County pay study finds salary compression; consultant urges compa‑ratio model tied to years of service
May 18, 2026 | Nash County, North Carolina
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A consultant hired by Nash County presented a market pay study on May 18 that identified salary compression across many job classifications and recommended structural changes to reduce compression and improve retention.
David Hill of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council told commissioners the study used an August snapshot of market data and analyzed a one‑third cycle of positions. Hill said the current group studied has an average 8.25 years of service and noted "you've got over 76% of your employees in this current group whose salaries are less than 10% above the minimum of their salary grade range." He described this as salary compression: newer hires are often paid close to long‑tenure employees.
Hill proposed a compa‑ratio approach that ties incremental pay movement to years of service—an 8‑year midpoint metric where pay advances toward the market midpoint with service—and recommended identifying and tracking benchmark positions that are hard to recruit and retain (for example income maintenance caseworker classifications in social services). The consultant also recommended expanding certain benchmark classifications in future cycles (public health nurse, social worker) and keeping a core set of benchmarks tracked annually.
Commissioners asked about comparator jurisdictions (an hour's drive market including Franklin, Halifax, Johnston, Pitt, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson) and whether municipal comparators were appropriate for some classifications; Hill said municipal comparators generally were not appropriate for health and DSS positions but are used elsewhere when classifications align.
What comes next: staff will use the study's market recommendations to craft implementation options and pay‑table changes for board consideration; commissioners requested follow‑up on benchmark choices, a timeline for phased implementation and cost estimates.
Quotation: "If I've been with you 8 years, then my salary is going to be at midpoint," Hill said as he described the compa‑ratio model as a tool to create separation between tenured and new employees.
No formal changes were approved at the May 18 meeting; the study will inform proposed salary alignment funding in the FY27 budget and future personnel actions.
David Hill of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council told commissioners the study used an August snapshot of market data and analyzed a one‑third cycle of positions. Hill said the current group studied has an average 8.25 years of service and noted "you've got over 76% of your employees in this current group whose salaries are less than 10% above the minimum of their salary grade range." He described this as salary compression: newer hires are often paid close to long‑tenure employees.
Hill proposed a compa‑ratio approach that ties incremental pay movement to years of service—an 8‑year midpoint metric where pay advances toward the market midpoint with service—and recommended identifying and tracking benchmark positions that are hard to recruit and retain (for example income maintenance caseworker classifications in social services). The consultant also recommended expanding certain benchmark classifications in future cycles (public health nurse, social worker) and keeping a core set of benchmarks tracked annually.
Commissioners asked about comparator jurisdictions (an hour's drive market including Franklin, Halifax, Johnston, Pitt, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson) and whether municipal comparators were appropriate for some classifications; Hill said municipal comparators generally were not appropriate for health and DSS positions but are used elsewhere when classifications align.
What comes next: staff will use the study's market recommendations to craft implementation options and pay‑table changes for board consideration; commissioners requested follow‑up on benchmark choices, a timeline for phased implementation and cost estimates.
Quotation: "If I've been with you 8 years, then my salary is going to be at midpoint," Hill said as he described the compa‑ratio model as a tool to create separation between tenured and new employees.
No formal changes were approved at the May 18 meeting; the study will inform proposed salary alignment funding in the FY27 budget and future personnel actions.
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