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.
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers is $69,990 a year ($33.65/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to grow 3.6% through 2034, with about 39,000 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.
SOC 11-9141ManagementLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $69,990
- Projected growth
- +3.6%
- Openings a year
- 39,000
- Typical education
- High school
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Apartment Manager, Community Association Manager, Community Manager, Lease Administration Supervisor, Leasing Manager, Occupancy Director.
How much do Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers make?
10th percentile$41,010
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$50,720
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$69,990
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$97,910
Upper quartile
90th percentile$139,680
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $69,990 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $33.65/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $83,710 |
| People employed | 311,180 |
Versus all US occupations
At $69,990, Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers earn 37% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $19,010 a year.
Versus management occupations
Inside the Management group, where the middle occupation pays $126,060, this is 44% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $139,680 or more while the bottom 10% earn $41,010, a gap of 3.4×. 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 56% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Washington pays the most at $119,320, and still leads at $111,500 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $119,320 | $111,500 | 2,950 |
| Massachusetts | $103,410 | $97,781 | 7,320 |
| Colorado | $100,080 | $97,116 | 2,230 |
| New York | $99,390 | $92,095 | 11,390 |
| District of Columbia | $94,080 | $85,604 | 2,040 |
| New Jersey | $82,850 | $76,145 | 7,110 |
| Maryland | $81,900 | $78,030 | 6,060 |
| Rhode Island | $80,260 | $78,471 | 730 |
| Virginia | $79,810 | $78,939 | 5,570 |
| Oregon | $78,060 | $75,522 | 3,190 |
Is Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager a growing career?
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers3.6%
All US occupations3.1%
+3.6% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers to change 3.6% over 2024–2034, against 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 17,000 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 39,000 openings are projected each year, 8.4% of the 466,100 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment demand will be driven by the number of people living in buildings that property management companies operate, such as apartment buildings, condominiums, cooperatives, planned communities, and senior housing.
Growth in the single-family housing market may have a positive influence on demand, as some new housing developments will require property managers to oversee jointly owned common areas, such as pools, gyms, and business centers, and to enforce homeowner association laws. However, the automation of some property management tasks, such as posting vacancies and assigning maintenance requests, may slow employment growth.
How to become a Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager
Property, real estate, and community association managers typically need a high school diploma combined with several years of related work experience for entry-level positions. Some managers also must have a state-issued license.
| Typical entry-level education | High school diploma or equivalent |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Medium preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | Less than 5 years |
| Typical on-the-job training | Short-term on-the-job training |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as property, real estate, and community association managers.
- Bachelor's Degree55.0%
- High School Diploma15.0%
- Post-Secondary Certificate10.0%
- First Professional Degree10.0%
- Some College Courses5.0%
What does a Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager do?
Plan, direct, or coordinate the selling, buying, leasing, or governance activities of commercial, industrial, or residential real estate properties. Includes managers of homeowner and condominium associations, rented or leased housing units, buildings, or land (including rights-of-way).
Property, real estate, and community association managers oversee many aspects of residential, commercial, or industrial properties. They ensure that the property is well maintained, has a nice appearance, operates smoothly, and preserves its resale value.
Day-to-day tasks
- Manage and oversee operations, maintenance, administration, and improvement of commercial, industrial, or residential properties.
- Meet with clients to negotiate management and service contracts, determine priorities, and discuss the financial and operational status of properties.
- Direct and coordinate the activities of staff and contract personnel and evaluate their performance.
- Inspect grounds, facilities, and equipment routinely to determine necessity of repairs or maintenance.
- Solicit and analyze bids from contractors for repairs, renovations, and maintenance.
- Prepare detailed budgets and financial reports for properties.
- Plan, schedule, and coordinate general maintenance, major repairs, and remodeling or construction projects for commercial or residential properties.
- Direct collection of monthly assessments, rental fees, and deposits and payment of insurance premiums, mortgage, taxes, and incurred operating expenses.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Where property, real estate, and community association managers work
| Real estate | 52% |
|---|---|
| Self-employed workers | 34% |
| Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations | 2% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Speaking4.0/5
- Reading Comprehension3.9/5
- Active Listening3.8/5
- Writing3.6/5
- Critical Thinking3.5/5
- Monitoring3.1/5
- Mathematics3.0/5
- Active Learning3.0/5
Transferable skills
- Coordination3.6/5
- Negotiation3.5/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.3/5
- Persuasion3.3/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1/5
- Management of Personnel Resources3.1/5
- Service Orientation3.0/5
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Data mining software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Project management software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Web page creation and editing software · in demand
- Web platform development software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic3.3
Investigative2.1
Artistic1.7
Socialprimary3.5
Enterprisingprimary6.7
Conventionalprimary5.3
Day to day this is work built around leading, persuading, selling and making decisions, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
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.
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager: frequently asked questions
How much do Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers make?
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers earn a median of $69,990 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 37% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $33.65/hr. The middle half earn between $50,720 and $97,910. The top 10% earn $139,680 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager?
No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. Employers typically expect less than 5 years of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 55.0% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager a growing career?
It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 3.6% over 2024–2034, about the same as the 3.1% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 39,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager do?
Property, real estate, and community association managers oversee many aspects of residential, commercial, or industrial properties. A core O*NET task: manage and oversee operations, maintenance, administration, and improvement of commercial, industrial, or residential properties. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Data mining software.
Which states pay Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers the most?
The highest state medians for Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers are Washington ($119,320), Massachusetts ($103,410), Colorado ($100,080) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager?
O*NET scores Property, Real Estate, and Community Association 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 923 occupations in the bank.