How much do safety compliance managers make in 2026?
Safety compliance managers are mapped here to the BLS occupational health and safety specialists series, where OEWS May 2025 reports a national median of $90,150 a year ($43.34 an hour), a 10th percentile near $55,000 and a 90th percentile of $134,950. One caveat up front: SOC 19-5011 is a specialist rather than a management series, covering 140,610 people, so managers with team and programme ownership generally sit in its upper region rather than at the midpoint. The role owns the safety programme: hazard assessment and control, written programmes required under federal and state standards, incident investigation and root cause analysis, OSHA recordkeeping and reporting, inspection and audit response, contractor safety management, training and qualification, and the metrics that leadership and insurers watch. Industry hazard level is the dominant pay variable — construction, oil and gas, chemicals, heavy manufacturing and mining pay well above office-based and light industrial environments, because the consequences of failure are severe and the regulatory regimes are correspondingly demanding. Certification and a clean record of managing through inspections are the credentials that matter. Employment is projected to grow 12.5% through 2034 with roughly 14,900 openings a year. → Full safety compliance manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $90,150 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Safety Compliance Managers earn a national median $90,150/yr ($43.34/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 19-5011); the P10 to P90 range is $55,000 to $134,950.
- The $90,150 median comes from the BLS occupational health and safety specialists series, a specialist rather than management row of 140,610 people — managers with programme and team ownership generally sit in the upper region of the $55,000 to $134,950 band.
- Industry hazard level is the dominant pay variable: construction, oil and gas, chemicals, heavy manufacturing and mining pay well above office and light industrial environments.
- Certification and a demonstrable record of managing through inspections and incidents are the credentials employers price, because both indicate the programme will survive scrutiny.
US Safety Compliance Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do safety compliance 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 19-5011; 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 19-5011, 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 safety compliance manager earn at each career stage?
Safety pay follows industry hazard level, programme ownership and regulatory exposure. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 19-5011, a specialist-level series.
By State
Which states pay safety compliance 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. State plans matter genuinely here: roughly half the states operate their own occupational safety programmes with standards that in some cases exceed the federal baseline, and California's requirements in particular create additional programme obligations.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($103,670), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay safety compliance managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. The real signal is industrial concentration: metros with heavy manufacturing, energy or major construction activity host the high-hazard roles that pay above the series median.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a safety compliance 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 safety compliance manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Safety Compliance 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 safety compliance manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a safety compliance 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
Safety Compliance Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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