Social and Community Service Manager Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Social and Community Service Managers earn a median of $80,390 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 58% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $38.65/hr. The middle half earn between $64,290 and $103,200. The top 10% earn $132,260 or more.

The median hourly wage for social and community service managers is $38.65 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $80,390 annual median works out to about $6,700 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 social and community service managers earn less than $53,150 a year and the bottom quarter less than $64,290 (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.

Some do. $100,000 sits between the median ($80,390) and the 75th percentile ($103,200), so roughly a quarter to a half of social and community service managers earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 2 states the median itself is above $100,000: District of Columbia ($106,700), Washington ($103,000).

The highest state medians for Social and Community Service Managers are District of Columbia ($106,700), Washington ($103,000), Alaska ($98,370) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, South Dakota moves to the top at $98,063.

BLS does not split social and community service managers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $132,260, against a median of $80,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($106,700), Washington ($103,000), Alaska ($98,370). BLS also counts a specialty career inside this occupation (community land trust director), which shares its federal pay figures.

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Social and Community Service Managers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. Employers typically expect less than 5 years of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 50.4% hold bachelor's degree.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for social and community service managers is a bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation. O*NET classes the work as needing considerable preparation.

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 7.2% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 18,500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Social and community service managers coordinate and supervise programs and organizations that support public well-being. A core O*NET task: evaluate the work of staff and volunteers to ensure that programs are of appropriate quality and that resources are used effectively. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software, Office suite software.

Most work more than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 54% of social and community service managers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 42% work exactly 40 and 4% work fewer. 80% say their schedule is regular and 20% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Social and Community Service Managers highest on the Enterprising, Social and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESFJ, ENFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 73.9% of social and community service managers, against 47.1% of all employed people: a female-dominated occupation. 28.5% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs), so a larger-than-usual share of the workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. Those exits are counted in the BLS openings figure. The median worker is 45.0 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.