Business and Financial Operations

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

Uses experiments and data across ads, email and the product itself to grow a company's users and revenue.

Median pay
$78,760
Growth to 2035
+7.0%
Openings a year
82,000
Typical entry
Bachelor's

Uses experiments and data across ads, email and the product itself to grow a company's users and revenue. BLS does not publish separate figures for market research analysts and marketing specialists; it counts them within market research analyst and marketing specialist (SOC 13-1161), whose median pay is $78,760 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.

  • SOC 13-1161
  • Business and Financial Operations
  • Last updated October 9, 2026

At a glance

Growth Marketing Manager in four numbers

Median pay
$78,760a year, or $37.87/hr
Lowest 10% $43KTop 10% $155K

US median, all jobs: $50,980

BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected growth
+7.0%Much faster than average
This career
+7%
All jobs
+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
This career+7%
All jobs+3.5%
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Openings a year
82,000952,700 jobs today
  • Jobs in 2025952.7K
  • Projected 20351M
Employment, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Jobs in 2025952.7K
Projected 20351M
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Typical education
Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET

Also advertised as: Growth Marketer, Head of Growth, Growth Manager, Lifecycle Marketing Manager, Performance Marketing Manager.

Pay

How much do Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists make?

Annual pay, lowest-paid to highest-paid

Every growth marketing manager in the US, by percentile of annual wage

Median

$78,760

Middle half earn $58,350 to $108,310

10th
$43,390
25th
$58,350
75th
$108,310
90th
$155,480

All US occupations: $50,980

Growth Marketing Manager annual wages
PercentileValue
10th$43,390
25th$58,350
Median$78,760
75th$108,310
90th$155,480
All US occupations$50,980

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Median annual wage
$78,760
Median hourly wage
$37.87/hr
Mean annual wage
$89,490
People employed
899,580

Versus all US occupations

At $78,760, Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists earn 54% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $27,780 a year.

Versus business and financial operations occupations

The median is typical for the Business and Financial Operations group, where the middle occupation pays $80,730.

Pay range

The top 10% earn $155,480 or more while the bottom 10% earn $43,390, a gap of 3.6×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.

Rank in the bank

This median pays more than 57% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.

Cost of living

Massachusetts posts the highest raw median ($101,810), but once local prices are taken into account Delaware leads at $101,465 in national-average dollars.

Pay by state

Which states pay Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists the most?

State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.

Top 10 states by median annual wage for Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
StateMedianCOL-adjustedEmployed
1Massachusetts$101,810$96,26839,710
2Delaware$101,270$101,4653,570
3New York$98,580$91,34580,500
4District of Columbia$98,090$89,2536,340
5Washington$95,120$88,88624,460
6California$94,700$85,531119,070
7Colorado$93,050$90,29427,880
8New Jersey$88,190$81,05322,990
9Minnesota$87,510$88,73421,280
10Rhode Island$86,240$84,3183,210
See all 54 states, sortable, with cost-of-living adjustments

Job outlook

Is Growth Marketing Manager a growing career?

Projected change in jobs

Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
+7%
All US occupations
+3.5%

Much faster than average. +7.0% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.

Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists+7%
All US occupations+3.5%

Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035

Much faster than average

BLS projects employment of Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists to change 7.0% over 2025–2035, roughly 2.0× the 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 66,300 more jobs.

Annual openings

About 82,000 openings are projected each year, 8.6% of the 952,700 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.

Getting in

How to become a Growth Marketing Manager

Many growth marketers start in digital marketing, paid media, analytics or startup generalist roles. A bachelor's degree in marketing, business, economics or a quantitative field is common, but a portfolio of experiments with measurable results often matters more.

No license is required. Certifications from ad platforms and the American Marketing Association's digital marketing certification can help. Useful skills include A/B testing, SQL, spreadsheet modeling, analytics platforms and copywriting. Startups often hire growth marketers with a mix of technical and creative skills and give them broad responsibility early.

  1. 1

    Typical entry-level education

    Bachelor's degree

  2. 2

    Work experience in a related occupation

    None

  3. 3

    Typical on-the-job training

    None

  4. 4

    Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)

    Medium preparation

BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.

The work

What does a Growth Marketing Manager do?

Growth marketing managers focus on measurable growth: more sign-ups, more paying customers and better retention. Instead of running a few big campaigns, they run many small experiments, test what works, and scale the winners.

The work covers the whole customer journey. Growth marketers manage paid acquisition on search and social platforms, optimize landing pages and sign-up flows, build email and in-app lifecycle programs, and design referral and pricing tests. They work closely with product managers, designers, engineers and analysts, and they rely on analytics tools to track funnels, cohorts and customer acquisition cost.

Day-to-day tasks

  1. Design and run A/B tests on acquisition and conversion
  2. Manage paid search and social advertising budgets
  3. Build email and in-app lifecycle campaigns
  4. Analyze funnels, cohorts and customer acquisition costs
  5. Optimize landing pages and sign-up flows
  6. Launch referral and incentive programs
  7. Report growth metrics to leadership

Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.

Working conditions and hours

Growth marketers work mostly at technology companies, startups and direct-to-consumer brands, often remotely or in hybrid roles. Work is computer-based and data heavy, with regular business hours and spikes around launches or campaigns. Results are visible quickly, so pressure to hit targets is constant.

Where the work happens

  • Indoors, climate-controlled

    NeverEvery day
  • Outdoors in all weather

    NeverEvery day

    Almost never works outdoors.

Physical demands

  • Sitting

    NeverAlmost all the time

    Seated for more than half the working day.

  • Standing

    NeverAlmost all the time
  • Bending or twisting

    NeverAlmost all the time

Working with people

  • Contact with other people

    NoneConstant
  • Face-to-face discussions

    NeverEvery day
  • Dealing with the public

    Not importantExtremely important

Pressure and stakes

  • Strict deadlines

    NeverEvery day
  • Conflict situations

    NeverEvery day
  • Cost of a mistake

    Not seriousExtremely serious

Autonomy

  • Freedom to decide

    NoneA lot

    A lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.

Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.

Core skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Speaking3.9
  • Active Learning3.8
  • Mathematics3.1
  • Monitoring3.1
Core skills for Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
ItemValue
Reading Comprehension4.0
Active Listening4.0
Writing4.0
Critical Thinking4.0
Speaking3.9
Active Learning3.8
Mathematics3.1
Monitoring3.1

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Transferable skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Complex Problem Solving3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.8
  • Social Perceptiveness3.1
  • Persuasion3.1
  • Systems Evaluation3.1
  • Coordination3.0
  • Systems Analysis3.0
  • Time Management3.0
Transferable skills for Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
ItemValue
Complex Problem Solving3.8
Judgment and Decision Making3.8
Social Perceptiveness3.1
Persuasion3.1
Systems Evaluation3.1
Coordination3.0
Systems Analysis3.0
Time Management3.0

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Tools and software

  • Analytical or scientific software · in demand
  • Business intelligence and data analysis software · in demand
  • Cloud-based data access and sharing software · in demand
  • Customer relationship management CRM software · in demand
  • Data base management system software · in demand
  • Data base user interface and query software · in demand
  • Data mining software · in demand
  • Desktop publishing software · in demand
  • Development environment software · in demand
  • Document management software · in demand
  • Electronic mail software · in demand
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand

“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.

Personality fit

What personality type suits a Growth Marketing Manager?

Interest profile

NueCareer estimate (Holland code EIA) built on O*NET's Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist profile, scored 1 to 7

Growth Marketing Manager · Realistic: 1Growth Marketing Manager · Investigative: 5Growth Marketing Manager · Artistic: 3Growth Marketing Manager · Social: 2Growth Marketing Manager · Enterprising: 6Growth Marketing Manager · Conventional: 5
Growth Marketing Manager interest profile
AxisGrowth Marketing Manager
Realistic1
Investigative5
Artistic3
Social2
Enterprising6
Conventional5

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

What the work is built around

Day to day this is work built around leading, persuading, selling and making decisions, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.

  • Enterprising5.7
  • Investigative4.8
  • Conventional4.5
  • Artistic3.2
  • Social2.5
  • Realistic1.1

Closest MBTI types

NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.

Questions

Growth Marketing Manager: frequently asked questions

How much do Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists make?

BLS does not publish a separate wage for market research analysts and marketing specialists. It counts them within market research analyst and marketing specialist, whose median pay is $78,760 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $58,350 and $108,310, and the top 10% earn $155,480 or more.

Do you need a degree to become a Growth Marketing Manager?

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation.

Is Growth Marketing Manager a growing career?

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 7.0% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 82,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

What does a Growth Marketing Manager do?

Growth marketing managers focus on measurable growth: more sign-ups, more paying customers and better retention. A typical task: design and run A/B tests on acquisition and conversion. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Business intelligence and data analysis software, Cloud-based data access and sharing software.

Which states pay Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists the most?

The highest state medians for Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists are Massachusetts ($101,810), Delaware ($101,270), New York ($98,580) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Delaware moves to the top at $101,465.

What personality type suits a Growth Marketing Manager?

O*NET scores Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists highest on the Enterprising, Investigative and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ENTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Research sources for this career