Analyzing the Impact of Company Location, Size, and Remote Work on Entry-Level Salaries a Linear Regression Study Using Global Salary Data

Abstract

This research explores the key factors influencing entry-level salaries in the global labor market of 2024, emphasizing the roles of company location, organizational size, and the extent of remote work in shaping compensation levels. Drawing on the Global Salary 2024 dataset from Kaggle, which comprises over 5,600 observations across multiple industries and geographic regions, the study applies a multiple linear regression model executed in Python via Google Colab to quantitatively examine salary disparities. The results indicate that company location and size significantly affect entry-level earnings, underscoring how regional economic contexts, cost-of-living variations, and organizational capacity continue to drive wage formation. Conversely, the remote work ratio exhibits a negligible and statistically insignificant effect, implying that flexibility in work arrangements has yet to translate into measurable financial value for early-career professionals. Furthermore, introducing job title as a control variable enhances the model’s explanatory power, reaffirming the influence of individual skill specialization and job function in determining compensation outcomes. These findings reinforce human capital theory while extending it by incorporating contextual and organizational dimensions relevant to the digital labor economy. For job seekers, the study offers data-driven insights to guide career decisions and salary expectations across regions, while employers may utilize the results to formulate fair and competitive pay strategies in an increasingly interconnected workforce. Ultimately, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of how structural and individual factors interact to shape entry-level salary dynamics in the modern digital era.