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Job outlook for marketing professionals in the United States
Marketing professional job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected marketing professional job growth rate is 19% from 2018-2028.
About 150,300 new jobs for marketing professionals are projected over the next decade.
Marketing professional salaries have increased 5% for marketing professionals in the last 5 years.
There are over 246,386 marketing professionals currently employed in the United States.
There are 118,236 active marketing professional job openings in the US.
The average marketing professional salary is $75,557.
Are marketing professional jobs in demand?
Marketing professional job and salary trends over time
Marketing professional jobs over time
Marketing professional job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 246,386 | 0.07% |
| 2020 | 233,787 | 0.07% |
| 2019 | 229,817 | 0.07% |
| 2018 | 216,089 | 0.07% |
| 2017 | 201,894 | 0.06% |
Average marketing professional salary over time
Marketing professional salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $75,557 | $36.33 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $73,238 | $35.21 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $72,469 | $34.84 | --0.2% |
| 2022 | $72,595 | $34.90 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $71,826 | $34.53 | +0.7% |
Marketing professional jobs by state
Most common states for marketing professionals
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 623,657 | 203 | 33% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 268 | 28% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 290 | 27% |
| 4 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 193 | 26% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 151 | 26% |
| 6 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,406 | 25% |
| 7 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 164 | 24% |
| 8 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 726 | 23% |
| 9 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 227 | 22% |
| 10 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 287 | 21% |
| 11 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 179 | 21% |
| 12 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,133 | 20% |
| 13 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 269 | 20% |
| 14 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,399 | 19% |
| 15 | Alaska | 739,795 | 142 | 19% |
| 16 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,493 | 17% |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 959 | 17% |
| 18 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 616 | 17% |
| 19 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,001 | 16% |
| 20 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 305 | 16% |
Most common cities for marketing professionals
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calabasas | 1 | 4% | $96,493 |
| 2 | Dover | 1 | 3% | $108,233 |
| 3 | Bethesda | 1 | 2% | $77,971 |
| 4 | Boca Raton | 1 | 1% | $52,057 |
| 5 | Bridgeport | 1 | 1% | $76,663 |
| 6 | Davenport | 1 | 1% | $66,668 |
| 7 | Huntsville | 1 | 1% | $56,677 |
| 8 | Miami | 2 | 0% | $52,323 |
| 9 | Anchorage | 1 | 0% | $73,436 |
| 10 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $67,940 |
| 11 | Birmingham | 1 | 0% | $56,464 |
| 12 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $69,832 |
| 13 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $69,585 |
| 14 | Des Moines | 1 | 0% | $65,047 |
| 15 | Durham | 1 | 0% | $76,619 |
| 16 | Fort Wayne | 1 | 0% | $65,851 |
| 17 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $64,064 |
| 18 | Jacksonville | 1 | 0% | $52,185 |
Marketing Professional job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of marketing professional experts
University of Connecticut
The University of Texas at San Antonio
San Jose State University
Oklahoma State University
The University of Alabama
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
University of North Georgia
Liberty University
The University of Tampa
University of Redlands
University of Central Oklahoma
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Southeast Missouri State University
Southern Connecticut State University
Baylor University
Adecco USA
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
University of Vermont
What general advice would you give to a Marketing Professional?
Scott Wallace: Young people entering the field like the excitement, the variety and the fast pace that comes with this work. You get to meet all sorts of people, hear their stories and use your skills to turn them into stories for the broader community. It’s a lot of fun! The biggest drawback for some is that the job usually requires working long hours and an unpredictable schedule.
What Marketing Professional skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Scott Wallace: The media market is in a state of flux right now, with many new companies stepping in to the fill the void left by the disappearance of local newspapers. Technology has evolved to the point where a resourceful Digital Media Specialist can perform tasks that once required at least 3-4 people, from writing articles to shooting, editing and posting videos and photos on news sites or social media. It’s an exciting time to be entering the field!
What will help Marketing Professionals increase their earning potential?
Scott Wallace: One of the beauties of this career is that every day is different. A Digital Media Specialist might be sent out to cover an outdoor concert one day or flooding in a local community the next. A Digital Media Specialist needs to develop a range of skills that include recognizing a good story and being able to tell it with crisp, clear writing and strong visuals. It’s a wonderful way to connect with people from all walks of life. A successful professional will keep up on the news and be keeping a watchful eye on event calendars to seek out opportunities for great storytelling!
Dr. Nicholas Councilor D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Practice—ClarinetThe University of Texas at San Antonio
Fine And Studio Arts
What general advice would you give to a Marketing Professional?
Dr. Nicholas Councilor D.M.A.: -Continuously learn and adapt: Keep working to refine your craft. Stay updated with industry trends, technologies, and best practices.
-Build a strong network: Connect with professionals in your field, attend industry events, and engage in networking opportunities.
-Develop soft skills: Communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability are crucial for success.
-Seek mentorship: Learn from experienced professionals who can provide guidance and support.
What will help Marketing Professionals increase their earning potential?
Dr. Nicholas Councilor D.M.A.: -Research industry standards: Understand the average salaries for your role and location to negotiate effectively.
-Highlight skills and achievements: Showcase relevant skills, experiences, and achievements during interviews and performance reviews.
-Pursue additional certifications: Obtaining certifications related to your field can increase your market value.
-Consider job offers carefully: Evaluate factors like salary, benefits, growth opportunities, and company culture before accepting a job offer.
-Avoid doing unpaid work: While taking unpaid opportunities is very common in fine arts fields, doing so often undervalues the skills and craft that you worked so hard to develop. Your work always deserves compensation.
What Marketing Professional skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Mithila Guha: For a marketing graduate stepping into the field, my first advice would be to stay curious and proactive. Embrace every opportunity to learn and grow, whether it's through hands-on experience, further education, or networking with industry professionals. My second advice would be to not be afraid to take on challenges and push yourself outside your comfort zone – it's often where the most growth occurs. Develop a strong foundation in both traditional and digital marketing techniques, and stay updated on the latest trends and technologies shaping the industry. Lastly, prioritize building meaningful relationships and fostering a positive reputation within the industry. These connections can serve as valuable assets, opening doors to exciting opportunities as your career progresses.
What will help Marketing Professionals increase their earning potential?
Jerry Rackley: For marketing, understanding how to leverage data, using an analytics process and tools to turn that data into actionable information, is a critical, in-demand set of skills. It's highly likely that marketers will need to learn SQL so they can retrieve data from various sources and join it together for analysis. Then, marketers need communications skills to convey the insights that come out of the analysis to various stakeholders. It's a blend of hard, quantitative skills and soft skills.
What general advice would you give to a Marketing Professional?
Len Hostetter: Work hard and do your defined job well. Seek opportunities that take you outside your defined job, so that you can demonstrate to others that you are capable of more. Additionally, seek out a mentor as you start your career. Someone who is experienced and is not in your chain of command at work. Someone who will be honest with you and support your career advancement through providing feedback - both positive and negative. Finally, build you network, including building and maintaining professional relationships. This opens doors to your future success.
What will help Marketing Professionals increase their earning potential?
Dr Martina Topić: I think the ability to work with AI and further develop relationship building and interpersonal communication skills. There are already industry reports on how AI is used, for example, for sentiment analyses of media coverage, writing content and being a good writer is not enough anymore. Therefore, being able to build relationships, listen to others, and develop interpersonal relationships is also what will make one stand out and survive the next round of digitalization. Having digital skills that go beyond using social media will become even more relevant as digitalization rises. It is not currently clear how SEO will work with the rise of AI, but this is something to follow and continue developing skills in this area.
Purvi Shah
Associate Professor of Marketing, The Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Marketing
What general advice would you give to a Marketing Professional?
Purvi Shah: With technology advancements and the fast growth of AI applications in marketing, content
strategy, marketing and data analytics, metaverse community management, storytelling,
customer relationship management, influencer marketing, performance marketing, growth
marketing, and continuous learning are going to be sought after skills for different marketing
roles in the future.
Having said that, a marketer's core competencies are here to stay even in the future. These
include knowledge of marketing concepts/frameworks, market research, communication skills,
presentation skills, creativity, and strategic, lateral and analytical thinking.
Then, there are a set of skills specific to the marketing role an individual chooses as a career
option. These will also be in-demand specific to the role. For e.g., Digital and social media
marketers must be proficient in at least one or few of the following skills: content marketing,
email marketing, search engine optimization and management, video marketing, data-driven
decision making, social media marketing, storytelling, influencer marketing, ability to self-learn
and adapt, web designing, user experience, branding, and ethics. They should also be tech
savvy and persuasive.
What skills stand out on Marketing Professional resumes?
Mary Norman: As a Marketing Assistant often provides important support to the broader marketing department staff, the following skills and competencies are desired and often prioritized in the hiring process:
-Strong communication skills - written and verbal
-Strong time management and organization skills to meet deadlines
-Attention to detail
-Multi-tasking
-Problem solving and strong motivation to drive positive results
-Being comfortable in an ever-changing environment/adaptable and flexible
-Understanding of key marketing concepts
-Customer-centric attitude (internal and external)
-Social Media content development and analysis
-Listening
What soft skills should all Marketing Professionals possess?
Mary Norman: -Communication - written and verbal
-Teamwork
-Problem solving
-Adaptability
-Creativity
-Positive attitude
-Motivation / Assertiveness
-Honesty
What hard/technical skills are most important for Marketing Professionals?
Mary Norman: -Project management skills
-Knowledge of key marketing tools and analytics:
-Social media tools like Hootsuite, Google analytics, etc.
-Design tools like Canva, Photoshop, Illustrator
-Email and Survey tools like Mailchimp and Survey Monkey
-SEO Tools like Google Ads
-Digital/Social Media Marketing Skills in the following areas:
-Email marketing
-Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEM/SEO)
-Email marketing
-Content marketing - ability to create content for social media and additional formats like blogs, etc.
-Social Media marketing through top platforms: i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.
-Data Analysis - mining insights into customer behavior based on website and social media analytics
-Trendwatching / Consumer insights
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Mary Norman: While knowledge of the "hard skills" is very important in getting hired and excelling in a marketing career, soft skills (people skills) often support career progression the most. The following skills are important for career success today:
-Decision making
-Communication
-Adaptablility / Time management
-Teamwork
-Project management / Attention to Detail
-Problem Solving
-Analytical Thinking
-Creativity
-Confidence
-Customer knowledge
Dr. Marie Mallory Ph.D.
Chair, Associate Professor & Co-Director of Graduate StudiesLiberty University
School of Communication & the Arts
What skills stand out on Marketing Professional resumes?
Dr. Marie Mallory Ph.D.: Experience building campaigns (advertising, social media, marketing) that indicate an understanding of the organization and target market.
What soft skills should all Marketing Professionals possess?
Dr. Marie Mallory Ph.D.: Communication skills, in general, are critical: interpersonal, conflict, group/team communication - written and verbal!
What hard/technical skills are most important for Marketing Professionals?
Dr. Marie Mallory Ph.D.: General computer skills, excel, Canva, time management programs.
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Dr. Marie Mallory Ph.D.: Outstanding communication skills (verbal, interpersonal, effective writing), critical thinking, analytical ability, understanding of crisis communication, and campaign building experience.
Jennifer Burton Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Marketing, Vice President of the Faculty SenateThe University of Tampa
Marketing Department
What hard/technical skills are most important for Marketing Professionals?
Jennifer Burton Ph.D.: The hard skills required for a successful career as a marketing specialist are those involved with building a marketing plan. A candidate needs to be able to: 1) use marketing segmentation to select the target audience, 2) develop a strong positioning strategy and execute it, 3) establish good objectives that align with business goals, 4) execute strategies regarding products, channels, pricing, and promotion. To do these things, you need to have a good understanding of marketing research and be able to use the results to identify the right business strategies to move the company ahead.
Xin Zhao Ph.D.
ProfessorUniversity of Redlands
School of Business
What skills stand out on Marketing Professional resumes?
Xin Zhao Ph.D.: The most common responsibilities of a marketing coordinator include the following: conducting research of the industry, competitors, and customers in preparation of marketing campaigns, working with other departments to produce marketing collaterals, tracking campaign and sales data as well as helping with sales forecast. As a result, strong research, analytical, and communication skills would stand out on the resume.
What soft skills should all Marketing Professionals possess?
Xin Zhao Ph.D.: As mentioned above, a marketing coordinator needs to organize efforts among different departments to successfully design and launch campaigns. Therefore, collaborative, organizational (especially time management) and communication skills are most important for this position to keep things on track.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Marketing Professionals?
Xin Zhao Ph.D.: Skills in gathering information and generating reports to facilitate decision-making are most important. In addition, employers are looking for experienced people in project management to make sure the marketing plan is executed effectively. Familiarity with data analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, could also help track a campaign's performance. Secondary skills in CRM tools, such as HubSpot, and Content Management Systems, such as WordPress, would be welcome, too, especially for small businesses where marketing coordinators need to wear multiple hats.
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Xin Zhao Ph.D.: Ever since marketing became a profession, creativity has been considered one of the most important skills for marketing professionals. Being creative used to have a narrow definition and only apply to design work to make your brand unique and stand out in the market. With AI and automation becoming more prevalent in the marketing field, creativity has a broader meaning. Specifically, AI and automation help businesses streamline data collection and analysis, identify patterns, and highlight insights, which could eliminate some traditional marketing coordinator jobs. However, marketers who can think outside the box would apply their business instinct to make meaningful connections between data and action. They can understand analytics and make a decision that transcends machine intelligence. Therefore, in the long run, creative skills would help you stay in demand for your work and earn the most.
Stacia Wert-Gray Ph.D.
Professor of Marketing, ChairpersonUniversity of Central Oklahoma
Department of Marketing
What skills stand out on Marketing Professional resumes?
Stacia Wert-Gray Ph.D.: Employers are looking for people who are analytical. Much of marketing involved understanding target audiences and marketing. If an applicant can analyze and interpret data, they add value to the employer.
What soft skills should all Marketing Professionals possess?
Stacia Wert-Gray Ph.D.: Communication is important in any job but especially in marketing. These professionals must be able to communicate with customers/clients about product/service benefits and must be able to listen and represent the needs of customers/clients to their own company.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Marketing Professionals?
Stacia Wert-Gray Ph.D.: Data analysis is important. Understanding metrics adds value to your employer as you are able to design attractive marketing campaigns
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Stacia Wert-Gray Ph.D.: Currently, employers are looking for candidates who understand social media and search engine optimization. These forms of marketing communication are red hot in today's world because they are relatively inexpensive when compared to traditional media, and they are easier to measure outcomes. Companies are emphasizing return on marketing investment, and traditional media expenditures are not easy to quantify benefits.
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Gregory Ormes: This can be hard to predict in a field like communication that is always evolving. Like most fields, the skills people will pay the most for are the ones that are the scarcest. For example, some of the communication jobs that have the highest median annual salaries today include Social Media Managers and Digital Strategists. These are positions that simply didn't exist 20 years ago. For this reason, it is essential that we teach our Communication Studies students to be life-long learners in the field, and we emphasize adaptability as central to being on the cutting edge of the discipline.
In terms of more traditional and stable communication positions, professionals working in human resources, marketing, and management are still significant earners. Furthermore, coupling a degree in Communication Studies with a degree in another more technical field can really set you apart and dramatically enhance your value to an organization.
Scott Thorne Ph.D.
InstructorSoutheast Missouri State University
Department of Marketing
What soft skills should all Marketing Professionals possess?
Scott Thorne Ph.D.: Team building, leadership, co-operation, salesmanship. I always tell my students to show any leadership positions they had while in school on their resumes as businesses value people who can both take the initiative and work well with others.
Charles Gamble
Adjunct ProfessorSouthern Connecticut State University
Marketing Department
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Charles Gamble: -Lead Generation - Customers are the lifeblood of the business. Having the ability to generate leads will make you a valuable team member.
-Writing - Positioning, value proposition, messaging, and effective written communication are foundational to promoting or selling a product or service
-Data Analysis - Almost everything in marketing can be measured now. Data analytics can help to measure, improve and report on the performance of all marketing activities.
-Scalability - Always look to make a greater impact and operate on a larger scale.
-Leadership - As a marketer, you have the opportunity to work with almost every department in the business. Look how you can empower your team, as well as other departments, to be successful.
Stephanie Mangus Ph.D.
Sales Faculty and Coach, Center for Professional Selling, Assistant Professor of MarketingBaylor University
Hankamer School of Business
What skills stand out on Marketing Professional resumes?
Stephanie Mangus Ph.D.: Recruiters are looking for evidence that applicants are hardworking and have a history of achieving and exceeding goals.
What soft skills should all Marketing Professionals possess?
Stephanie Mangus Ph.D.: Strong written and verbal communication skills aid employees in serving both constituents inside and outside the organization. Assessing when action is needed, planning a response, and having a positive attitude go a long way in developing a professional reputation.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Marketing Professionals?
Stephanie Mangus Ph.D.: In any business role, employees that can analyze data and craft strategy are really important. In a coordinator role, those skills may not be as necessary but will certainly make them stand out and gain attention for additional roles and responsibilities.
What skills will help Marketing Professionals earn the most?
Stephanie Mangus Ph.D.: Analytical skills, business acumen, and knowing when to step up.
What technical skills for a Marketing Professional stand out to employers?
Madeleine Felion: - In many hourly positions, math and measurement skills are increasingly sought after by companies - these skills can apply to several jobs from quality to CNC machining.
- Data entry and accuracy is a skill many nontraditional jobs are asking for as machines become more automated. Computer skills continue to stand out as it also applies to many in-demand roles.
- Other skills include experience working with ERP software systems such as SAP, Oracle and Syteline. Niche skills such as lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S and a variety of ISO quality standards are highly desired in most manufacturing companies.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Marketing Professional job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Miguel Olivas-Luján Ph.D.: As the economy "reopens" (thanks to appeased fears of contagion driven by vaccination, herd immunity, people worn out by the lockdowns, warmer weather, etc.), we should see workforce adjustments across industries and occupations. Already in March, unemployment was returning to 6% (from a high of 14.8% in April 2020, but after a low of 3.5 in February 2020; https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Barring unexpected resistance in the virus variants or other influences, the summer and fall months should give us better job market numbers, but this recovery seems to be benefitting some population segments more than others. The unemployed rate for teenagers was at 13%, followed by Blacks (9.6%), Hispanics (7.9%), Asians (6%), adult men (5.8%), and adult women (5.7%; more detail is available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm).
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Marketing Professionals?
Dr. LaRae Jome Ph.D.: Yes, while we might try to get back to "normal" or pre-pandemic times, there will likely be an enduring impact on psychology graduates.
For those psychology students who have been finishing their college degrees during this time, they may not have been able to participate fully in internship, volunteer, or research experiences with faculty. These out-of-classroom experiences can be useful in obtaining employment after college or in having a more competitive applications to graduate schools in psychology. On the positive side, many of the "soft skills" that psychology undergraduates learn in college will be very valued in the post-pandemic workplace. We are seeing an increased need for workers who have good critical thinking, listening, and empathy skills.
What will help Marketing Professionals increase their earning potential?
Madison Berry: Honestly, being willing to negotiate is going to become a bigger and bigger factor in earning potential. Do your research, know your worth, and stand up for what you think you should be paid. This is tricky right out of college, but with experience it becomes more and more powerful.
Of course, specialized certifications can also help - again, adding credentials relevant to your field will show initiative and focus. Adding tangential skills can also help make you a candidate for more specialized roles. We have employers come to us from the Finance industry looking for students who can code and analyze data; marketing is full of specialized roles for working with social media, consumer data, and technology integration. Finding your niche of interest and building skills through courses and personal projects can make you a more attractive candidate with more negotiating power.