Emergency Management Directors: salary, outlook & degrees
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.
Middle half $67,910–$126,490. 13,500 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
74% hold a bachelor's or higher.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 1,100 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Justice And Fire Protection | 24% | Criminal Justice · Security / Homeland Security |
| Business Management And Administration | 9% | Business Administration |
| Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure | 6% | Kinesiology / Exercise Science · Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies |
| Community And Public Health | 4% | Public Health |
| Psychology | 4% | Psychology |
| Public Administration | 4% | Public Administration |
| Ecology | 4% | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
| Biology | 3% | Biology |
| Political Science And Government | 3% | Political Science |
| Health And Medical Administrative Services | 3% | Health Administration |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $184,350 |
| New Mexico | $145,550 |
| Washington | $130,780 |
| California | $129,910 |
| Colorado | $129,660 |
| Massachusetts | $123,250 |
| New Jersey | $120,990 |
| Connecticut | $113,380 |
| Oregon | $110,720 |
| Maryland | $107,200 |
| Minnesota | $106,880 |
| Nevada | $105,570 |
| Alaska | $101,850 |
| Virginia | $99,860 |
| Idaho | $99,720 |
| Florida | $99,020 |
| Louisiana | $96,550 |
| Ohio | $94,690 |
| North Carolina | $93,840 |
| South Carolina | $93,680 |
| Texas | $93,570 |
| New York | $92,570 |
| Nebraska | $89,740 |
| Michigan | $87,880 |
| Rhode Island | $87,690 |
| Utah | $84,860 |
| Maine | $84,050 |
| Illinois | $83,820 |
| Georgia | $83,200 |
| Arizona | $81,970 |
| Tennessee | $81,800 |
| Pennsylvania | $81,550 |
| New Hampshire | $77,420 |
| Wisconsin | $77,260 |
| North Dakota | $76,640 |
| Missouri | $75,660 |
| Kentucky | $74,730 |
| Hawaii | $74,290 |
| Iowa | $73,700 |
| Kansas | $68,000 |
| South Dakota | $67,180 |
| Wyoming | $64,370 |
| Montana | $62,770 |
| Oklahoma | $60,990 |
| West Virginia | $60,460 |
| Arkansas | $50,180 |
| Mississippi | $48,650 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$130,020
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$93,190
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$98,830
- Jacksonville$135,910
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$100,150
- Tallahassee$110,550
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$163,220
- Richmond$92,940
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$97,990
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$130,020
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$107,430
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$161,180
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$136,270
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$117,070
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$173,540
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Law and Government
- Communications and Media
- English Language
Work styles
- Stress Tolerance
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Adaptability
- Leadership Orientation
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Conventional (organizing), Investigative (analytical) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Emergency Management Directors: questions
How much do emergency Management Directors make?
Emergency Management Directors earn a U.S. median $93,330 a year; the middle half earn $67,910 to $126,490 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $65,628 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is emergency Management Directors a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 3.9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be an emergency Management Director?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 82% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is criminal Justice And Fire Protection (24%).
How much do emergency Management Directors make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $99,020 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $93,330 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 11-9161. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Emergency Management Directors: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/emergency-management-directors.