Management Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 11-2021

Marketing Managers

The published band from $90,260 to $293,610 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Architectural and Engineering Managers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Marketing Managers: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($171K) , Industrial Production Managers ($126K) , Human Resources Managers ($149K) , Managers, All Other ($142K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Marketing Managers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 11-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy, based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and m…
  2. 2. Formulate, direct, or coordinate marketing activities or policies to promote products or services, working with advertising or promotion…
  3. 3. Evaluate the financial aspects of product development, such as budgets, expenditures, research and development appropriations, or return…
  4. 4. Develop pricing strategies, balancing firm objectives and customer satisfaction
  5. 5. Compile lists describing product or service offerings
  6. 6. Direct the hiring, training, or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff and oversee their daily activities
  7. 7. Consult with product development personnel on product specifications, such as design, color, or packaging
  8. 8. Use sales forecasting or strategic planning to ensure the sale and profitability of products, lines, or services, analyzing business deve…
  9. 9. Negotiate contracts with vendors or distributors to manage product distribution, establishing distribution networks or developing distrib…
  10. 10. Coordinate or participate in promotional activities or trade shows, working with developers, advertisers, or production managers, to mark…
  11. 11. Consult with buying personnel to gain advice regarding the types of products or services expected to be in demand
  12. 12. Consult with buying personnel to gain advice regarding environmentally sound or sustainable products

Marketing Managers: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 11-2021 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Sales and Marketing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.9
  3. 3. Speaking 3.9
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.9
  5. 5. Active Learning 3.9
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  7. 7. Monitoring 3.8
  8. 8. Persuasion 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Sales and Marketing 4.8
  2. 2. English Language 4.5
  3. 3. Administration and Management 4.0
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  5. 5. Communications and Media 3.8
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$90,260 to $293,610
median $166,790 · ~3.3× spread
$167K
National median
↑ +7%
Growth 2024-2034
34,300
Annual openings
395,240
Estimated US jobs
Architectural and Engineering Managers
Highest-pay peer · $171K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

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

Top Paying States for Marketing Managers

1. Massachusetts $212,020
2. Minnesota $173,300
3. California $193,620
4. New York $181,200
5. Virginia $187,820
6. Colorado $182,730
7. District of Columbia $177,170
8. New Jersey $180,040
9. Washington $172,270
10. Connecticut $169,240

Other Management Occupations titles

  1. 1. Human Resources Managers $149,280
  2. 2. Managers, All Other $141,900
  3. 3. Architectural and Engineering Managers $171,270
  4. 4. Training and Development Managers $133,000
  5. 5. Industrial Production Managers $126,060
  6. 6. Compensation and Benefits Managers $149,230

The OEWS band for Marketing Managers runs from $90,260 (10th) to $293,610 (90th), about 3.3× wide, with median $166,790. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +7% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 34,300 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: Massachusetts at $212,020. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Architectural and Engineering Managers at $171,270. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Marketing Managers pay-rank #5 in Management Occupations

Among 37 detailed Management Occupations with a published OEWS median, Marketing Managers is pay-rank #5, 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.

SOC 11-2021 · national median $166,790 · upper third of Management Occupations (#5/37). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Marketing Managers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 11-2021

Massachusetts · top state for Marketing Managers

$212K published median

Minnesota · #2 state pay

$173K · behind Massachusetts

Architectural and Engineering Managers

Highest-pay peer vs Marketing Managers · $171K

Industrial Production Managers

Lower-pay peer beside Marketing Managers · $126K

Compare Marketing Managers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Marketing Managers 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 Marketing Managers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Marketing Managers is pay-rank #5 of 37 detailed Management Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Financial Managers ($167K), Natural Sciences Managers ($167K), Architectural and Engineering Managers ($171K), Computer and Information Systems Managers ($175K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do marketing managers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Marketing Managers. Leading ones include: Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy, based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and m…; Formulate, direct, or coordinate marketing activities or policies to promote products or services, working with advertising or promotion…; Evaluate the financial aspects of product development, such as budgets, expenditures, research and development appropriations, or return…; Develop pricing strategies, balancing firm objectives and customer satisfaction. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for marketing managers? ▼
For SOC 11-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (3.9), Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Sales and Marketing, English Language, Administration and Management. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Marketing Managers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $90,260 and the 90th at $293,610 for Marketing Managers (3.3× spread). The national median is $166,790. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Marketing Managers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Marketing Managers is +7%. Projected annual openings: about 34,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Marketing Managers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Marketing Managers. 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 Marketing Managers? ▼
Massachusetts ($212,020), Minnesota ($173,300), California ($193,620) 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 Marketing Managers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 11-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Marketing Managers. 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