🌍 Geographic Differentials

What is a Geographic Differential?

A geographic differential is a percentage adjustment applied to a national market dataset — used when local data isn’t the best fit (e.g., for remote or international employees).

Instead of benchmarking based on a specific city or country, a geo-diff applies a cost-of-labor adjustment to the US national average to reflect pay expectations in that location.

When to Use a Geo-Diff

Use Geographic Differentials if:

  • You have a remote-first team across many regions

  • You want a streamlined way to manage ranges without maintaining local benchmarks for every country or metro

  • Your goal is to create a tiered, transparent, and scalable global pay structure

  • You don’t have reliable or representative local market data for a region

How It Works

When Geographic Differential is selected in your Company Profile:

  • U.S. employees are matched to one of three tiers:

    • 115% (e.g., SF, NYC)

    • 110% (e.g., Seattle, LA, DC)

    • 100% (U.S. national average – used for most other locations)

  • Non-U.S. employees are matched to a percentage discounted off the U.S. national average (e.g., UK = 80%, India = 40%) (see List of Global Geographic Differentials below)

Where the Numbers Come From

Kamsa’s geo-diff percentages are based on real local market compensation data. We analyze verified HRIS-sourced salary data for each country, then calculate an average discount relative to the U.S. national benchmark. These are then:

  • Rounded to the nearest 10% for consistency

  • Reviewed by compensation experts to ensure validity

  • Updated periodically as labor markets shift

This approach balances simplicity, scalability, and accuracy — especially for lean teams operating globally.

List of Global Geographic Differentials

Location

Default Geographic Differential vs. the U.S. National Average

San Francisco Bay area (“SF”)
New York City area (“NYC”)

115%

Austin, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle

110%

Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington, D.C. metro area

100%

United States (US) - All

100%

Albania

40%

Algeria

30%

Argentina

40%

Armenia

40%

Australia

80%

Austria

80%

Belarus

40%

Belgium

80%

Bolivia

30%

Bosnia and Herzegovina

40%

Brazil

40%

Bulgaria

40%

Cabo Verde

30%

Cambodia

30%

Canada (All)

80%

Chile

40%

China - Tier 1 Cities

60%

China (All)

60%

Colombia

30%

Costa Rica

40%

Croatia

50%

Cyprus

50%

Czechia

40%

Denmark

90%

Dominican Republic

30%

Ecuador

30%

Egypt

30%

El Salvador

30%

Estonia

50%

Finland

70%

France - Paris

70%

France (All)

60%

Georgia

40%

Germany

80%

Ghana

30%

Greece

50%

Guam

40%

Guatemala

30%

Honduras

30%

Hong Kong

80%

Hungary

40%

Iceland

90%

India - Bengaluru

40%

India (All)

40%

Indonesia

30%

Ireland

80%

Israel

80%

Italy

60%

Jamaica

30%

Japan

70%

Jordan

40%

Kazakhstan

30%

Kenya

30%

Kosovo

30%

Kyrgyzstan

30%

Latvia

50%

Lebanon

30%

Lithuania

50%

Luxembourg

100%

Malaysia

40%

Malta

60%

Mauritius

30%

Mexico

40%

Moldova

40%

Montenegro

40%

Morocco

30%

Namibia

30%

Netherlands

80%

New Zealand

70%

Nicaragua

30%

Nigeria

30%

North Macedonia

40%

Norway

80%

Pakistan

30%

Panama

40%

Peru

40%

Philippines

30%

Poland

50%

Portugal

60%

Puerto Rico

90%

Qatar

80%

Romania

40%

Russia

40%

Saudi Arabia

70%

Serbia

40%

Singapore

80%

Slovakia

50%

Slovenia

60%

South Africa

50%

South Korea

60%

Spain

60%

Sri Lanka

30%

Suriname

30%

Sweden

80%

Switzerland

100%

Taiwan

60%

Thailand

40%

Toronto

90%

Tunisia

30%

Turkey

30%

UK - Inner London

90%

UK (All)

80%

Ukraine

30%

United Arab Emirates

80%

Uruguay

40%

Uzbekistan

30%

Vancouver

90%

Venezuela

30%

Vietnam

30%

Zimbabwe

30%