Ten roles, one method: the median wage the US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes for each occupation, the employer paid benefits BLS measures on top of it, and what the same role costs as a dedicated offshore team member, in US dollars. Every figure is sourced, dated and free to quote.
A full-time offshore team member through Offshored costs a median of 74.4 percent less than the equivalent US hire. The benchmark takes the US Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual wage for ten roles (OEWS, May 2025), adds employer paid benefits at the 30.0 percent share BLS measured for private industry in June 2026, and compares the result with Offshored's published all-inclusive monthly fee for the same role in US dollars. Savings range from 71.0 to 80.8 percent at the midpoint of the fee band for US Eastern hours, and the median gap is US$67,621 a year for each role. At the Pacific hours fee, which is 10 percent higher before rounding, the median saving is 71.7 percent.
This is the United States edition of the Offshored cost benchmark. The Australian edition uses Seek advertised salaries and the 12 percent superannuation guarantee; this edition uses BLS wages and the BLS employer benefits share, so the two are built the same way from each country's own public data. Offshored fees are in US dollars for US Eastern hours, set from the published Australian dollar bands at a fixed rate (see the rate and the Pacific hours bands).
Each finding is a complete sentence so that it can be quoted as it stands. All five are calculated from the full table using the method below.
The US bar is the BLS national median annual wage for the occupation, plus employer paid benefits at the 30.0 percent share BLS measured for private industry in June 2026. The Offshored bar is twelve months of the published fee for the matching role, at the midpoint of its band. That fee is the whole cost: there is no payroll tax, benefits bill or recruiting fee on top, because team members are employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 national median annual wages (released May 15, 2026, read October 23, 2026); BLS ECEC June 2026, private industry benefits 30.0 percent of compensation; Offshored published fees in US dollars. The same figures are in the full table below.
The saving is widest where US wages are highest relative to the fee band. An executive assistant costs 80.8 percent less through Offshored at the midpoint and an accountant 79.4 percent less, because the Offshored fee band moves far less between roles than US wages do. The narrowest gap, 71.0 percent, is the bookkeeper, where a median US wage of US$50,670 is compared with the T2 band of US$1,500 to US$2,000 a month.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 national median annual wages (released May 15, 2026, read October 23, 2026); BLS ECEC June 2026, private industry benefits 30.0 percent of compensation; Offshored published fees in US dollars. The same figures are in the full table below.
Every BLS wage links to the BLS data series it came from. "Saving at midpoint" compares the median wage with benefits against the midpoint of the Offshored fee for a year at US Eastern hours. "Cautious" compares the median wage with no benefits against the top of the Offshored band, and "upper" compares the wage with benefits against the bottom of the band. The last column repeats the midpoint comparison at the Pacific hours fee, which is 10 percent higher before rounding: the median saving there is 71.7 percent (range 68.1 to 78.9).
| Role | US median annual wage (BLS OEWS May 2025) | With 30.0% benefits (ECEC) | Offshored fee, per month (Eastern hours) | Offshored fee, per year | Saving at midpoint | Cautious to upper | Saving at the Pacific hours fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper BLS 43-3031, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | US$50,670 | US$72,386 | US$1,500 to US$2,000 | US$18,000 to US$24,000 | 71.0% | 52.6% to 75.1% | 68.1% |
| Accountant BLS 13-2011, Accountants and Auditors | US$83,680 | US$119,543 | US$1,700 to US$2,400 | US$20,400 to US$28,800 | 79.4% | 65.6% to 82.9% | 77.2% |
| Administrative assistant BLS 43-6014, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Offshored role: Virtual assistant or administrator | US$47,540 | US$67,914 | US$1,350 to US$1,700 | US$16,200 to US$20,400 | 73.1% | 57.1% to 76.1% | 70.0% |
| Customer service representative BLS 43-4051, Customer Service Representatives | US$44,770 | US$63,957 | US$1,350 to US$1,700 | US$16,200 to US$20,400 | 71.4% | 54.4% to 74.7% | 68.1% |
| Executive assistant BLS 43-6011, Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants | US$76,590 | US$109,414 | US$1,500 to US$2,000 | US$18,000 to US$24,000 | 80.8% | 68.7% to 83.5% | 78.9% |
| Payroll clerk BLS 43-3051, Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks Offshored role: Payroll administrator | US$58,260 | US$83,229 | US$1,500 to US$2,000 | US$18,000 to US$24,000 | 74.8% | 58.8% to 78.4% | 72.2% |
| Marketing specialist BLS 13-1161, Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists Offshored role: Digital marketing coordinator | US$78,760 | US$112,514 | US$1,700 to US$2,400 | US$20,400 to US$28,800 | 78.1% | 63.4% to 81.9% | 75.7% |
| Drafter BLS 17-3011, Architectural and Civil Drafters | US$66,150 | US$94,500 | US$1,700 to US$2,400 | US$20,400 to US$28,800 | 74.0% | 56.5% to 78.4% | 71.1% |
| Cost estimator BLS 13-1051, Cost Estimators Offshored role: Estimator | US$78,740 | US$112,486 | US$1,700 to US$2,400 | US$20,400 to US$28,800 | 78.1% | 63.4% to 81.9% | 75.7% |
| Graphic designer BLS 27-1024, Graphic Designers Offshored role: Graphic and web designer | US$62,960 | US$89,943 | US$1,700 to US$2,400 | US$20,400 to US$28,800 | 72.6% | 54.3% to 77.3% | 69.6% |
Download the dataset: US offshore staffing cost benchmark 2026 (CSV). It holds every row above with the BLS series address, mean wage and national employment for each occupation, the ECEC share and the exchange rate used. Fees for all 32 roles are on the pricing page and the roles page.
Converted from A$1,900 at the Wise mid-market AUD to USD rate of 0.7017 read on October 23, 2026, rounded up to the next US$50. Eastern time fees are shown; Pacific time fees are 10 percent higher before rounding. The rate is fixed between reviews and is reviewed on the first business day of each quarter (next review Monday, January 4, 2027); a change applies only to new quotes, never to a running contract. Headline rate: US$1,350 per month, the bottom of the T1 band.
BLS measures what private employers pay per hour worked beyond wages. In June 2026, for every US$1.00 of wages and salaries a private industry employer paid US$0.43 in benefits (US$14.07 divided by US$32.82). The benchmark applies that share to each median wage. The table is BLS ECEC Table 1, private industry workers.
| Component (private industry, June 2026) | Cost per hour worked | Share of total compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Total compensation | US$46.89 | 100.0% |
| Wages and salaries | US$32.82 | 70.0% |
| Total benefits | US$14.07 | 30.0% |
| Paid leave | US$3.54 | 7.5% |
| Supplemental pay | US$1.88 | 4.0% |
| Insurance (health insurance US$3.48, 7.4 percent) | US$3.69 | 7.9% |
| Retirement and savings | US$1.57 | 3.3% |
| Legally required benefits | US$3.40 | 7.2% |
Source: BLS, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, Table 1, released September 9, 2026. Legally required benefits are Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance and workers' compensation.
The aim is a comparison anyone can check in ten minutes. Two public BLS numbers go in for each role, one calculation is applied, and nothing is estimated.
Suggested citation: Offshored, "2026 US offshore staffing cost benchmark", October 2026, https://offshored.net/us/offshore-staffing-cost-benchmark. You are welcome to quote any figure or reproduce any chart with a link to this page as the source.
Journalists and researchers: for the working file or a comment, email connect@offshored.net. This page is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.
A full-time offshore team member through Offshored costs a median of 74.4 percent less than the equivalent US hire, measured as the BLS median annual wage (OEWS May 2025) plus employer paid benefits at the 30.0 percent private industry share (ECEC June 2026), against Offshored's all-inclusive fee in US dollars. Across ten roles the saving ranges from 71.0 to 80.8 percent at the midpoint of the fee band.
Every US wage is the national median annual wage the US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes for that occupation in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026. The figures were read from the BLS Public Data API on October 23, 2026, and each figure in the table links to its own BLS series so you can open it and see the number.
It adds employer paid benefits at the share BLS measured for private industry workers in June 2026: benefits were 30.0 percent of total compensation and wages 70.0 percent, so the wage is divided by 0.700. That share already contains legally required benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance, paid leave, insurance, retirement and supplemental pay. Recruiting fees, equipment, office space and payroll administration are left out of the US side, which makes the comparison cautious. If no benefits were counted at all, every role would still cost at least 52.6 percent less offshore.
The Offshored monthly fee covers the team member's salary, 13th month pay, statutory Philippine contributions, health coverage after probation, payroll, recruiting, replacement and day to day HR. Team members are employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, a registered Philippine company, so the US business engages a staffing service rather than employing an overseas worker. There is no recruiting fee and no lock-in contract.
Offshored publishes its fee bands in Australian dollars and invoices US clients in US dollars, so the US dollar bands are set from the Australian bands at a fixed rate. Converted from A$1,900 at the Wise mid-market AUD to USD rate of 0.7017 read on October 23, 2026, rounded up to the next US$50. Eastern time fees are shown; Pacific time fees are 10 percent higher before rounding. The rate is fixed between reviews and is reviewed on the first business day of each quarter (next review Monday, January 4, 2027); a change applies only to new quotes, never to a running contract.
Yes. You are welcome to quote any figure or chart from this benchmark with a link to this page as the source. The dataset is also available as a CSV file from this page, and the Australian edition of the same benchmark is at https://offshored.net/offshore-staffing-cost-benchmark.
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