Financial Manager Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Financial Managers earn a median of $166,570 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 227% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $80.08/hr. The middle half earn between $125,490 and $219,980. The top 10% earn $323,270 or more.

The median hourly wage for financial managers is $80.08 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $166,570 annual median works out to about $13,880 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of financial managers earn less than $94,310 a year and the bottom quarter less than $125,490 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Yes, more often than not. The median is $166,570, so more than half of financial managers earn over $100,000 a year; even the 25th percentile is $125,490 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 51 states the median itself is above $100,000: New York ($219,880), Massachusetts ($206,760), New Jersey ($199,110), District of Columbia ($188,880), and 47 more.

The highest state medians for Financial Managers are New York ($219,880), Massachusetts ($206,760), New Jersey ($199,110) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split financial managers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $323,270, against a median of $166,570 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are New York ($219,880), Massachusetts ($206,760), New Jersey ($199,110). Among the specialty careers inside this occupation, industry sources put typical pay at $500,000 for family office directors (Heidrick & Struggles 2025 Family Offices Compensation Survey, 2024). Those are not BLS figures.

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Financial Managers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. Employers typically expect 5 years or more of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 56.3% hold bachelor's degree.

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 9.7% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 65,600 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an organization. A core O*NET task: recruit staff members. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Analytical or scientific software, Business intelligence and data analysis software.

Most work more than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 73% of financial managers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 27% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 100% say their schedule is regular and 1% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Financial Managers highest on the Enterprising, Conventional and Social interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESTJ, ESFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

4 years for a bachelor's degree, then 5 years or more in another business or financial occupation. BLS records the experience requirement as 5 years or more, which is the binding constraint. CGFM candidates need an additional two years of professional-level US government financial management experience before the designation is granted, though they may sit the examinations before completing it.

Not a state license. The occupation is not licensed in any state, and there is no state board, examination or scope-of-practice rule for financial managers. The only state credential nearby is the CPA licence, issued by each state's board of accountancy with its own education, examination and experience requirements, and it is required for CPA work rather than for financial management.

The CGFM (CGFM Examinations). Three examinations: Governmental Environment; Governmental Accounting, Financial Reporting and Budgeting; and Governmental Financial Management and Control. A bachelor's degree from an accredited US college or university is required before sitting any of them. Passing all three is not enough on its own: two years of professional-level US government financial management experience must be documented and approved before the designation is awarded.

Women make up 53.7% of financial managers, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 25.4% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 44.6 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.