Best US Cities for Marketing Managers
Top US cities for Marketing Managers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $191,800 | 1.45× | +$46,800 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $189,300 | 1.32× | +$44,300 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $183,300 | 1.35× | +$38,300 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $180,400 | 1.22× | +$35,400 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $179,500 | 1.21× | +$34,500 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $179,000 | 1.30× | +$34,000 |
| 7 | Irvine, CA | $179,000 | 1.30× | +$34,000 |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $176,900 | 1.18× | +$31,900 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $169,000 | 1.18× | +$24,000 |
| 10 | Long Beach, CA | $169,000 | 1.18× | +$24,000 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $191,800 | $92/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $189,300 | $91/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $183,300 | $88/hr |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $180,400 | $87/hr |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $179,500 | $86/hr |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $179,000 | $86/hr |
| 7 | Irvine, CA | $179,000 | $86/hr |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $176,900 | $85/hr |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $169,000 | $81/hr |
| 10 | Long Beach, CA | $169,000 | $81/hr |
| 11 | Anaheim, CA | $169,000 | $81/hr |
| 12 | Frisco, TX | $165,400 | $80/hr |
| 13 | Miami, FL | $163,900 | $79/hr |
| 14 | Reno, NV | $162,700 | $78/hr |
| 15 | Boston, MA | $162,500 | $78/hr |
| 16 | Portland, OR | $162,200 | $78/hr |
| 17 | Sacramento, CA | $162,200 | $78/hr |
| 18 | Yonkers, NY | $160,900 | $77/hr |
| 19 | Anchorage, AK | $160,900 | $77/hr |
| 20 | Denver, CO | $160,500 | $77/hr |
| 21 | Chicago, IL | $157,900 | $76/hr |
| 22 | Austin, TX | $157,900 | $76/hr |
| 23 | Plano, TX | $157,100 | $76/hr |
| 24 | Chandler, AZ | $157,100 | $76/hr |
| 25 | Chula Vista, CA | $157,000 | $75/hr |
| 26 | Phoenix, AZ | $155,400 | $75/hr |
| 27 | Atlanta, GA | $155,400 | $75/hr |
| 28 | Tampa, FL | $155,400 | $75/hr |
| 29 | Gilbert, AZ | $155,400 | $75/hr |
| 30 | Charleston, SC | $155,400 | $75/hr |
| 31 | Salt Lake City, UT | $155,400 | $75/hr |
| 32 | Orlando, FL | $154,500 | $74/hr |
| 33 | Raleigh, NC | $153,700 | $74/hr |
| 34 | Virginia Beach, VA | $153,700 | $74/hr |
| 35 | Boise, ID | $153,700 | $74/hr |
| 36 | Newark, NJ | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 37 | Riverside, CA | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 38 | Dallas, TX | $152,900 | $74/hr |
| 39 | Colorado Springs, CO | $152,900 | $74/hr |
| 40 | St. Petersburg, FL | $152,900 | $74/hr |
| 41 | Tucson, AZ | $150,300 | $72/hr |
| 42 | Baltimore, MD | $149,000 | $72/hr |
| 43 | Stockton, CA | $149,000 | $72/hr |
| 44 | Aurora, CO | $149,000 | $72/hr |
| 45 | Hialeah, FL | $149,000 | $72/hr |
| 46 | Albuquerque, NM | $148,600 | $71/hr |
| 47 | New Orleans, LA | $148,600 | $71/hr |
| 48 | Las Vegas, NV | $148,200 | $71/hr |
| 49 | Minneapolis, MN | $148,200 | $71/hr |
| 50 | San Antonio, TX | $147,800 | $71/hr |
| 51 | Columbus, OH | $146,900 | $71/hr |
| 52 | Kansas City, MO | $146,900 | $71/hr |
| 53 | Knoxville, TN | $146,900 | $71/hr |
| 54 | Philadelphia, PA | $146,600 | $70/hr |
| 55 | Henderson, NV | $146,600 | $70/hr |
| 56 | Wilmington, DE | $145,000 | $70/hr |
| 57 | St. Paul, MN | $145,000 | $70/hr |
| 58 | Chesapeake, VA | $145,000 | $70/hr |
| 59 | North Las Vegas, NV | $145,000 | $70/hr |
| 60 | Fresno, CA | $145,000 | $70/hr |
| 61 | Worcester, MA | $145,000 | $70/hr |
| 62 | Nashville, TN | $144,200 | $69/hr |
| 63 | Bakersfield, CA | $144,200 | $69/hr |
| 64 | Madison, WI | $144,200 | $69/hr |
| 65 | Norfolk, VA | $143,400 | $69/hr |
| 66 | Jacksonville, FL | $142,600 | $69/hr |
| 67 | Charlotte, NC | $142,600 | $69/hr |
| 68 | Mesa, AZ | $142,600 | $69/hr |
| 69 | Houston, TX | $141,800 | $68/hr |
| 70 | Fort Worth, TX | $141,800 | $68/hr |
| 71 | Glendale, AZ | $141,800 | $68/hr |
| 72 | Garland, TX | $141,800 | $68/hr |
| 73 | Spokane, WA | $141,800 | $68/hr |
| 74 | Pittsburgh, PA | $141,000 | $68/hr |
| 75 | Arlington, TX | $141,000 | $68/hr |
| 76 | Tallahassee, FL | $141,000 | $68/hr |
| 77 | Milwaukee, WI | $140,200 | $67/hr |
| 78 | Grand Rapids, MI | $139,400 | $67/hr |
| 79 | Detroit, MI | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 80 | Cincinnati, OH | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 81 | Lexington, KY | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 82 | Corpus Christi, TX | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 83 | Buffalo, NY | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 84 | Greensboro, NC | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 85 | El Paso, TX | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 86 | Cleveland, OH | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 87 | St. Louis, MO | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 88 | Winston-Salem, NC | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 89 | Indianapolis, IN | $137,000 | $66/hr |
| 90 | Louisville, KY | $137,000 | $66/hr |
| 91 | Omaha, NE | $137,000 | $66/hr |
| 92 | Memphis, TN | $136,200 | $65/hr |
| 93 | Oklahoma City, OK | $136,200 | $65/hr |
| 94 | Lincoln, NE | $136,200 | $65/hr |
| 95 | Birmingham, AL | $135,400 | $65/hr |
| 96 | Toledo, OH | $135,400 | $65/hr |
| 97 | Lubbock, TX | $135,400 | $65/hr |
| 98 | Wichita, KS | $133,800 | $64/hr |
| 99 | Fort Wayne, IN | $133,800 | $64/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $133,800 | $64/hr |
Does location actually decide Marketing Manager pay?
Marketing Manager work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $133,800 in Mobile to $191,800 in San Francisco — a spread of 43%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $191,800 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $155,800 a year after housing. In Mobile, $133,800 against $850 leaves about $123,600. The top still wins after rent, but by $32,200 rather than the $58,000 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland). A Marketing Manager at a large employer in a metro where marketing work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.