Chief Executives salary in the US
A data-first look at chief executives' pay: the median, the thresholds for the top 25% and top 10%, and how earnings vary across the country.
How much do chief executives earn?
Half of all chief executives in the United States earned more than $161,306 a year, and half earned less — 207% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. Ranked by median earnings it comes 3rd out of 171, inside the top quarter of all the occupations we follow. That estimate rests on 85,135 individual Census survey responses from workers 25 and up.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $571,586 |
| Top 25% start at | $274,445 |
| Median (top 50%) | $161,306 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $91,373 |
How wide is the pay range?
Earnings stretch a long way above the middle. The top-quarter line is roughly $274,445, and it takes $571,586 or more — 3.5 times typical pay — to make the top 10%. On the lower side, 25% reported $91,373 or less. These are annual totals, so part-time schedules and partial years pull this number down. Put differently, the middle earner makes 1.8× what someone at the 25th percentile does.
Earnings by age
Pay grows sharply with age — from $107,392 for the 25–34 group to a peak of $183,657 at 45–54, 71% higher. After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $116,754 (36% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.
Men and women
There is a 26% gap at the median: $178,751 for men and $132,233 for women. About 30% of the sampled workers are women, going by raw survey counts. Because these are annual totals, more part-time work in one group widens the gap; the survey doesn't adjust for that.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $178,751 | 59,393 |
| Women | $132,233 | 25,742 |
Does education change the pay?
Workers with a master's degree ($199,399) earn 96% more than those with a high school education or less ($101,525). The largest group in the sample has a bachelor's degree (34,022 records). Levels with fewer than 100 records are left out rather than estimated.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $101,525 | 8,025 |
| Some college / associate | $118,536 | 15,492 |
| Bachelor's | $177,192 | 34,022 |
| Master's | $199,399 | 21,407 |
| Professional degree | $195,523 | 3,156 |
| Doctorate | $196,885 | 3,033 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
In terms of headcount in the survey, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois lead the country. Pay differs noticeably even across these five: $183,303 in New York versus $139,649 in Florida. No cost-of-living adjustment is applied. In all, 51 states clear the 100-record bar for a state-level median.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $178,986 | 11,540 |
| Texas | $167,054 | 7,227 |
| Florida | $139,649 | 6,583 |
| New York | $183,303 | 5,275 |
| Illinois | $167,054 | 3,498 |
Occupations with similar pay
Occupations with a median close to $161,306 include architectural and engineering managers ($167,579), lawyers and judges ($144,198), software developers ($134,332), and computer and information systems managers ($134,063). They aren't interchangeable careers, though the middle of the pay distribution is close.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural And Engineering Managers | $167,579 | +4% |
| Lawyers and Judges | $144,198 | −11% |
| Software Developers | $134,332 | −17% |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $134,063 | −17% |
| Pharmacists | $131,257 | −19% |
About these figures
How to read these numbers: they are annual personal earnings (wages plus self-employment income) for people aged 25+ who reported working as chief executives, pooled over 2020–2024 and adjusted to 2024 dollars. Part-time and part-year workers are included. Every group shown has at least 100 survey records; 85,135 records sit behind the headline median.
See where your pay ranks among chief executives
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.