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Communications manager salary

Quoted expert
Peter Bicak Ph.D.

Average communications manager salary

$81,304

$39.09 hourly rate

Entry-level communications manager salary
$53,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Average Salary Insights

The average salary for a Communications Manager is approximately $81,304 per year, translating to about $39 per hour. This figure reflects a blend of factors, including geographic location, industry demand, and years of experience. For instance, those in metropolitan areas or high-demand sectors may command higher pay.

Location Matters

Communications Managers in states like California, New York, and Texas often see higher salaries due to the cost of living and the presence of larger companies. Additionally, specialized industries such as technology and healthcare may offer competitive compensation, making them attractive sectors for job seekers.

Job Outlook

As businesses increasingly recognize the importance of effective communication, the demand for skilled professionals like Communications Managers is expected to grow. This position not only offers a stable salary but also various opportunities for career advancement. Networking, continued education, and staying updated with industry trends can enhance prospects in this field.

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Where can a Communications Manager earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
141k
121k
101k
81k
61k
41k
Columbus, OH$116,875
Phoenix, AZ$71,192
Compare salary by company
Vs
165k
145k
125k
105k
85k
McKinsey & Company Inc$153,901
Pinterest$114,792

Communications manager salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a communications manager typically falls between $71,809 and $124,100.
zippia
$81,304yearly
glassdoor[1]
$86,520yearly
indeed[2]
$76,824yearly
comparably[3]
$107,660yearly
Salary.com[4]
$124,100yearly
payscale[5]
$71,809yearly

Average communications manager salary by state

The average communications manager salary in California, Nevada, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average communications manager salary states are Florida, Kansas, and Wyoming.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for communications managers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Delaware$95,400$45.87
2California$105,204$50.58
3Washington$97,991$47.11
4Connecticut$96,584$46.43
5Nevada$98,562$47.39
6Virginia$91,360$43.92
7Rhode Island$97,233$46.75
8New York$87,117$41.88
9New Jersey$91,311$43.90
10New Hampshire$91,366$43.93
11Maine$86,564$41.62
12Vermont$82,587$39.71
13District of Columbia$86,841$41.75
14Maryland$81,849$39.35
15Oregon$83,258$40.03
16Arkansas$78,219$37.61
17Massachusetts$80,631$38.76
18Ohio$82,652$39.74
19Louisiana$81,695$39.28
20Iowa$80,733$38.81
21North Dakota$74,504$35.82
22Pennsylvania$75,333$36.22
23Montana$74,892$36.01
24Tennessee$77,669$37.34
25Minnesota$75,899$36.49
26Georgia$72,014$34.62
27Michigan$73,385$35.28
28New Mexico$77,679$37.35
29Alaska$71,298$34.28
30Illinois$71,226$34.24
31Arizona$71,020$34.14
32North Carolina$70,484$33.89
33Hawaii$64,769$31.14
34West Virginia$69,628$33.48
35Idaho$69,753$33.54
36Utah$66,189$31.82
37Colorado$68,015$32.70
38South Dakota$67,927$32.66
39Nebraska$68,990$33.17
40Mississippi$69,561$33.44
41Texas$63,886$30.71
42Wyoming$60,271$28.98
43Indiana$64,303$30.91
44Florida$62,429$30.01
45Kentucky$64,025$30.78
46Wisconsin$64,024$30.78
47Kansas$62,311$29.96
48South Carolina$63,052$30.31
49Missouri$58,436$28.09
50Alabama$59,188$28.46
51Oklahoma$59,165$28.44

Highest paying cities for communications managers

The highest-paying cities for communications managers are San Francisco, CA, Olympia, WA, and Las Vegas, NV.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$116,875$56.19
2Olympia, WA$100,129$48.14
3Las Vegas, NV$97,471$46.86
4Providence, RI$97,084$46.67
5Hartford, CT$95,838$46.08
6McLean, VA$92,924$44.67
7New York, NY$87,425$42.03
8Washington, DC$86,831$41.75
9Salem, OR$83,368$40.08
10Columbus, OH$82,262$39.55
11Baltimore, MD$82,036$39.44
12Boston, MA$80,352$38.63
13Des Moines, IA$79,658$38.30
14Little Rock, AR$78,348$37.67
15Saint Paul, MN$76,104$36.59
16Philadelphia, PA$75,908$36.49
17Atlanta, GA$72,180$34.70
18Raleigh, NC$72,039$34.63
19Chicago, IL$71,647$34.45
20Phoenix, AZ$71,192$34.23

Communications Managers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Olympia, WA
  3. Las Vegas, NV
  4. Providence, RI
  5. Hartford, CT

Communications manager salary details

A communications manager's salary ranges from $53,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $122,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average communications manager salary graph
Average communications manager salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a communications manager's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$122,000$10,167$59
75th Percentile$100,000$8,333$48
Average$81,304$6,775$39
25th Percentile$65,000$5,417$31
10th Percentile$53,000$4,417$25

Highest paying communications manager jobs

The highest paying types of communications managers are communications director, communications/senior communications manager, and acquisitions manager.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Manager$58,651$4,888$28.201,236,194
Leasing Manager$47,633$3,969$22.9016,376
Manager Of Corporate Communications$84,161$7,013$40.4634,908
Property Manager$49,958$4,163$24.0215,402
Resident Manager$50,811$4,234$24.4317,468
Building Manager$66,595$5,550$32.0215,982

How would you rate the starting salaries for communications managers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Peter Bicak Ph.D.

Professor of Communication, Rockhurst University

I would rate them as competitive. Business Communication, if truly comprehensive, has substantial depth and breadth of opportunities. Interdisciplinary BC majors should have significant writing opportunities, including for social media, traditional media, and journalism. The most prominent options are likely to fall in marketing, public relations, advertising, sales, and management due to the students' experience with basic business units such as accounting, economics, data science, and management. Internal and external organizational communication will always be a part of our corporate, civic, political, and economic lives-one still has to "get the word out" in ways appropriate to the organization for whom he or she works.

Thus, these technologies will be the key instruments for doing so, and there will be a place for business (organizational) communicators. While the major is not designed to be immersive in business instruction, it provides insights that give a graduate a leg up. So, advancement is substantial. For example, a major who enters the advertising and marketing field as an account manager likely has opportunities in the areas (e.g., working on an account in pharmaceuticals leads to other options not just in PR or advertising, but within the pharmaceutical field itself) in which that account exists, given their experience.

Top companies hiring communications managers now:

  1. Meta jobs (61)
  2. Microsoft jobs (82)
  3. Edwards Lifesciences jobs (60)
  4. Cisco jobs (42)
  5. AT&T jobs (43)

Which companies pay communications managers the most?

Communications manager salaries at McKinsey & Company Inc and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average communications manager salary at companies like Google and Apple are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1McKinsey & Company Inc$153,901$73.99
2Meta$141,365$67.96
3Google$139,172$66.91
4Apple$134,830$64.82
5Schlumberger$128,610$61.83
6Urban Institute$125,631$60.40
7Genentech$123,226$59.24
8Microsoft$123,116$59.19
9Flexport$121,866$58.59
10Reddit$121,024$58.18
11Atlassian$119,491$57.45
12Yahoo$119,449$57.43
13HSBC Bank$118,132$56.79
14Edwards Lifesciences$117,994$56.73
15Novo Nordisk$117,016$56.26
16Amd$116,547$56.03
17Amgen$116,172$55.85
18Autodesk$115,389$55.48
19Palo Alto Networks$115,185$55.38
20Pinterest$114,792$55.19

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$80,000$78,600$77,200$75,800$74,400$73,000
MaleFemale

Communications manager salary trends

The average communications manager salary has risen by $19,098 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average communications manager earned $62,206 annually, but today, they earn $81,304 a year. That works out to a 14% change in pay for communications managers over the last decade.

Compare communications manager salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average communications manager salary over time

Compare communications manager salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Communications manager salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$81,300$39.09+3.9%
2024$78,100$37.56+2.0%
2023$76,500$36.79+3.1%
2022$74,200$35.67+3.6%
2021$71,500$34.40+3.0%

Recently added communications manager salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
RSMEnterprise Communications and Enablement ManagerBaltimore, MD06/30/2025$102,800
RSMEnterprise Communications and Enablement ManagerMcLean, VA06/30/2025$102,800
2020CompaniesCommunications ManagerArlington, TX06/30/2025$80,000
2020CompaniesCommunications ManagerDenver, CO06/30/2025$80,000
2020CompaniesCommunications ManagerMinneapolis, MN06/30/2025$80,000
Hord Coplan MacHt, Inc.Communications ManagerBaltimore, MD06/29/2025$93,000
Anduril IndustriesCommunications and Enablement ManagerCosta Mesa, CA06/29/2025$122,000
DoordashManager, Policy Communications West & EastPhoenix, AZ06/29/2025$136,000
Augustine Institute Inc.Advancement Communications Manager (Onsite)Florissant, MO06/29/2025$115,000
Nvent Electric PlcCommunications ManagerSaint Louis Park, MN06/29/2025$89,300

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