Frequently Asked Questions

PlainCEOPay covers 2,071 public companies across 84 SIC industry groups, with a focus on S&P 500 and Russell 1000 companies plus additional mid-cap companies with actively traded securities.

All data comes from SEC EDGAR proxy statement filings (Form DEF 14A). Public companies are required under Dodd-Frank Section 953(b) to disclose CEO total compensation, median employee compensation, and the CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio annually.

CEO Total Compensation includes base salary, cash bonus, stock awards, stock option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, year-over-year change in pension value, and all other compensation (perks, benefits). This is the full Summary Compensation Table total from the proxy filing.

The CEO pay ratio is the ratio of CEO total annual compensation to the median (middle) employee's total annual compensation at that company. A ratio of 300:1 means the CEO earns 300 times the typical employee. The ratio is calculated and disclosed by the company itself, as required by SEC rules.

Several factors affect the ratio: the company's workforce composition (high-wage vs. low-wage workers), geographic mix (domestic vs. international workers), part-time vs. full-time workforce, how CEO pay is structured (heavy stock vs. salary), and the specific methodology each company uses to calculate median employee pay (the SEC allows some flexibility).

Companies file new proxy statements annually, typically 2–4 months after their fiscal year ends. We update the database as new filings become available through SEC EDGAR.

No. PlainCEOPay is an independent data portal presenting publicly available SEC EDGAR data. We are not affiliated with the SEC or any government agency. Always verify important figures with official filings at sec.gov/edgar.