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The national median salary for Emergency Management Directors is $93,330 per year ($44.87/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $67,912 and $126,485 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $166,442 per year. There are approximately 13,500 emergency management directors employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+3.0%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
1K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
13K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
4% from new growth96% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
5 years or more
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
8K
$84,780
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
2K
$79,190
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
670
$100,530
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
370
$101,450
Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services
NAICS 624200
340
$109,210
Wage range across top 5 industries: $79,190 to $109,210 (38% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$26.06
$54,205
P25
$32.65
$67,912
P50MEDIAN
$44.87
$93,330
P75
$60.81
$126,485
P90
$80.02
$166,442
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average emergency management directors salary?
The national median salary for Emergency Management Directors is $93,330 per year ($44.87/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $67,912 and $126,485 annually.
How much do top-earning emergency management directors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Emergency Management Directors is $166,442 per year ($80.02/hr). The 75th percentile is $126,485 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for emergency management directors?
Entry-level Emergency Management Directors (10th percentile) earn approximately $54,205 per year ($26.06/hr). The 25th percentile is $67,912 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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