Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for development managers in the United States
Development manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected development manager job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 33,700 new jobs for development managers are projected over the next decade.
Development manager salaries have increased 8% for development managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 26,241 development managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 111,137 active development manager job openings in the US.
The average development manager salary is $110,678.
Are development manager jobs in demand?
Development manager job and salary trends over time
Development manager jobs over time
Development manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26,241 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 25,029 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 24,044 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 16,561 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 15,158 | 0.00% |
Average development manager salary over time
Development manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $110,678 | $53.21 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | $106,536 | $51.22 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $104,544 | $50.26 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | $102,940 | $49.49 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | $102,122 | $49.10 | +1.9% |
Development manager jobs by state
Most common states for development managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 439 | 63% |
| 2 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,406 | 25% |
| 3 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 250 | 24% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,600 | 23% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 127 | 22% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 224 | 21% |
| 7 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 161 | 21% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 152 | 21% |
| 9 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 172 | 20% |
| 10 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,417 | 19% |
| 11 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 357 | 19% |
| 12 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,835 | 18% |
| 13 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 377 | 18% |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 2,138 | 17% |
| 15 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 719 | 17% |
| 16 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 527 | 17% |
| 17 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,387 | 16% |
| 18 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,134 | 16% |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 923 | 16% |
| 20 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 473 | 16% |
Most common cities for development managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cupertino | 6 | 10% | $144,590 |
| 2 | Atlanta | 10 | 2% | $99,483 |
| 3 | Hartford | 3 | 2% | $115,839 |
| 4 | Tallahassee | 3 | 2% | $90,021 |
| 5 | Chicago | 14 | 1% | $103,537 |
| 6 | Phoenix | 9 | 1% | $104,389 |
| 7 | Denver | 8 | 1% | $90,518 |
| 8 | Boston | 7 | 1% | $113,929 |
| 9 | Tampa | 5 | 1% | $91,032 |
| 10 | Washington | 5 | 1% | $102,390 |
| 11 | Detroit | 4 | 1% | $108,992 |
| 12 | Sacramento | 4 | 1% | $144,978 |
| 13 | Birmingham | 3 | 1% | $94,725 |
| 14 | Urban Honolulu | 3 | 1% | $75,357 |
| 15 | Los Angeles | 7 | 0% | $131,883 |
| 16 | New York | 7 | 0% | $113,268 |
| 17 | San Diego | 6 | 0% | $128,068 |
| 18 | Indianapolis | 4 | 0% | $96,597 |
| 19 | San Francisco | 4 | 0% | $145,772 |
Development Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of development manager experts
University of Saint Mary
The Pennsylvania State University
m3 Development
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Development Managers?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Familiarity with software-basic windows packages, particularly MS Word and Excel. Candidates should not be afraid of quantitative data analysis. Analytics are necessary to figuring out what your business is doing and how it can grow. Also, familiarity with whatever social media platforms are used in that industry can be very important.
What skills will help Development Managers earn the most?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: One consideration is, does the position pay commission? If so, the soft skills listed above are extremely important because the more you apply those skills, the more likely you are to grow your business.
When a manager is not on commission, there's little correlation between skills and pay while doing the job. The employer will hire you at a given salary level, and it is your job to negotiate to the best position. Once they have chosen you-that's the moment when you have the most leverage. You will never get a raise that is as substantial as what you might be able to ask for upon hire. After that, most raises are not going to be tied mechanically to performance and skills. Your next chance at a raise will be when you move or are promoted to a new position. Thus, those soft skills can affect your ability to negotiate.
I will repeat a previous theme: education and experience are probably more important than skills in terms of making more money. An employer can't really tell what your skills are from your resume. Just because you say you have a skill doesn't mean that you really do. They can reasonably guess that somebody with a degree is responsible enough to have accomplished something big. Somebody who makes it through a graduate program is probably very good at what they know. And somebody who has been in the industry and/or in a similar job is more likely to be able to walk in with little orientation and know what they are doing. Employers take risks on employees and hope that they can deliver. Thus, with more education and more experience, you are able to apply for higher-level jobs, which usually come with higher salaries.
What skills stand out on Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
What soft skills should all Development Managers possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program CoordinatorThe Pennsylvania State University
Business Department
What skills stand out on Development Manager resumes?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.
What soft skills should all Development Managers possess?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Development Managers?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.
What skills will help Development Managers earn the most?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skill at rapidly learning market trends, relating business development to product development, and persuading major prospective clients when brought in to help with closing sales. Bottom line: the business development manager must be on the cutting edge of new market conditions and new business opportunities to help the firm organically grow its sales, especially in new markets or product/service lines.
What experience really stands out on Development Manager resumes?
Michael Baker: For graduates entering the job market, we look at any prior employment (part-time or full-time); what internships they have had, both paid and unpaid; their volunteer activities; accomplishments (i.e., GPA, Cum Laude, Gold Award, Eagle Scout, ROTC, leadership roles, etc.); and extracurricular activities candidates have had (clubs, intramural sports, NCAA student-athletes, study abroad experiences, sororities and fraternities, etc.). It is a better gauge for interest in working in the non-profit sector when candidates have had an internship with a non-profit organization and an internship outside the non-profit sector. Having experience as an intern at both a for-profit business and non-profit business (yes, non-profits are a business) is a great indicator that the candidate has had different experiences in both sectors helping to shape interests, views, ideas, skills, and the impact they want to make on the world.
I cannot highlight enough that ethics is the number one quality candidates must have; resumes should be clear, briefly descriptive, and accurate.
What Development Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Baker: I am a big fan of graduate's taking a gap year to help get themselves set-up for success in their career. I recommend finding what you're passionate about that is employable. For example, if you want to work in the non-profit sector and have a specific area that has impacted you in your life, find an organization you can volunteer with that aligns with your specific area of interest. Some organizations will offer internships to recent graduates; if you have an interest in the cause, go for it. Those internships will help you determine if this is the direction you want to go, or not, for your career. Also, take advantage of career counseling services offered by the institution you just graduated from. They can help you by providing guidance and assessment tools to help you identify your skills, interests, and areas you need to develop. Good assessment tests are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DISC Assessment, and others.
I also think those taking a gap year use the time wisely to develop relationships with fellow graduates, alumni, potential employers, friends, and family. Have an introductory networking conversation with someone in an interesting field you might want to work in. Taking the initiative shows you are resourceful and seeking others' advice. All should be on LinkedIn and take advantage of networking. Look for, and join, professional association young professional groups in your area of interest. When able to participate in webinars, Zooms, online conferences, professional development seminars, graduate test preparation courses, training, networking events, and other opportunities to learn and build your network. Gap year graduates should be focused on acquiring the skills you need for your next step, whether it is going to work or graduate school. For everyone, the skills needed are different. I always recommend graduates enhance their interpersonal communication abilities, learn to listen to others, develop writing skills, focus on developing task-oriented habits to actually get things done (For example: Making a to-do list for every day and sticking to it; repetition will build this habit and needed skill set), take the time to learn what the dress-code looks like in the professional environment you want to be in, be aware and knowledgeable of the latest in technology, and continue to ask questions. This is a great time in your life; take advantage of it.