What does it cost to hire a training and development specialist in Philadelphia?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $76,710 median wage in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $15,342 to $23,013 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a training and development specialist in Philadelphia look like?

Employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area pay training and development specialists a median of $76,710, with the middle half of the market between $59,130 and $102,910 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $59,130 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Is the talent for this role already in Philadelphia?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 34.6% of Philadelphia adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Hiring a training and development specialist in Philadelphia, PA

Employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area pay training and development specialists a median of $76,710 a year, with the middle half of the market between $59,130 and $102,910 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-1151). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Philadelphia residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area pay?

Philadelphia residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $77,479 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $83,685 as the median of the 28 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 7%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole business and financial operations group, not this one role. In the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area the group covers 28 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from credit counselors at $57,990 to financial risk specialists at $130,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with training and development specialists at $76,710 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 28 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Philadelphia and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does a training and development specialist earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to training and development specialists by employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-1151.
25th percentile	$59,130
Median	$76,710
75th percentile	$102,910

Half of training and development specialists in this area earn between $59,130 and $102,910 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $59,130 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 13-1151 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Philadelphia residents earn

$77,479

Median annual earnings of Philadelphia residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 49,385 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures.
Obtain, organize, or develop training procedure manuals, guides, or course materials, such as handouts or visual materials.
Evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts.
Offer specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills.
Assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives.

Task statements for SOC 13-1151, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Learning management system LMS, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe After Effects.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 13-1151 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Philadelphia?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. O*NET OnLine, SOC 13-1151.

That matters here, because 34.6% of Philadelphia adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Philadelphia aged 25 and over.

The average Philadelphia commute runs 32 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 16.4% of Philadelphia workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Philadelphia.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Philadelphia County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 7,188 and turns over 8.6% a quarter, with 820 hires against 655 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $9,664 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about training and development specialists. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $76,710 median in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $15,342 to $23,013 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a training and development specialist in Philadelphia

What does it cost to hire a training and development specialist in Philadelphia?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $76,710 median wage in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $15,342 to $23,013 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a training and development specialist in Philadelphia look like?: Employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area pay training and development specialists a median of $76,710, with the middle half of the market between $59,130 and $102,910 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $59,130 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Philadelphia residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area pay?: Philadelphia residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $77,479 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $83,685 as the median of the 28 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 7%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Philadelphia?: This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 34.6% of Philadelphia adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a training and development specialist somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other business and financial operations roles in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the largest of 2 Pennsylvania cities in this dataset.