Management Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 11-1011

Chief Executives

The published band from $75,700 to $507,730 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Natural Sciences Managers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Chief Executives: Natural Sciences Managers ($167K) , Medical and Health Services Managers ($124K) , Marketing Managers ($167K) , Compensation and Benefits Managers ($149K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Chief Executives publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 11-1011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency
  2. 2. Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems
  3. 3. Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs
  4. 4. Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximiz…
  5. 5. Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses…
  6. 6. Implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems
  7. 7. Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduct…
  8. 8. Direct or coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products
  9. 9. Direct human resources activities, including the approval of human resource plans or activities, the selection of directors or other high…
  10. 10. Appoint department heads or managers and assign or delegate responsibilities to them
  11. 11. Interpret and explain policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals
  12. 12. Review reports submitted by staff members to recommend approval or to suggest changes

Chief Executives: O*NET ranks Judgment and Decision Making first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 11-1011 - lead skill Judgment and Decision Making at 4.8 ; lead knowledge Administration and Management. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Judgment and Decision Making 4.8
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 4.4
  3. 3. Complex Problem Solving 4.4
  4. 4. Speaking 4.3
  5. 5. Coordination 4.3
  6. 6. Systems Evaluation 4.3
  7. 7. Management of Financial Resources 4.3
  8. 8. Management of Personnel Resources 4.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administration and Management 4.8
  2. 2. Personnel and Human Resources 4.5
  3. 3. English Language 4.4
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 4.4
  5. 5. Economics and Accounting 4.0
  6. 6. Public Safety and Security 3.9
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$75,700 to $507,730
median $213,990 · ~6.7× spread
$214K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
22,200
Annual openings
204,350
Estimated US jobs
Natural Sciences Managers
Highest-pay peer · $167K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience 5 years or more

Top Paying States for Chief Executives

1. Illinois $331,920
2. North Carolina $314,290
3. Washington $339,810
4. New Jersey $310,440
5. New York $257,980
6. South Dakota $280,900
7. Hawaii $281,640
8. Oregon $341,630
9. Virginia $310,740
10. Connecticut $295,120

Other Management Occupations titles

  1. 1. Medical and Health Services Managers $123,860
  2. 2. Marketing Managers $166,790
  3. 3. Natural Sciences Managers $167,220
  4. 4. Compensation and Benefits Managers $149,230
  5. 5. Fundraising Managers $125,470
  6. 6. Advertising and Promotions Managers $133,660

The OEWS band for Chief Executives runs from $75,700 (10th) to $507,730 (90th), about 6.7× wide, with median $213,990. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 22,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and 5 years or more as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Illinois at $331,920. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Natural Sciences Managers at $167,220. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Chief Executives pay-rank #1 in Management Occupations

Among 37 detailed Management Occupations with a published OEWS median, Chief Executives is pay-rank #1, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Chief Executives is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Chief Executives salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 11-1011

Illinois · top state for Chief Executives

$332K published median

North Carolina · #2 state pay

$314K · behind Illinois

Natural Sciences Managers

Highest-pay peer vs Chief Executives · $167K

Medical and Health Services Managers

Lower-pay peer beside Chief Executives · $124K

Compare Chief Executives

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Chief Executives with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Management Occupations titles sit near Chief Executives at the top of the pay table? ▼
Chief Executives is pay-rank #1 of 37 detailed Management Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Computer and Information Systems Managers ($175K), Architectural and Engineering Managers ($171K), Natural Sciences Managers ($167K), Marketing Managers ($167K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do chief executives do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Chief Executives. Leading ones include: Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency; Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems; Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs; Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximiz…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for chief executives? ▼
For SOC 11-1011, O*NET importance scores lead with Judgment and Decision Making (4.8), Critical Thinking (4.4), Complex Problem Solving (4.4), Speaking (4.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Administration and Management, Personnel and Human Resources, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Chief Executives? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $75,700 and the 90th at $507,730 for Chief Executives (6.7× spread). The national median is $213,990. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Chief Executives? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Chief Executives is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 22,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Chief Executives? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Chief Executives. Related-work-experience category: 5 years or more. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Chief Executives? ▼
Illinois ($331,920), North Carolina ($314,290), Washington ($339,810) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Chief Executives card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 11-1011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Chief Executives. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics