Corporate Training Spend Benchmarks 2026
ATD 2025 State of the Industry anchors. Directional segmentation by company size and industry.
Source: ATD 2025 SOIR press release, td.org.
Benchmark Methodology
The three widely-cited sources for corporate L&D benchmarks are ATD (Association for Talent Development), Brandon Hall Group, and SHRM. Each measures slightly different things, and the free public summaries are materially less detailed than the paywalled full reports. This page uses only figures that appear in public press releases, ATD Insights blog posts, or directly-quoted aggregator coverage.
- ATD 2025 State of the Industry measures direct expenditure per employee plus formal learning hours used. The free press release confirms the $1,054 / 13.7 hrs / $165 per hour anchors. Everything else is paywalled.
- Brandon Hall Group 2025 HCM Benchmark Research measures delivery-mix (digital, instructor-led, blended) and talent development maturity. Most figures are paywalled; public summaries quote selected trendlines only.
- SHRM annual reports and HR benchmarking cover training as a slice of total people-investment. Used here only where a specific figure is in the public summary.
The company-size and industry tables below are directional. Exact segmentation requires paywalled ATD data; the ranges are compiled from Training Industry Magazine surveys, vendor pricing tiers, and published procurement figures. Treat as plus or minus 20 percent.
Training Spend by Company Size (directional)
Counter-intuitive but durable finding: small companies spend more per employee. Fixed costs (LMS licence, custom content) cannot be amortised across a small population.
| Company Size | Spend per Employee | Avg Training Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Under 100 employees | $1,500-$2,800 | 12-16 |
| 100-499 employees | $1,200-$2,000 | 13-17 |
| 500-2,499 employees | $1,000-$1,400 | 13-15 |
| 2,500-9,999 employees | $800-$1,200 | 12-15 |
| 10,000+ employees | $650-$1,050 | 11-14 |
Training Spend by Industry (directional)
| Industry | Spend per Employee | Avg Hrs |
|---|---|---|
| Technology / Software | $1,200-$2,000 | 14-18 |
| Financial Services | $1,100-$1,800 | 14-18 |
| Healthcare / Pharma | $1,000-$1,700 | 13-17 |
| Consulting / Professional Services | $1,300-$2,300 | 16-20 |
| Manufacturing | $700-$1,200 | 10-14 |
| Retail / Hospitality | $400-$800 | 6-10 |
| Government / Non-profit | $600-$1,100 | 11-14 |
Is Your Organisation Under-Investing?
At an average loaded salary of $90,000 per employee, the ATD 2025 anchor of $1,054 direct spend translates to roughly 1.2 percent of payroll. Companies at half that rate ($500-$600 per employee) are below the public market average. Companies at $2,000-$3,000 per employee are in the top quartile of published figures.
Calculate Your True Training CostFrequently Asked Questions
What is the average training cost per employee in 2026?
Do small companies spend more on training per employee than large companies?
Which industry spends the most on corporate training?
What percentage of payroll should be spent on training?
Sources: ATD 2025 State of the Industry press release (td.org); ATD 2024 SOIR (2023 data, year-over-year context); Training Industry Magazine 2024-2025 surveys; Brandon Hall Group publicly-quoted summary data; BLS OES May 2024 tables for loaded-salary context.
Last verified April 2026. Found an error or an out-of-date figure? Report an error.