number six: a median over 300,000. For twenty twenty-five, Alphabet reported a median employee pay of $310,826. To find that median, the company ranked employees by base salary and target bonus. Benefits include medical, dental and vision plans, and paid time off.

The company also pays life insurance premiums for its employees. Employees can save in a retirement plan, and the company adds a match. The company also has a matching gift program. Pay at the middle of this company is in the hundreds of thousands.

By our count, Alphabet's median comes to about $25,900 a month. 310,826 divided by twelve is about 25,902. A median moves from year to year as staff and grants change. That's halfway: five levels done, from a part-time job to a median over 300,000.

The last five go from a higher median up to the top paycheck in this list, with the top last.

5. A higher median

Number five: a higher median. Meta's median employee had total pay of $388,200 in twenty twenty-five. To find its median worldwide, it counted salary, hourly overtime, bonus or commission, and stock granted that year. Stock granted that year is part of the median's total.

Meta's finance chief had total pay of about $20 million that year. Stock awards made up about $16.7 million of it. By our count, Meta's median is about 1.25 times Alphabet's. 388,000 divided by 311,000 is about 1.25.

Granted stock is a value on paper, and its final worth can differ.

4. A finance chief

Number four: a finance chief. Costco's chief financial officer had total pay of $6,770,513. Award values are set at grant, so what is finally received can differ. The salary part was $915,115.

Stock awards added $5,453,713. Those awards are stock units tied to performance goals and to time. A cash incentive added $184,000, and a bonus 16,000. For this finance chief, salary is the smaller part of pay.

By our count, stock awards made up about 81% of that total. 5.45 million divided by 6.77 million is about 81%. So far: seven levels, from a part-time job up to a finance chief.

3. A chief executive

Number three: a chief executive. The same company's chief executive had total pay of $13,932,597. The salary was $1,183,270. Stock awards came to $12,036,800.

The cash incentive was $600,000. A year earlier, the total was $12,229,741. Most of this chief executive's pay is stock. By our count, this total is about twice the finance chief's.

13.93 million divided by 6.77 million is about 2.06. Chief executive pay varies widely from company to company.

2. A one-dollar salary

Number two: a one-dollar salary. At Meta, the chief executive's salary for twenty twenty-five was $1. Total pay still came to $25,125,904. There was no bonus and no stock award that year.

About $8.5 million covered personal security at home and on personal trips. A yearly allowance of $14 million covers more security costs for the family. Personal use of private aircraft added about $2.5 million. Security and travel costs were most of the total.

By our count, security and the allowance made up about 90% of the total. 8.5 million plus 14 million is 22.5 million, about 90% of 25.1 million. The filing ties these costs to the company's overall security program for its chief executive. Before number one, a guess: how much of the top paycheck in this list is salary?

1. The top paycheck in this list

Number one: the top paycheck in this list. Apple's chief executive had total pay of $74,294,811. The stock figure is an accounting value at grant, so the final amount can differ. The salary was $3 million.

The stock awards were valued at $57,535,293. The target value of that stock award was $50 million. Results beat the top goals for both net sales and operating income that year. So the cash incentive paid out at its maximum, $12 million.

All other compensation, mostly security and personal air travel, added $1,759,518. Most of this top paycheck is stock tied to time and results. By our count, the salary is about 4% of that total. 3 million divided by 74.3 million is about 4%.

By our count, level two's total is about a third of this one. 74.3 million divided by 25.1 million is about three. So, every level: a part-time job, a store chain, a warehouse club, a tech company, then over 300,000. Next, a higher median, a finance chief, a chief executive, a one-dollar salary and the top paycheck in this list.

Pay, benefits and taxes differ where you work. So check each company's own filings, and compare what the pay includes. Which level surprised you most? Tell us the number in the comments.

Results vary, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings. Next on Wealth Filings, watch every level of investing, and what changes at each one.