CCO salaries rise 2.7 percent as job concerns grow in 2025

BarkerGilmore LLC, the Pittsford-based executive search, coaching, and advisory firm focused on in-house legal and compliance professionals, has released its 2025 Chief Compliance Officer Compensation Report.

The survey of nearly 300 chief compliance officers reveals a 2.7 percent increase in median salaries, along with “some interesting insights into compliance market dynamics,” according to BarkerGilmore Managing Partner John Gilmore.

The 2025 increase in pay was lower than the 5.1 percent bump in 2024, which may account for 56 percent of CCO respondents indicating an interest in seeking new opportunities in the coming year, mainly for better compensation and benefits.

According to the report, 39 percent of CCO respondents were either “very” or “somewhat” concerned about job security.

“This is consistent with an industry poll we conducted in April, where 35 percent of 400 compliance professionals at all levels felt the job market was either consistently or increasingly negative over the past six months,” Gilmore said in a news release.

“This suggests the current economic environment is of concern to compliance professionals, despite the essential role their function plays at most companies,” he added.

“Offsetting near-term job concern, the longer-term outlook for the profession is extremely positive, based on our survey, recent polling, and search assignment volume,” Gilmore said.

According to the report, 69 percent of CCOs said they are viewed as “trusted advisors” by their executive leadership team, or reported their guidance is always followed.

Despite market uncertainty and resource constraints, nearly 73 percent of compliance professionals reported they would pursue compliance again as a career if they started over.

Highlights of the report include:

• Chief compliance officer median salaries increased by 2.7 percent in 2025, a decline from 5.1 percent in 2024. The largest salary increases by industry (both at 3.4 percent) were at industrial and technology companies.
• Cash bonuses were paid at 88 percent of their target, relatively unchanged from the prior year. CCOs were paid an average bonus of $125,551, versus a target average bonus of $134,391.
• The technology industry paid the highest total compensation for CCO positions at $770,000. The life sciences industry paid the second highest at $665,000 and energy was at $578,000 for total compensation.
• Female CCOs were paid a higher base salary, but lower bonus and cash compensation than male counterparts. Total cash compensation for male CCOs was $382,500; slightly higher than $379,000 for female CCOs.

Most CCOs report their performance is often resource constrained. The survey showed that 80 percent said their performance was either sometimes or always affected by a lack of resources or staffing. That finding is similar to BarkerGilmore’s survey of in-house counsel, where 81 percent reported resource constraints.