Management Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 11-9161

Emergency Management Directors

The published band from $54,210 to $166,430 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Chief Executives.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Emergency Management Directors: Chief Executives ($214K) , Fundraising Managers ($125K) , Industrial Production Managers ($126K) , Public Relations Managers ($147K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Emergency Management Directors publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 11-9161 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilitie…
  2. 2. Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effo…
  3. 3. Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing spe…
  4. 4. Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments
  5. 5. Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans
  6. 6. Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents…
  7. 7. Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations
  8. 8. Collaborate with other officials to prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies
  9. 9. Design and administer emergency or disaster preparedness training courses that teach people how to effectively respond to major emergenci…
  10. 10. Keep informed of activities or changes that could affect the likelihood of an emergency, response efforts, or plan implementation
  11. 11. Inspect facilities and equipment, such as emergency management centers and communications equipment, to determine their operational and f…
  12. 12. Review emergency plans of individual organizations, such as medical facilities, to ensure their adequacy

Emergency Management Directors: O*NET ranks Service Orientation first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 11-9161 - lead skill Service Orientation at 4.3 ; lead knowledge Public Safety and Security. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Service Orientation 4.3
  2. 2. Speaking 4.1
  3. 3. Complex Problem Solving 4.1
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 4.0
  6. 6. Writing 4.0
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 4.0
  8. 8. Monitoring 4.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Public Safety and Security 4.7
  2. 2. Administration and Management 4.2
  3. 3. Law and Government 4.2
  4. 4. Communications and Media 4.0
  5. 5. English Language 4.0
  6. 6. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$54,210 to $166,430
median $93,330 · ~3.1× spread
$93K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
1,000
Annual openings
13,500
Estimated US jobs
Chief Executives
Highest-pay peer · $214K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

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

Top Paying States for Emergency Management Directors

1. District of Columbia $184,350
2. Colorado $129,660
3. Connecticut $113,380
4. New Mexico $145,550
5. California $129,910
6. Washington $130,780
7. Massachusetts $123,250
8. Maryland $107,200
9. Oregon $110,720
10. New Jersey $120,990

Other Management Occupations titles

  1. 1. Industrial Production Managers $126,060
  2. 2. Public Relations Managers $146,910
  3. 3. Fundraising Managers $125,470
  4. 4. Sales Managers $148,270
  5. 5. Purchasing Managers $148,080
  6. 6. Chief Executives $213,990

The OEWS band for Emergency Management Directors runs from $54,210 (10th) to $166,430 (90th), about 3.1× wide, with median $93,330. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,000 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: District of Columbia at $184,350. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Chief Executives at $213,990. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Emergency Management Directors pay-rank #27 in Management Occupations

On the Management Occupations median table (37 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Emergency Management Directors lands at #27, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-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 Emergency Management Directors is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Emergency Management Directors salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 11-9161

District of Columbia · top state for Emergency Management Directors

$184K published median

Colorado · #2 state pay

$130K · behind District of Columbia

Chief Executives

Highest-pay peer vs Emergency Management Directors · $214K

Fundraising Managers

Lower-pay peer beside Emergency Management Directors · $125K

Compare Emergency Management Directors

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Emergency Management Directors 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

Where does Emergency Management Directors land on the Management Occupations median table? ▼
Emergency Management Directors is pay-rank #27 of 37 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Gambling Managers ($93K), Education Administrators, All Other ($95K), Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers ($90K), Social and Community Service Managers ($80K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do emergency management directors do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Emergency Management Directors. Leading ones include: Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilitie…; Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effo…; Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing spe…; Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for emergency management directors? ▼
For SOC 11-9161, O*NET importance scores lead with Service Orientation (4.3), Speaking (4.1), Complex Problem Solving (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Public Safety and Security, Administration and Management, Law and Government. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Emergency Management Directors? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $54,210 and the 90th at $166,430 for Emergency Management Directors (3.1× spread). The national median is $93,330. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Emergency Management Directors? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Emergency Management Directors is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 1,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Emergency Management Directors? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Emergency Management Directors. 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 Emergency Management Directors? ▼
District of Columbia ($184,350), Colorado ($129,660), Connecticut ($113,380) 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 Emergency Management Directors card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 11-9161. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Emergency Management Directors. 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