America's Highest Paying Companies

Median income for Americans was $34,750 in 2012. At some companies, however, the median is more than five times the national number. Based on figures provided by Glassdoor, 24/7 Wall St. examined the highest-paying companies in America.

These are the 15 Highest Paying Companies in America 

15. Barclays Capital > Median salary: $123,000 > Number of employees: 139,600 > Sector: Finance > Headquartered: London, U.K.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) investment banking division, formerly known as Barclays Capital, is by some metrics the top-paying company in finance. Entry-level employees are better paid than comparable positions elsewhere. Analysts at Barclays, for example, earn $78,167 a year on average, $5,000 more than a typical analyst’s compensation in New York City, the U.S. headquarters of the U.K. financial services firm. Higher level positions are also well-paid. While assistant vice presidents at a number of other banks in New York City earn around $100,000 per year, Barclays pays more than $126,000 a year, on average, for the same position. Employees at Barclays also rated their company very favorably for its benefit programs, citing generous maternity leave and health options. According to chief executive Antony Jenkins, the bank’s generous salaries and benefits have become essential in keeping both clients and employees.

14. Apple > Median salary: $123,284 > Number of employees: 80,300 > Sector: Information technology > Headquartered: Cupertino, Calif.

It is perhaps no wonder to find the iPhone and iPad maker on this list. To remain in the forefront of innovation, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) needs to employ talented engineers and programmers. While typical software developers and programmers earned $87,100 nationwide in 2012, median annual earnings at Apple are more than $123,000. Apple even pays some software engineers more than $200,000 a year. The company was also identified as one of the best companies to work for this year, ranked number 35, according to Glassdoor. In addition to good salaries and stock bonuses, current employees cite a challenging work environment and numerous opportunities for career growth.

13. Yahoo! > Median salary: $125,000 (tied for 9th highest) > Number of employees: 12,200 > Sector: Information technology > Headquartered: Sunnyvale, Calif.

Global Internet portal company Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) pays its software engineers, internally called a “technical Yahoo,” considerably more than $100,000 per year. For a rough comparison, a typical software developer and programmer in the United States was paid $87,100 in 2012. The company is located in Silicon Valley and often competes with other major tech companies for employees, as well as for investments. Some Yahoo! employees criticized CEO Marissa Mayer last year for personally reviewing and having to confirm every new hire. The company has made a number of high-profile acquisitions since Mayer became CEO in 2012. The most prominent of these was Tumblr, for which Yahoo! not only paid founder David Karp some $250 million in cash and stock, but also promised him an additional $81 million in compensation for the next four years.

12. Twitter > Median salary: $125,000 (tied for 9th highest) > Number of employees: 2,712 > Sector: Information technology > Headquartered: San Francisco, Calif.

Twitter Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTR) is yet another top player from the tech sector. In addition to paying a high median salary, the San Francisco company also generously awards shares to its employees. Total stock-based compensation at the company amounted to more than $593 million in 2013. Twitter shares are already up considerably from their November IPO price of $26. Twitter was also ranked second best in Glassdoor’s 2014 Best Places to Work, behind only Bain & Company. Thanks in part to the tech sector, San Jose and San Francisco were the nation’s top- and fourth-ranked metro areas for median household income in 2012.

11. McKinsey & Co. > Median salary: $125,000 (tied for 9th highest) > Number of employees: 17,000 > Sector: Accounting and legal > Headquartered: New York City, N.Y.

For the second consecutive year, McKinsey & Co. has not appeared on Glassdoor’s 50 Best Places to Work list. Despite this, the firm still offers some of the most lucrative salaries in the management consultancy world. The median income for a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. in the United States is $125,000 a year, while the median income for a management consultant was $78,600 in 2012, according to the BLS. Aside from a generally higher salary, the company also provides its roughly 17,000 employees a health plan with no deductible or co-pay, and no requirement that the doctor or hospital is “in-network.”

10. Google > Median salary: $125,000 (tied for 9th highest) > Number of employees: 47,756 > Sector: Information technology > Headquartered: Mountain View, Calif.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is one of the world’s most valuable companies as measured by market cap, and employees often reap the rewards. Software engineers, product managers and research scientists often earn salaries running well above $100,000 per year, according to Glassdoor. Google is well-known for not sparing any expense to recruit the best talent available. Employees receive a wide range of perks, including on-site medical care and its famous “20% time” — in which employees can work on whatever projects they want. An added perk for some employees is the opportunity to work with a number of the world’s leading thinkers, including chief economist Hal Varian and director of engineering Ray Kurzweil. It is hardly any wonder the company was ranked eighth on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work.

9. Walmart eCommerce > Median salary: $125,000 (tied for 9th highest) > Number of employees: 2,000,000 (1,500 in Walmart eCommerce) > Sector: Retail > Headquartered: San Bruno, CA

While Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has been frequently criticized for the low pay of its retail employees, the company is by no means afraid to pay for talent. The company continues to invest aggressively in its online business, with the hopes of catching up to online retail giant Amazon.com. To do so, the world’s largest retailer has had to pay for workers in software development, where the national median salary was $87,100 in 2012. This was far higher than the median earnings of the company’s retail sales workers of slightly less than $20,000 annually. And Walmart eCommerce doesn’t just pay these engineers the national median but far above it. At $125,000 per year, the pay of engineers at Walmart is comparable to pay at tech companies such as Google and Twitter.

8. Autodesk > Median salary: $128,000 > Number of employees: 7,300 > Sector: Business services > Headquartered: San Francisco, Calif.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is one of the highest-paying companies in the area of software engineering. The company, which specializes in cloud servicing software, is located in San Francisco and had revenue of $2.31 billion in 2013. While the median salary of a software engineer in the United States was $87,100 in 2012, the average salary of a software engineer at Autodesk is $106,959 a year. In addition to generous health and retirement benefits, the company offers employees six weeks paid sabbaticals for every four years of employment, as well as the week off between Christmas and New Year’s Day. One of its unusual benefits is to offer employees assistance in the costs of adopting a child.

7. LinkedIn > Median salary: $130,000 (tied for 6th highest) > Number of employees: 5045 > Sector: Information technology > Headquartered: Mountain View, Calif.

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) is the highest-paying social network to work for, with salaries that outpace those of both Twitter and Facebook. The company pays software engineers and data scientists salaries that can frequently exceed $150,000 per year. Also, like its competitors, LinkedIn ranks as one of the top companies to work for, according to Glassdoor. Employees noted in their reviews that “this company has an amazing culture!” and that the company “truly cares about its employees, providing opportunities for professional growth and career transformation.”

To read the complete list of the 15 highest paying companies in America, please visit 24/7WallSt