Outdated pay benchmarks are quietly undermining retention and credibility in today’s AEC compensation decisions.
Compensation decisions have always been complex in AEC firms, but the stakes are higher than ever. Recruiting and retention continue to be cited by firm leaders as their single biggest challenge, and while compensation is not the only factor at play, it remains a critical piece of the puzzle.
That reality is why the release of Zweig Group’s 2026 compensation data matters. Not as a static benchmark, but as a tool architecture and engineering firm leaders can use to make more informed, defensible pay decisions in a market where expectations, costs, and pressures are still shifting.
Why updated compensation data matters right now
One of the most common mistakes firms make is relying on compensation benchmarks that lag behind current conditions. Even data that is only a few years old can miss meaningful changes in salary growth, incentive structures, and regional variation across the AEC industry. The 2026 data reflects conditions firms are facing now, not assumptions carried over from prior cycles.
Using outdated information introduces real risk. Leaders may believe they are paying competitively when they are not, or assume raises are keeping pace with the market when, in reality, purchasing power is eroding. In an environment where retention is already fragile, those gaps matter.
This is where salary trends news grounded in current, industry-specific data becomes essential context for leadership decisions.
What the 2026 data shows about raises
Zweig Group’s newly released 2026 AEC compensation data reveals notable regional differences in average raises across all job titles:
- West Region: 2%
- Central Region: 3.2%
- East Region: 5.8%
At first glance, these numbers may seem reasonable. But they take on a different meaning when viewed alongside inflation.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation in 2025 averaged 2.7%, down slightly from 2.9% in 2024. That means:
- The West Region’s average raise did not keep pace with inflation.
- The Central Region barely exceeded it.
- Only the East Region saw raises that clearly translated into real wage growth.
For many employees, a raise that looks positive on paper may still feel like standing still, or falling behind – a dynamic that directly affects retention and engagement.
The inflation reality leaders can’t ignore
Looking beyond a single year makes the challenge even clearer. In the five years before 2020, inflation averaged 1.82%. In the five years after 2020, it averaged 4.5%, peaking at 7% in 2021 and 6.5% in 2022.
Even as inflation has cooled somewhat, expectations haven’t fully reset. Employees who lived through multiple years of elevated costs are far more sensitive to raises that feel incremental on paper but inadequate in practice. This is why leaders who rely on outdated benchmarks or generic assumptions about “market rates” risk misreading the situation.
Staying current on salary trends is no longer about reacting to headlines. It’s about understanding how recent economic conditions continue to shape employee perceptions and retention risk.
Using compensation tools as context, not answers
The firms navigating this environment most effectively are not treating a compensation tool as a decision-maker. They are using updated compensation data as a starting point for smarter conversations across A/E leadership teams.
Effective leaders are asking:
- Are our raises actually improving employees’ real earnings, or just keeping pace on paper?
- How do our pay practices compare to peers facing similar regional and labor market pressures?
- How does our compensation approach support retention in our most critical roles?
In this context, a compensation tool is only as valuable as the judgment applied to it. Data should inform decisions, not replace them. The goal isn’t precision for its own sake. It’s clarity.
Compensation, retention, and leadership credibility
Compensation alone will not solve recruiting and retention challenges in the AEC industry. But compensation decisions that fail to reflect current realities can undermine even the strongest cultures.
When leaders use updated data to explain pay decisions clearly and honestly, they build credibility. When they ignore inflation, regional variation, or market movement, frustration fills the gap.
The release of 2026 AEC compensation data is an opportunity for leaders to recalibrate, not react. To use better information to support decisions that balance financial discipline with the realities employees are living every day.
In a market where talent decisions have long-term consequences for A/E firms, that kind of clarity is no longer optional.
About the 2026 compensation data
Zweig Group’s 2026 Salary Report of AEC Firms and its updated Compensation Data Platform provide two complementary ways for firm leaders to benchmark and analyze compensation trends across the AEC industry. The salary report offers detailed benchmarks by role, discipline, experience level, and historical trends, while the interactive Compensation Data Platform allows subscribers to explore real-time data by firm size, region, and career level, with automatic updates throughout the year. Together, these resources support informed compensation planning, workforce strategy, and competitive positioning for architecture and engineering firms navigating today’s labor market. Learn more here.
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Kyle Ahern is manager of Data and Analytics at Zweig Group. Contact him at kahern@zweiggroup.com. |
