Corporate Training Spend Benchmarks 2026

ATD State of the Industry anchors, 2026 and 2025 editions. Directional segmentation by company size and industry.

ATD 2026 State of the Industry (released May 2026, reporting 2025 data)

$846

Direct spend per employee per year (2025 data)

16.7 hrs

Formal learning hours per employee (2025 data)

$165/hr

Cost per learning hour used (2024 data; no 2025 figure in the free release)

Year-over-year: 2024 data (ATD 2025 SOIR): $1,254 / 13.7 hrs / $165 per hour. 2023 data (ATD 2024 SOIR): $1,283 / 17.4 hrs / $123 per hour.
Sources: ATD 2026 SOIR announcement, td.org; ATD 2025 SOIR press release (the release printed $1,054 per employee; the full report and ATD's updated research summary state $1,254).

ATD State of the Industry: Training Expenditure per Employee by Year

ATD's annual State of the Industry Report (SOIR) is the most-cited US benchmark for direct learning expenditure per employee. Each edition is named for the year it is published and reports the prior calendar year's data. Below are the headline figures from the last three editions, drawn from the free public announcements and press releases.

ATD edition	Data year	Direct spend / employee	Formal learning hours	Cost / learning hour
2026 SOIR	2025	$846	16.7 hrs	Not in free release
2025 SOIR	2024	$1,254	13.7 hrs	$165
2024 SOIR	2023	$1,283	17.4 hrs	$123

For the 2024 data year, ATD's 2025 press release printed $1,054 per employee; the full report and ATD's research summary state $1,254, which is consistent with the reported $29 year-over-year decrease from the 2023 figure of $1,283. We use $1,254. The cost-per-learning-hour jump to $165 (up 34 percent from $123) reflects fewer formal hours used at a higher unit cost, not a spending increase. Sources: ATD 2026 SOIR announcement; ATD 2025 SOIR press release; ATD 2024 SOIR press release.

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 State of the Industry (annual) measures direct expenditure per employee plus formal learning hours used. The free 2026-edition announcement confirms the $846 / 16.7 hrs anchors for 2025; the 2025 edition's full report confirms $1,254 / 13.7 hrs / $165 per hour for 2024. 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	Notes
Under 100 employees	$1,500-$2,800	12-16	High per-head cost; fixed LMS/content cost cannot be amortised
100-499 employees	$1,200-$2,000	13-17	Building internal L&D function; scale starts to help
500-2,499 employees	$1,000-$1,400	13-15	Near the ATD 2024-data average of $1,254/13.7 hrs
2,500-9,999 employees	$800-$1,200	12-15	Enterprise LMS negotiating power; content library scale
10,000+ employees	$650-$1,050	11-14	Lowest per-head; highest absolute spend

Training Spend by Industry (directional)

Industry	Spend per Employee	Avg Hrs	Primary Driver
Technology / Software	$1,200-$2,000	14-18	Fast-moving skills; certifications; talent retention
Financial Services	$1,100-$1,800	14-18	Heavy compliance stack (FINRA, SOX, AML); leadership investment
Healthcare / Pharma	$1,000-$1,700	13-17	HIPAA, clinical credentialing, patient safety
Consulting / Professional Services	$1,300-$2,300	16-20	Billable skill differentiation; client-facing quality
Manufacturing	$700-$1,200	10-14	OSHA, safety, equipment certifications
Retail / Hospitality	$400-$800	6-10	High turnover compresses ROI horizon; onboarding dominated
Government / Non-profit	$600-$1,100	11-14	Budget-constrained; compliance-heavy

Is Your Organisation Under-Investing?

At an average loaded salary of $90,000 per employee, the ATD 2025-data anchor of $846 direct spend translates to roughly 0.9 percent of payroll (the 2024-data anchor of $1,254 was roughly 1.4 percent). Companies at $400-$500 per employee are below the public market average. Companies at $2,000-$3,000 per employee are in the top quartile of published figures.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average training cost per employee in 2026?

The ATD 2026 State of the Industry report (released May 2026, reporting 2025 data) puts US average direct learning expenditure at $846 per employee per year, with 16.7 formal learning hours used. This covers content, facilitator, platform, and materials but excludes indirect cost. Prior editions reported $1,254 per employee for 2024 and $1,283 for 2023, so per-employee spend fell sharply in 2025 while hours used rose; ATD's 340-organization sample makes year-over-year swings partly compositional.

What did the ATD State of the Industry report say about training expenditure per employee in 2024?

ATD's 2025 State of the Industry report, which covers the 2024 data year, reported average direct learning expenditure of $1,254 per employee, with 13.7 formal learning hours used per employee and a cost of $165 per learning hour used. The $1,254 figure is consistent with the reported $29 year-over-year decrease from 2023's $1,283; ATD's 2025 press release printed $1,054, but the full report and research summary state $1,254.

What was ATD's training expenditure per employee in 2023?

ATD's 2024 State of the Industry report, covering the 2023 data year, reported average direct learning expenditure of $1,283 per employee, up $63 from 2022's $1,220, with 17.4 formal learning hours used per employee and $123 per learning hour used. This is the highest of the last three reported years; per-employee spend then fell to $1,254 for 2024 and $846 for 2025.

How many training hours does the average employee get per year?

ATD's State of the Industry report tracks formal learning hours used per employee alongside dollar spend. For 2025 data (ATD 2026 report) the average was 16.7 formal learning hours per employee, up from 13.7 hours for 2024 (ATD 2025 report) and following 17.4 hours for 2023 (ATD 2024 report). Hours and dollars move independently: 2024 had the fewest hours (13.7) at the highest cost per hour ($165), while 2025 hours rebounded to 16.7 even as direct spend per employee fell to $846. These are formal, tracked learning hours and exclude informal or on-the-job learning.

Do small companies spend more on training per employee than large companies?

Yes, directionally. Fixed costs (LMS platform, content development, instructional design time) cannot be amortised across a small population. ATD does not publish company-size segmentation free of charge; the ranges on this page are directional estimates cross-referenced against Training Industry Magazine surveys and should be treated as plus or minus 20 percent.

Which industry spends the most on corporate training?

Consulting and professional services firms typically spend the most because differentiated billable skills drive revenue directly. Technology, financial services, and healthcare follow closely for different reasons (certification cadence, compliance stack, clinical credentialing). Retail and hospitality sit at the bottom because high turnover compresses the ROI horizon on most programs.

What percentage of payroll should be spent on training?

The ATD SOIR free summaries do not publish a single 'percentage of payroll' figure. Derive it from the per-employee anchor and your own loaded-salary figures: at an average loaded salary of $90,000, the 2025-data anchor of $846 per employee is roughly 0.9 percent of payroll (the 2024-data anchor of $1,254 was roughly 1.4 percent). Companies investing 3-5 percent sit meaningfully above the market average; anything below 1 percent is at or under the market.

Sources: ATD 2026 State of the Industry announcement (td.org); 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 OEWS May 2025 tables for loaded-salary context.

Last verified June 2026. Found an error or an out-of-date figure? Report an error.

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