Add base salary, bonus at target, the equity grant divided by its vesting years, the retirement match as a percentage of base, the annual value of employer-paid insurance, and paid time off priced at your own daily rate. That gives one comparable annual figure per offer — and it usually reorders offers that looked clearly separated on base pay alone.
The six lines
Base salary. The only certain part, and the one everything else is calculated from.
Bonus at target. Not at maximum. Better still, what was actually paid last year, which employers will often tell you if asked directly.
Equity, divided by the vesting period. A four-year grant is not a first-year number. If it does not begin vesting for a year, the first year of that offer is worth less than the annualised figure suggests.
Retirement match. The employer’s contribution as a percentage of base. It is deferred pay and it is real.
Employer-paid insurance. What the employer contributes to health coverage annually. Ask for the figure; it is a number they have.
Paid time off. Days multiplied by your daily rate — the base divided by about 260. Twenty days is roughly eight per cent of the year.
For context, the median hourly wage across all occupations nationally is $24.51BLS OEWS Table 1, May 2025 · checked Aug 2026, and the mean annual wage is $69,770BLS OEWS Table 1, May 2025 · checked Aug 2026.
Why the total reorders things
Because the parts outside base are a substantial share of a package and they vary far more between employers than base does. Two offers ten per cent apart on salary regularly land within a per cent of each other on total, and occasionally swap.
What the total does not capture
Risk. A total weighted toward equity in a private company is a number with a very wide distribution behind it, and the point estimate says nothing about that. Nor does it capture the cost of a bad fit, the commute, or what the role does to your next move.
Compute the total, then reason about the risk separately. Folding them together produces a number that looks precise and is not.
The sanity check afterwards
Look at the bases again. If one offer wins on total only because of equity while paying materially less base, you are being paid in something conditional. That may be the right trade — it often is, early in a career — but it should be a decision you made rather than one the arithmetic made for you.
Common questions
What should I include in a total compensation figure?
Base, bonus at target, equity divided by its vesting period, the retirement match, employer-paid insurance, and paid time off at your daily rate. Six lines.
How do I value paid time off?
Divide the base by about 260 working days and multiply by the number of days. Twenty days is roughly eight per cent of a working year.
Should I use bonus at target or maximum?
At target, or better, what was actually paid last year. A maximum nobody has reached is a plan rather than compensation.
Does the total tell me which offer is better?
It tells you which is worth more on paper. Risk, fit and what the role does to your next move sit outside it and frequently outweigh a few per cent.
What if one offer wins only on equity?
Then you are being paid in something conditional on a share price and on staying long enough to vest. That can be the right trade, but it should be a conscious one.