How much do benefits managers make in 2026?
Benefits managers map to the BLS compensation and benefits managers series, where OEWS May 2025 reports a national median of $149,230 a year ($71.75 an hour), a 10th percentile near $89,160 and a 90th percentile of $256,570. The match is close but not exact: SOC 11-3111 is a small series of 22,940 people covering compensation management and benefits management together, and many holders of the wage row run both disciplines rather than benefits alone. Within benefits, the clearest complexity driver is funding structure. Managing fully insured plans is largely a vendor and administration role; managing self-funded plans means owning claims experience, stop-loss arrangements, plan design decisions with real cost consequences, and a fiduciary posture that carries genuine legal weight. Headcount covered, the number of states and plan types, retirement plan governance, and leave and accommodation programme ownership all add further. Regulatory load is substantial — ERISA, ACA reporting, COBRA, HIPAA privacy, non-discrimination testing and Form 5500 filings — and managers who can run that cleanly are what employers are buying. Employment is projected to grow 0.2% through 2034 with roughly 1,500 openings a year. → Full benefits manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $149,230 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Benefits Managers earn a national median $149,230/yr ($71.75/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3111); the P10 to P90 range is $89,160 to $256,570.
- The $149,230 median comes from a small 22,940-person BLS series covering compensation and benefits management together, so it reflects both disciplines rather than benefits alone.
- Funding structure is the clearest complexity driver: self-funded plan management involves claims experience, stop-loss and plan design decisions that fully insured administration does not.
- The regulatory load — ERISA, ACA reporting, COBRA, HIPAA, non-discrimination testing and Form 5500 — is the substance of the role, and the ability to run it cleanly is what employers pay for.
US Benefits Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do benefits managers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 11-3111; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3111, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a benefits manager earn at each career stage?
Benefits pay follows plan complexity, funding structure and fiduciary responsibility. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 11-3111, a small management series covering compensation and benefits together.
By State
Which states pay benefits managers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Benefits complexity does vary genuinely by state, because paid family leave programmes, state disability schemes and insurance mandates differ, and managers who have integrated those with federal requirements carry that experience with them.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($171,610), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay benefits managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro premiums track employer size, since dedicated benefits management roles exist mainly where headcount justifies running plans rather than buying a packaged solution.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a benefits manager’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does benefits manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Benefits Managers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify benefits manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a benefits manager actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Benefits Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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