The 2026 Lake to River Wage & Benefits Survey is the first comprehensive look at compensation across Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties under one regional report. Companies that participate receive a complete report: starting and median wages, benefit costs, time-off practices, modern workplace policies and the perks employers are actually offering across our four-county region.
Your participation builds the benchmark. The benchmark sharpens your hiring, retention and compensation decisions.
This survey is designed for organizations all sectors including:
Companies with 10 or more employees in the four-county Lake to River region will get the most value from the results. One response per company. The CEO is the preferred point of contact, though the survey can be completed by HR, finance or operations leadership.
Preview the survey for best results.
Qualified completers of the survey receive the full published results: detailed wage data by occupation, benefits benchmarks, employer contribution rates, time-off norms and the workplace policies regional employers are using to compete for talent.
Companies that do not participate can access an executive-level summary only.
The full report exists because participants build it. Access to it is the thank-you for the time you put in.
Confidentiality is the foundation of this survey. Here is exactly how your information is handled:
Choose whichever format fits your team’s workflow. The survey takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes, less if you already have your wage and benefits documents in hand.
You can preview the entire questionnaire before entering a single data point. Prefer working from a PDF, Word or Excel? Download the survey, complete it at your pace and return it to Michelle Phillips.
Use the link or QR code to take the survey through Alchemer, our secure online platform.
If your wage and benefits information already lives in a Word, Excel or HR system export, send the files directly. Our research team handles the data entry on your behalf.
National salary databases will not tell you what a machinist earns in Mahoning County or what a CFO’s compensation package looks like in Ashtabula. Generic averages flatten the differences that matter most when you are setting pay, building a benefits package or making a counteroffer.
The Lake to River Wage & Benefits Survey is the only verified benchmark built from companies operating in our four counties, reflecting our cost structures, our talent market and our competitors for talent. Use it to set starting wages with confidence, evaluate benefits against regional norms and reduce the costs that come with turnover and unfilled positions.
Only participants receive the full published report at no cost as soon as it is released.
Contact Michelle Phillips, Director of Research at Lake to River Economic Development.
Michelle Phillips
Director, Research
Lake to River Economic Development
Direct: (234) 255-0948
Main Office: (330) 866-8973
Michelle@LakeToRiverOhio.org
