How much do organizational development specialists make in 2026?
Organizational development specialists are counted in the BLS training and development specialists series, where OEWS May 2025 puts the national median at $69,280 a year ($33.31 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $38,760 and the top 10% at $123,250. The series pools 458,300 people including training coordinators and administrators, so organisational development work — which typically requires a graduate qualification or substantial experience — sits in the upper half of that band rather than at its midpoint. The discipline is distinct from training. Organisational development addresses how an organisation functions: diagnosing effectiveness problems through data and interviews, designing structures and roles, facilitating team and leadership interventions, running culture and engagement work, supporting change programmes through the human transition rather than the project plan, and evaluating whether any of it changed behaviour. It shares this SOC with the training coordinator role covered separately on this site, which is a good illustration of how broad the series is. Pay follows diagnostic and facilitation credibility, and the seniority of the groups you work with. Employment is projected to grow 10.8% through 2034 with roughly 43,900 openings a year. → Full organizational development specialist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $69,280 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Organizational Development Specialists earn a national median $69,280/yr ($33.31/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 13-1151); the P10 to P90 range is $38,760 to $123,250.
- The $69,280 median comes from a 458,300-person BLS series that also contains training coordinators and administrators; organisational development work sits in the upper half of the $38,760 to $123,250 band.
- OD is distinct from training: it diagnoses how an organisation functions and intervenes in structure, team dynamics, culture and change rather than delivering knowledge.
- Diagnostic and facilitation credibility, plus the seniority of the groups worked with, are what set pay inside this specialism.
US Organizational Development Specialist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do organizational development specialists 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 13-1151; 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 13-1151, 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 an organizational development specialist earn at each career stage?
OD pay follows diagnostic capability and the seniority of the client group. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 13-1151, a broad series that also contains training coordination roles.
By State
Which states pay organizational development specialists 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 sit below OD pay because the pooled series includes coordination roles. Read them as relative geography; OD roles concentrate at larger organisations regardless of state.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($79,670), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay organizational development specialists the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Headquarters metros host the leadership populations that organisational development work is commissioned for.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an organizational development specialist’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 organizational development specialist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Organizational Development Specialists 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 organizational development specialist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an organizational development specialist 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
Organizational Development Specialist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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