How much do marketing managers make in 2026?
Marketing managers have their own BLS wage row: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 11-2021 national median as $166,790 a year ($80.19 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $90,260 and the top 10% at $293,610. That median is real but it is widely misread, because the series pools every level of marketing management into one code — a first-time manager running demand generation at a mid-sized company, a brand director at a consumer goods firm, and a chief marketing officer at a large enterprise are all counted here. The practical consequence is that a first management role sits nearer the $90,260 to $123,020 part of the band rather than at the midpoint, and the median describes an experienced manager with genuine budget and team responsibility. Three things move a marketing manager through the band: budget size, whether the role owns a revenue-linked number rather than an activity plan, and industry. Technology, financial services and pharmaceutical marketing pay materially above nonprofit, education and small-business marketing for equivalent scope. It is also worth noting what OEWS measures: wages including bonus paid through payroll, but never equity, which is significant in venture-backed and public technology companies. Employment is projected to grow 6.6% through 2034 with roughly 34,300 openings a year. → Full marketing manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $166,790 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Marketing Managers earn a national median $166,790/yr ($80.19/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-2021); the P10 to P90 range is $90,260 to $293,610.
- SOC 11-2021 pools first-line marketing managers with directors and chief marketing officers, so a first management role realistically sits near $90,260 to $123,020, not at the $166,790 median.
- Budget size, revenue accountability and industry are the three levers that move a manager through the $90,260 to $293,610 band.
- OEWS counts wages including payroll-paid bonus but never equity, which understates packages at public and venture-backed technology employers.
US Marketing Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do marketing 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 11-2021; 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 11-2021, 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 marketing manager earn at each career stage?
Marketing management pay follows budget, team size and whether the role owns a number. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 11-2021, a series that spans first-line management through the executive tier.
By State
Which states pay marketing 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, and they inherit the pooling caveat. Marketing management pay tracks industry concentration more than state cost of living: a technology hub state and an agriculture-heavy one can differ far more than the index suggests.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($191,810), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
marketing manager pay by state — all 4 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay marketing managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro premiums here reflect where corporate marketing functions sit, since brand and demand-generation leadership is still concentrated at headquarters even in distributed companies.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a marketing 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 marketing manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Marketing 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 marketing manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a marketing 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
Marketing Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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