Employee job satisfaction generally remains a critical determinant of organizational performance, service quality, and workforce stability in the hospitality industry. Although demographic characteristics have been widely examined in relation to job satisfaction, in emerging economies like Nigeria, limited empirical evidence exists to distinguish job satisfaction levels across employees’ hierarchical cadres within developing-economy contexts. This study examined differentials in demographic predictors of job satisfaction among junior and senior cadre hospitality employees in Lagos, Nigeria, using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. Data was collected from 413 hospitality employees selected from registered hotels in Lagos State using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics summarized respondents’ characteristics, Chi-square tests examined associations between demographic variables and job satisfaction and logistic regression identified demographic predictors of job satisfaction. Study findings showed monthly income as the only socio-demographic predictor of job satisfaction after controlling for other variables, with higher-paid employees demonstrating substantially greater odds of reporting high job satisfaction, than those with lower monthly earnings. The findings support Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Social Exchange Theory by demonstrating the importance of competitive compensation in shaping employees’ job satisfaction experience and workplace attitudes.  The study concludes that compensation plays a more important role than other socio-demographic characteristics in predicting job satisfaction among hospitality employees. It underscores the importance of competitive compensation, structured human resource practices, policy implications and the need to adopt cadre-specific strategies that strengthen employee job satisfaction across hierarchical levels. Overall, the study contributes both theoretically, empirically and practically to cadre-based employee job satisfaction research.

Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Demographic Predictors, Employment Cadre, Hospitality Employees, Lagos State, Nigeria.