Job outlook for managing directors in the United States

Managing director job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

The projected managing director job growth rate is 6% from 2018-2028.
About 189,200 new jobs for managing directors are projected over the next decade.
Managing director salaries have increased 4% for managing directors in the last 5 years.
There are over 86,175 managing directors currently employed in the United States.
There are 81,022 active managing director job openings in the US.
The average managing director salary is $129,690.

Are managing director jobs in demand?

Yes, managing director jobs are in demand. Managing director demand is projected to grow 6% from 2018 to 2028.

Managing director job and salary trends over time

Compare the number of managing director jobs and the average managing director salary over time.

Managing director jobs over time

Managing director job growth rate over time

Year	# of jobs	% of population
2021	86,175	0.03%
2020	76,906	0.02%
2019	78,366	0.02%
2018	74,499	0.02%
2017	75,928	0.02%

Average managing director salary over time

Managing director salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$129,690	$62.35	+2.8%
2024	$126,099	$60.62	--0.1%
2023	$126,287	$60.71	+0.5%
2022	$125,636	$60.40	+1.1%
2021	$124,260	$59.74	+1.6%

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Managing director jobs by state

The map below shows you the number of managing director job openings in each state. The darker areas on the map show where managing directors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary: Job openings:

Most common states for managing directors

Rank	State	Population	# of jobs	Employment/ 1000ppl
1	District of Columbia	693,972	514	74%
2	Delaware	961,939	264	27%
3	Massachusetts	6,859,819	1,638	24%
4	South Dakota	869,666	201	23%
5	West Virginia	1,815,857	308	17%
6	New York	19,849,399	3,115	16%
7	New Jersey	9,005,644	1,449	16%
8	South Carolina	5,024,369	778	15%
9	Rhode Island	1,059,639	152	14%
10	Vermont	623,657	90	14%
11	Illinois	12,802,023	1,629	13%
12	Oregon	4,142,776	554	13%
13	Connecticut	3,588,184	467	13%
14	California	39,536,653	4,674	12%
15	Alabama	4,874,747	607	12%
16	Louisiana	4,684,333	547	12%
17	Oklahoma	3,930,864	484	12%
18	Virginia	8,470,020	961	11%
19	Washington	7,405,743	770	10%
20	Wyoming	579,315	57	10%

Most common cities for managing directors

Rank	City	# of jobs	Employment/ 1000ppl	Avg. salary
1	Frankfort	11	39%	$89,308
2	Annapolis	13	33%	$130,509
3	Dover	11	29%	$146,592
4	Hartford	12	10%	$165,147
5	Springfield	12	10%	$117,779
6	Lansing	11	9%	$123,879
7	Atlanta	37	8%	$110,330
8	Little Rock	11	6%	$107,539
9	Boston	34	5%	$150,294
10	Washington	28	4%	$157,328
11	San Francisco	22	3%	$142,852
12	Sacramento	13	3%	$140,921
13	Chicago	43	2%	$124,033
14	Indianapolis	13	2%	$102,858
15	Denver	12	2%	$126,758
16	Los Angeles	28	1%	$138,298
17	Phoenix	18	1%	$106,387
18	New York	14	0%	$184,800

Managing Director job outlook: Expert opinions

We spoke to managing director professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the managing director job market for recent graduates is heading and how young graduates entering the managing director industry can be adequately prepared. Here are their thoughts.

Our panel of managing director experts

Dr. Matthew Ohlson Ph.D.

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Dr. Matthew Ohlson Ph.D.

Director: Taylor Leadership Institute, Professor: College of Education and Human Services, Executive Instructor: Coggin College of Business Graduate & Executive Programs, Director of Leadership Development: UNF Athletics

Website

What Managing Director skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Matthew Ohlson Ph.D.: Become knowledgeable and most importantly, comfortable, sharing the data and impact you’ve had as a school leader. The use of data is so imperative to show progress towards long and short-term goals, for example: attendance gains, teacher retention rates, etc. School leaders can seek more compensation and larger responsibilities in more prominent roles when they are able to show how their leadership made a difference. Annual impact reports, data snapshots, student/teacher testimonials, etc. can illustrate how your leadership impacted teaching and learning.

What will help Managing Directors increase their earning potential?

Dr. Matthew Ohlson Ph.D.: Principal: Collaboration, the reteaching of conversations skills and interaction, empathy, grit, ability to blend virtual and in-person strategies effectively.
My Coaching with New Leaders: New leaders must navigate the complexities of the role where one moment you are harnessing your logistics talents in terms of scheduling and the next moment you are motivating students for graduation, and then celebrating teachers to kick off the school year. Your positive energy is contagious and even though you feel overwhelmed or apprehensive, great school leaders consistently show a sense of confidence and an unwavering belief in their “why.” It is imperative to harness skills/resources such as public speaking/social media (tell your story or someone else will!), grit (If you know you why, you can navigate any “how”) and promoting positivity (It’s not bragging if it’s true).

Managing director jobs

Updated July 24, 2024

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