CIOs and IT executives saw the biggest increase in compensation in the past 12 months, according to recent study data that shows large enterprise companies in particular are willing to pay for top talent.

Data released this month by management consulting firm Janco Associates shows that the mean compensation for CIOs increased to $181,240 for large enterprise companies. Overall, total average compensation for IT executives in large companies grew by 2.35% and increased by 1% for executives in midsize firms. Janco executives say the salary hikes for executives proves companies in general are looking to hire more talent at the executive level.

"Hiring is up across the nation as companies begin to focus on business expansion," said Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco Associates, in a company press release.

One exception is among CIOs in midsize enterprises, who saw a decrease in mean compensation down to $171,200. Janco attributes the pay drop to company dissatisfaction with current C-level IT executives.

"The mean compensation for CIOs in midsize enterprises has decreased with significant increase in demand," Janco Associates reports. "This typically means that enterprises feel their existing CIOs are not worth what they are being paid and they are willing to hire new CIOs at significantly higher levels of compensation that will be worth the additional cost."

Compensation increases are evident with IT executives other than CIOs as well. According to Janco, IT executives in large enterprises saw total compensation grow to $143,847 this year from $140,550 in January 2007. IT executives in midsize companies also saw an increase from $128,464 in 2007 to $129,730 this year. Total compensation for middle managers at large companies remained mostly flat, while those positions in midsize companies saw a slight compensation decrease from $74,978 in 2007 to $74,745 this year.

IT staff also saw slight increases in compensation in both large and midsize companies. Large enterprise IT staff on average will make $66,488 in total compensation this year, about 0.5% more than the $66,174 reported in January 2007. And in midsize companies, IT staff brings home 1% more than last year's $59,727 with mean total compensation figures at $60,525 this year.