What a 401(k) match is worth, by industry
$3,465
Oil, gas and mining pays the highest median 401(k) employer contribution of any industry on this site: $3,465 a year at a $49,500 salary, across 11 employers. Transportation and logistics pays the lowest of the 17 industries with enough employers to publish, at $1,485.
The gap between the two is $1,980 a year for the same worker on the same pay.
The 17 industries
The median of what each employer in the industry puts in per year at $49,500. The count beside it is how many employers the median was computed over, and the range is the lowest and highest figure in that industry, so a median is never read without knowing how far its employers sit apart.
| # | Industry | Median a year | Employers | Lowest to highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oil, gas and miningHighest here: Chevron at $3,960 | $3,465 | 11 | $2,970 to $3,960 |
| 2 | Investment management and securitiesHighest here: Citigroup at $2,970 | $2,574 | 8 | $1,856 to $2,970 |
| 3 | InsuranceHighest here: Humana at $3,713 | $2,475 | 13 | $495 to $3,713 |
| 3 | Pharmaceuticals and chemicalsHighest here: AbbVie at $2,970 | $2,475 | 24 | $495 to $2,970 |
| 3 | UtilitiesHighest here: SOUTHWEST GAS at $3,465 | $2,475 | 15 | $1,485 to $3,465 |
| 6 | Holding companiesHighest here: LINCOLN NATIONAL at $2,970 | $2,352 | 16 | $1,485 to $2,970 |
| 7 | Medical devices and other manufacturingHighest here: Honeywell International at $3,465 | $2,228 | 17 | $990 to $3,465 |
| 8 | Computers and electronics manufacturingHighest here: General Dynamics at $2,970 | $2,228 | 8 | $866 to $2,970 |
| 9 | Wholesale tradeHighest here: L.B. Foster at $2,970 | $2,104 | 12 | $1,485 to $2,970 |
| 10 | Aerospace and vehicle manufacturingHighest here: TRINITY INDUSTRIES at $2,970 | $1,980 | 9 | $0 to $2,970 |
| 10 | Banks and lendersHighest here: CULLEN/FROST BANKERS at $3,465 | $1,980 | 39 | $0 to $3,465 |
| 10 | Food, beverage and tobaccoHighest here: General Mills at $2,970 | $1,980 | 14 | $743 to $2,970 |
| 10 | Industrial and materials manufacturingHighest here: Caterpillar at $2,970 | $1,980 | 32 | $124 to $2,970 |
| 10 | Media, telecom and informationHighest here: Verizon Communications at $2,970 | $1,980 | 6 | $1,485 to $2,970 |
| 15 | RetailHighest here: Walmart at $2,970 | $1,733 | 13 | $500 to $2,970 |
| 16 | Software and IT servicesHighest here: CACI International at $1,980 | $1,733 | 6 | $0 to $1,980 |
| 17 | Transportation and logisticsHighest here: Southwest Airlines at $4,604 | $1,485 | 6 | $1,485 to $4,604 |
The floor, and what it drops
An industry is published here only when at least 6 employers in it have a figure. Below that, a single employer is 20% or more of the industry, and the median would describe an employer rather than an industry. 6 is a choice, so here is what it costs: 9 industries holding 21 employers are dropped from the table entirely. They are not merged into an “other” row, because a median across unrelated businesses would answer no question anyone asks.
A further 15 employers have a dollar figure but no industry. Bucketing runs on the business code an employer reports on its DOL Form 5500, so an employer whose Form 5500 record is not joined to its Form 11-K has no code to bucket on. Those employers are in the ranking by employer contribution and not in this one.
The median is a median, not a mean, for the same reason: one unusually large formula would drag a mean across a whole industry, while the median moves only when the middle of the industry moves.
How the scorecard is computed covers the dollar figure each of these medians is built from.
How to read an industry number
An industry median is a fact about 249 employers with listed shares, not about a job title or a whole labour market. The range column is there to keep that honest: in transportation and logistics the figures run from $1,485 to $4,604, so the industry a person works in says far less about their match than the employer does.
Each industry name links to its own page, where the same employers are shown with what their plans cost per participant.
Read next
- All the rankings, and what they are computed from
319 employers read from Form 11-K filings, at one salary of $49,500.
- Which employers put the most into a 401(k)
John Deere puts in $4,950 a year. The median across 285 employers is $1,980.
- Whose 401(k) match becomes yours soonest
167 of 309 employers vest the match the day it is paid in.
