Save up to $270

Compare your intern pay and program against 280+ U.S. employers

Analyze intern compensation, conversion rates, and program structure using standardized, employer-reported data. Dive even deeper into wages by industry, major, region, degree, and company size to evaluate your program and make informed decisions

Use this 3-part benchmarking tool to:

  • Set competitive intern compensation with our annual guide
  • Make faster, data-backed decisions with our dashboard
  • Adjust your program based on emerging hiring trends with the full report

Fee: $465 (members); $750 (nonmembers)

Free for member organizations that participated in the survey.

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12Twenty

2026 Guide to compensation for Interns and Coops

Detailed compensation data

2026 Guide to Compensation for Interns & Co-ops

Drive informed conversations about pay expectations, strengthen your offer strategies, and build an early talent pipeline that actually converts using real wage and benefit data.

March 2026. 8 1/2” x 11”. 78 pages. PDF format.

Sample data + available benchmark dimensions

sample data
sample data

Industries included

Get intern + co-op hourly wage rates broken down by industry, major, degree, and year of study.
  • Accounting Services
  • Chemical (Pharmaceutical) Manufacturing
  • Computer & Electronics Manufacturing
  • Construction
  • Engineering Services
  • Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate
  • Food & Beverage Manufacturing
  • Miscellaneous Manufacturing
  • Miscellaneous Professional Services
  • Miscellaneous Support Services
  • Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
  • Social Services
  • Transportation
  • Utilities
  • Wholesale Trade

Majors included

Get intern + co-op hourly wage rates broken down by major, degree, and year of study.
  • Accounting
  • Actuarial Science
  • Agricultural Science
  • Business Administration
  • Communications
  • Computer Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Finance
  • Health Sciences/Nursing
  • Human Resources
  • Humanities/Liberal Arts (e.g., English, History, etc.)
  • Law/Paralegal
  • Marketing
  • Math/Statistics
  • Physical Sciences
  • Social Sciences (e.g., Psychology, Political Science, etc.)

Wages by company size

Get intern + co-op hourly wage rates broken down by company size, major, degree, and year of study.
  • 500 or less employees
  • 501 - 1,000 employees
  • 1,001 - 2,500 employees
  • 2,501 - 5,000 employees
  • 5,001 - 10,000 employees
  • 10,001 - 20,000 employees
  • 20,000+ employees

Wages by degree

Get intern + co-op hourly wage rates broken down by degree and year of study.
  • Associate
  • Bachelor’s
  • Master’s
  • Doctoral

Wages by region

Get intern + co-op hourly wage rates broken down by region, major, degree, and year of study.
  • New England
  • Mid East
  • Great Lakes
  • Plains
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • Rocky Mountains/Far West

Purchase now to filter and compare more data like this.

$23.35

The average hourly wage for interns.

Why it matters: Paid interns can perform real work, leading to greater satisfaction and a better conversion rate. See how wages compare for your specific industry, region, and company size using our benchmarking dashboard.

71.8%
Avg. offer rate
88.3%
Avg. acceptance rate
63.1%
Avg. conversion rate
Streamlined benchmarking

2026 Internship & Co-op Dashboard

Stop manually piecing together benchmarks.

Use the dashboard to answer key questions in seconds:

  • How does our intern pay compare by industry or region?
  • Are our program structures aligned with peers?
  • How do our intern demographics stack up?

Filter by industry, region, and company size to quickly get the answers you need.

April 2026. Microsoft Power BI. 7 pages. Web format.

Trends + analysis

2026 Internship & Co-op Report

Get a clear view of how internship and co-op programs are performing across the U.S.—including hiring projections, compensation benchmarks, and conversion rates—so you can evaluate and adjust your program.

Use this data to prepare for your next hiring cycle:

  • Benchmark offer, acceptance, and conversion rates
  • Set competitive intern compensation using hourly wage + benefit benchmarks
  • Evaluate which recruiting strategies are driving results

Plus, use the interactive dashboard to quickly compare your program to organizations like yours, without manual analysis.

March 2026. 8 1/2” x 11”. 33 pages. PDF format. Based on data from 284 U.S. employers.

People in an office.
WHAT'S IN THE INTERNSHIP + CO-OP REPORT

Bar chart

Hiring projections

Virtual meeting

Program modalities

People icon

Conversion + retention rates

Handshake

Recruiting techniques

Dashboard

Use of AI for recruiting

Notebook icon

Program details

Key insights

Preview the findings + analysis

What's the deciding factor between two equal candidates?

Why it matters: More than 90% of employers said skills are how they differentiate between candidates.

1
Skills critical to the positionRole-fit matters most. Employers want evidence the candidate can contribute to the actual work.
2
Key career readiness skills Communication, critical thinking, professionalism, adaptability, time management, and initiative all shape the final decision.
3
Previous internship experience Past applied experience still carries weight, whether with the organization itself or elsewhere in the industry.

11 weeks

the median length of an internship.

66%

of employers say their interns use AI in their work.

Retention is the long game.

Why it matters: While a strong majority of interns remain with the employer after year one, more than half of interns still remain after five years—showing long-term program ROI.

76.1%
1-year retention
51.6%
5-year retention
Office buildings at sunset.
Save up to $270

Get the complete story—and maximize your savings—when you purchase both reports.


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