By industry, by role level, by company size, by region, by cost component. Median cost-per-hire across 38+ segments, each number sourced. From SHRM, Bersin, Aptitude Research, BLS JOLTS, Korn Ferry, iCIMS, and regional workforce reports.
The 2025 US cost-per-hire median is $4,700 (SHRM Talent Acquisition Benchmarking) — up from $4,129 the prior cycle. Tech and software lead at a $9K median; retail and hospitality run $1,500-$1,900. Cost scales near-exponentially with role seniority: entry-level $1,200 → senior IC $8,800 → director $16,500 → C-suite $95,000+ on retained search (Korn Ferry).
Where the money actually goes: 45% recruiter labor, 20% sourcing channels, 15% tech stack, 10% assessments/checks, 10% candidate experience. This page collects 38+ benchmarks segmented by industry × role × company-size × region × cost-component. Sources: SHRM Talent Acquisition Benchmarking 2025, Josh Bersin Company, Aptitude Research, BLS JOLTS, Korn Ferry, iCIMS, and regional workforce reports. Refreshed quarterly. Free to cite — please link back.
Industry is the single biggest predictor of cost-per-hire. Tech and finance run 3-6× retail and hospitality, primarily because of recruiter compensation, sourcing-tool spend, and competing-offer leverage at the offer stage.
Cost scales near-exponentially with seniority. Executive hires that go through retained search firms can run 200×+ the cost of an entry-level hourly hire, mostly because retained search fees are 25–35% of first-year cash comp.
Smaller cohorts show wider variance — startups range from near-zero (founder hires) to $30K+ (lateral senior eng) because there's no standardized TA process to amortize. Enterprises run lower per-hire cost due to internal mobility + brand pull, but carry large fixed TA overhead.
Regional variance tracks both local salary levels and the cost structure of recruiting (placement fees, notice periods, agency density). Germany and France sit above the US largely because of statutory notice periods that lengthen time-to-hire — and time-to-hire is the main multiplier on recruiter labor.
On average, 57% of cost-per-hire is recruiter time + internal labor + sourcing channel spend. The next 30% is technology stack + assessments + verifications. The remaining 13% is candidate-experience + onboarding. AI screening compresses the labor + sourcing components most directly — typically 30–50% of the largest category.
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