Financial Managers salary in the US
A data-first look at financial managers' pay: the median, the thresholds for the top 25% and top 10%, and how earnings vary across the country.
How much do financial managers earn?
The typical (median) annual earnings for financial managers come to $96,449, which is 84% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. Among the 171 occupation groups in our data, only 22 report a higher median, so this is one of the better-paid lines of work in the country. The sample is 71,367 people aged 25 or older who listed this job and had earnings during the year.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $238,648 |
| Top 25% start at | $152,288 |
| Median (top 50%) | $96,449 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $60,328 |
How wide is the pay range?
This is a field with a long upper tail: $152,288 gets you into the top quarter, but the top 10% starts near $238,648, 2.5× what the median worker earns. On the lower side, 25% reported $60,328 or less. These are annual totals, so part-time schedules and partial years pull this number down. Put differently, the middle earner makes 1.6× what someone at the 25th percentile does.
Earnings by age
Few early-career workers earn what mid-career ones do: $72,857 at 25–34 versus $109,982 at 45–54, a gap of 51%. Among those 65 and older who still work, the median is $79,760, 27% below the peak — reduced schedules explain much of that.
Men and women
Men's median earnings are $122,202 and women's are $80,438, so women's median is 34% lower. In the raw sample, roughly 57 in 100 workers in this job are women. Part of that difference reflects hours worked and job level within the occupation, which these totals don't control for.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $122,202 | 30,719 |
| Women | $80,438 | 40,648 |
Does education change the pay?
The education premium is steep: $152,268 at the median for workers with a professional degree against $61,101 for those with a high school education or less. The most common credential in the sample is a bachelor's degree, with 29,680 records. Thin cells (under 100 records) aren't shown.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $61,101 | 7,865 |
| Some college / associate | $68,433 | 17,146 |
| Bachelor's | $108,095 | 29,680 |
| Master's | $143,189 | 14,892 |
| Professional degree | $152,268 | 1,325 |
| Doctorate | $143,956 | 459 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois contribute the largest numbers of survey records for this job. Pay differs noticeably even across these five: $121,173 in New York versus $89,436 in Florida. These are nominal dollars — living costs differ just as much between states and aren't adjusted for. 49 states have enough records (100+) for their own figure.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $111,719 | 7,663 |
| Texas | $95,459 | 5,766 |
| New York | $121,173 | 5,092 |
| Florida | $89,436 | 4,449 |
| Illinois | $101,525 | 3,190 |
Occupations with similar pay
Similar typical earnings show up for management analysts and consultants ($96,449), industrial production managers ($95,459), physical scientists, all other ($95,317), and marketing managers ($94,452). They aren't interchangeable careers, though the middle of the pay distribution is close.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Management Analysts | $96,449 | 0% |
| Industrial Production Managers | $95,459 | −1% |
| Physical Scientists, All Other | $95,317 | −1% |
| Marketing Managers | $94,452 | −2% |
| Industrial Engineers, Including Health And Safety | $99,700 | +3% |
About these figures
About the data: the American Community Survey asks people their occupation and earnings; we pool the 2020–2024 responses, convert them to 2024 dollars, and weight each person to represent the population. The 71,367 records for financial managers include part-time workers, so these are annual totals rather than full-time salaries.
See where your pay ranks among financial managers
Opens the calculator with this occupation already selected. Your income stays in your browser — it's never put in the link.
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.