Private Equity Associate Salary in the United States

How much does a Private Equity Associate make in the United States?

As of May 01, 2026, the average salary for a Private Equity Associate in the United States is $78,160 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $38.

However, a Private Equity Associate's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $90,074
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $70,372 to $84,396
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $63,282
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View as table View as graph 25% $70,372 10% $63,282 90% $90,074 75% $84,396 $78,160 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Private Equity Associate Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $84,396 $7,033 $1,623 $41
Average $78,160 $6,513 $1,503 $38
25th Percentile $70,372 $5,864 $1,353 $34
Check out Private Equity Associate Job Openings in the United States
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Truenorth Executive Search, Inc. - Columbus, OH

Private Client Associate

SolomonEdwards - Akron, OH

Chief Executive Officer Private Equity

Truenorth Executive Search, Inc. - Cleveland, OH

Chief Executive Officer Private Equity Buy and Build

Confidential - Columbus, OH

Search More Private Equity Associate Jobs in the United States

Key Factors That Influence Private Equity Associate Salaries

A Private Equity Associate's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Private Equity Associate Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Private Equity Associate's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $65,071
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $77,701
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $101,922
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $123,737
  • Expert (over 8 years): $118,681
Levels Salary
Compensat... Level Private Equity Associate$65,071
Private E... Level Private Equity Associate$77,701
Compensat... Level Private Equity Associate$101,922
Compensat... Level Private Equity Associate$123,737
Compensat... Level Private Equity Associate$118,681
$65,071 0 yr
$77,701 < 2 yrs
$101,922 2-4 yrs
$123,737 5-8 yrs
$118,681 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Private Equity Associates

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $98,583
  • San Francisco: $97,503
  • Oakland: $95,449

What Skills Can Increase a Private Equity Associate's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Analysis (Mentioned in 18.14% Job Postings): Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
  • Microsoft Office (Mentioned in 2% Job Postings): Microsoft Office is a suite of desktop productivity applications that is designed by Microsoft for business use. You can create documents containing text and images, work with data in spreadsheets and databases, create presentations and posters.
  • Data Analysis (Mentioned in 1.57% Job Postings): Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, and is used in different business, science, and social science domains. In today's business world, data analysis plays a role in making decisions more scientific and helping businesses operate more effectively. Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on modeling and knowledge discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes, while business intelligence covers data analysis that relies heavily on aggregation, focusing mainly on business information. In statistical applications, data analysis can be divided into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and confirmatory data analysis (CDA). EDA focuses on discovering new features in the data while CDA focuses on confirming or falsifying existing hypotheses. Predictive analytics focuses on application of statistical models for predictive forecasting or classification, while text analytics applies statistical, linguistic, and structural techniques to extract and classify information from textual sources, a species of unstructured data. All of the above are varieties of data analysis.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Analysis 18.14%
Microsoft Office 2%
Data Analysis 1.57%
What skills can make your compensation higher?
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Private Equity Associate's salary.
  • Compensation Planning: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
  • Partnering: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
  • Executive Compensation: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Compensation Planning
$82,068
5%
Partnering
$82,068
5%
Executive Compensation
$82,068
5%
Project Management
$81,286
4%
Economics
$80,504
3%
Insight
$80,504
3%
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How Education impacts a Private Equity Associate's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Private Equity Associates enter the field with a Bachelor's Degree degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Private Equity Associate with a Bachelor's Degree is between $77,611 and $81,954).

Private Equity Associate Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Private Equity Associate
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 1.6%
High School 1.0%
Associates 4.1%
Bachelors 46.6%
Masters 45.6%
Doctorate 1.0%
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Private Equity Associate Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Private Equity Associate's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on May 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Private Equity Associate

Salaries for a Private Equity Associate can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $71,609 in 2023 to around $70,736 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Private Equity Associate salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Private Equity Associate Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$71,609
2024
$71,189
2025
$70,736
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $71,609
2024 $71,189
2025 $70,736
2026
View More
2027
View More

Most common benefits for Private Equity Associate

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Private Equity Associate

Here are companies hiring for Private Equity Associate and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Private Equity Associate Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Private Equity Associate job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

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