What education do training and development specialists need?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists bachelor's degree as the typical education to start, plus less than 5 years of related work experience. The federal crosswalk from fields of study to jobs links 4 programs here to training and development specialists: Human Resources (Bachelor's), Human Resources (Associate's), Public Relations and Advertising (Bachelor's), and Clinical and Counseling Psychology (Bachelor's).

Training and Development Specialists: Pay by State and the Programs That Lead There

Q: Which state pays training and development specialists the most?

Delaware, at a median of $88,570. After adjusting for prices, Delaware is highest, at $88,740 in US-average prices.

458,300 jobs in the US
Typical education to start: bachelor's degree
Occupation code 13-1151

BLS wages May 2025 · BLS projections 2025 to 2035 · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

Training and development specialists earn a median of $69,280 a year in the US, across all experience levels. Pay is highest in Delaware ($88,570) and lowest in Puerto Rico ($47,820). After adjusting for prices, Delaware is highest ($88,740) and Hawaii lowest ($55,443). Jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 46,000 openings a year across the US.

Median pay$69,280US, all experience levels

Bottom 10% earn under$38,760US

Top 10% earn over$123,250US

Projected job growth11%2025 to 2035, about 46,000 openings a year

Pay for training and development specialists by state

Median pay across all experience levels. "After prices" divides it by the state's price level (US average = 100), so states can be compared by what the pay buys.

#	State	Median pay	After prices	Jobs	Bottom 10%	Top 10%
1	Delaware	$88,570	$88,740	1,590	$57,260	$119,780
2	New Hampshire	$86,050	$82,609	Not reported	$50,790	$100,580
3	Alaska	$81,860	$79,973	530	$48,130	$127,140
3	Washington	$81,860	$76,495	8,130	$47,910	$135,800
5	District of Columbia	$80,980	$73,684	1,900	$38,570	$135,040
6	Massachusetts	$80,270	$75,900	12,190	$41,790	$129,670
7	Connecticut	$78,080	$75,360	3,650	$44,030	$137,040
8	Vermont	$77,800	$79,422	750	$46,070	$128,060
9	Virginia	$77,690	$76,842	15,570	$41,870	$130,180
10	New Jersey	$77,020	$70,787	9,210	$36,570	$133,700
11	Minnesota	$76,710	$77,783	9,650	$50,470	$124,630
12	Maryland	$76,370	$72,762	9,800	$39,240	$128,610
13	Oregon	$76,360	$73,877	5,190	$49,500	$122,980
14	New York	$76,080	$70,496	27,460	$40,220	$133,620
15	Rhode Island	$75,910	$74,218	1,130	$46,420	$151,560
16	California	$75,790	$68,452	46,530	$43,320	$134,270
16	Colorado	$75,790	$73,545	12,100	$37,490	$116,970
18	Florida	$71,990	$69,613	34,130	$38,370	$118,190
19	Pennsylvania	$71,350	$73,125	14,780	$45,040	$118,270
20	Wisconsin	$70,770	$75,211	9,360	$45,780	$105,650
21	Wyoming	$69,380	$74,851	550	$41,210	$128,300
22	Illinois	$67,380	$67,408	15,140	$39,430	$119,970
23	Georgia	$67,320	$69,912	16,200	$40,480	$120,180
24	Arizona	$67,140	$66,689	Not reported	$41,500	$114,180
25	Iowa	$66,110	$75,329	4,670	$42,370	$118,070
26	Nebraska	$65,700	$72,917	3,650	$46,430	$104,500
27	Maine	$65,680	$67,676	1,600	$48,210	$112,940
28	North Carolina	$65,250	$69,175	20,220	$33,170	$115,110
29	West Virginia	$64,960	$72,583	1,710	$39,970	$101,080
30	Ohio	$64,780	$69,826	17,690	$33,450	$108,030
31	Alabama	$64,490	$72,605	3,000	$39,690	$114,010
32	Michigan	$64,350	$66,880	10,640	$38,550	$106,250
33	North Dakota	$63,260	$71,111	670	$47,770	$98,200
34	South Carolina	$63,070	$67,275	6,960	$38,790	$116,210
35	New Mexico	$62,900	$68,212	2,190	$37,870	$111,990
36	Montana	$62,880	$66,438	900	$35,970	$99,750
37	Texas	$62,860	$64,766	46,630	$33,250	$113,870
38	Tennessee	$62,280	$67,791	9,370	$38,000	$116,280
39	Kansas	$62,010	$68,848	5,150	$41,640	$107,900
40	Idaho	$61,720	$64,632	2,430	$30,720	$102,600
41	South Dakota	$61,570	$69,503	520	$44,200	$86,200
42	Kentucky	$61,390	$68,091	6,090	$38,700	$103,690
43	Nevada	$61,350	$61,363	3,440	$40,510	$102,610
44	Indiana	$61,050	$65,414	8,450	$39,060	$101,520
45	Oklahoma	$61,040	$69,488	5,440	$31,550	$104,120
46	Hawaii	$60,960	$55,443	1,200	$33,470	$134,220
47	Utah	$60,900	$61,600	6,140	$38,000	$107,390
48	Missouri	$58,670	$64,602	Not reported	$31,720	$100,670
49	Louisiana	$58,070	$65,834	3,030	$39,240	$105,200
50	Mississippi	$53,680	$61,735	2,820	$38,110	$96,400
51	Arkansas	$52,290	$60,147	3,880	$29,490	$96,950
52	Puerto Rico	$47,820	Not available	Not reported	$26,690	$83,090

State names link to the state's college page. Puerto Rico has no BEA price level, so its pay is not adjusted.

Programs that lead to this job

The federal crosswalk from fields of study to jobs links these programs to training and development specialists. Figures are medians across each program type's US programs. Program names link to the national ranking.

Program	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Human Resources (Bachelor's)	151	$50,383	$26,442
Human Resources (Associate's)	12	$40,432	$20,000
Public Relations and Advertising (Bachelor's)	179	$39,677	$24,693
Clinical and Counseling Psychology (Bachelor's)	54	$34,148	$27,000

Program figures are first-year pay for new graduates. The job's median pay covers every experience level.

Common questions

Training and development specialists earn a median of $69,280 a year in the US, across all experience levels (May 2025). The bottom 10% earn less than $38,760, and the top 10% more than $123,250.

About this data

Pay is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025. It covers all experience levels and all industries, and leaves out self-employed workers.
Projections are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections for 2025 to 2035, for the whole US.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.
Program figures are College Scorecard medians across programs, and only include students who received federal financial aid.

Sources

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study files, June 2026 release