The salary is 68.5% of what the person costs you. That is not an estimate; it is the wage share of total compensation that federal data reports for private-sector management and professional occupations. The remaining 31.5% is paid leave, insurance, retirement, supplemental pay and legally required contributions, and it does not appear anywhere in the salary conversation you are about to have.

Four job titles are in play, they differ by $88,000 a year at the median, and the same title varies by a factor of nearly three depending on where the person sits. All of that is published. Four other things you will be asked about are not published at all, by anyone, which is worth knowing before you cite a number for them.

Four titles, and the gap between them

These are annual wages for May 2025, released May 2026, across all industries.

OccupationEmployment25thMedian75th90th
Marketing managers395,240$123,020$166,790$216,410$293,610
Market research analysts and marketing specialists899,580$58,350$78,760$108,310$155,480
Advertising and promotions managers21,470$91,370$133,660$201,050$286,240
Public relations specialists283,380$56,260$74,750$100,370$135,150
All occupations155,495,730$37,590$50,980$80,520$128,560

The specialist category is where a first hire usually lands, and it is enormous: 899,580 people, more than twice the manager category. Its entry requirement is a bachelor’s degree with no prior experience. The manager category requires a bachelor’s plus five or more years, and costs $88,030 more at the median. Neither band buys one person who can hold positioning, the website and paid acquisition at the same time, which is the gap a firm carrying the three disciplines together is built to cover.

The distribution inside the specialist category is wide enough to matter more than the title. The 25th percentile is $58,350 and the 75th is $108,310. The same job description covers both, and which end you are recruiting at is a decision about seniority that the title does not record.

A note on the source. These estimates pool six semiannual survey panels over three years, roughly 1.1 million establishments, with an establishment response rate of 66.2%. The producing agency is explicit that the series “is designed to create detailed cross-sectional estimates… but is less useful for looking at changes over time”, so do not build a wage-inflation argument out of it.

Annual wage distributions for four marketing occupations from federal wage statisticsAnnual wage distributions for four marketing occupations from federal wage statistics for May two thousand twenty five, released in May two thousand twenty six, covering all industries and all ownerships. Marketing managers, with employment of three hundred and ninety five thousand two hundred and forty, have a tenth percentile of ninety thousand two hundred and sixty dollars, a twenty fifth percentile of one hundred and twenty three thousand and twenty dollars, a median of one hundred and sixty six thousand seven hundred and ninety dollars, a seventy fifth percentile of two hundred and sixteen thousand four hundred and ten dollars, a ninetieth percentile of two hundred and ninety three thousand six hundred and ten dollars, and a mean of one hundred and seventy seven thousand seven hundred and seventy dollars. Market research analysts and marketing specialists, with employment of eight hundred and ninety nine thousand five hundred and eighty, more than twice the manager category, have a tenth percentile of forty three thousand three hundred and ninety dollars, a twenty fifth percentile of fifty eight thousand three hundred and fifty dollars, a median of seventy eight thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars, a seventy fifth percentile of one hundred and eight thousand three hundred and ten dollars, a ninetieth percentile of one hundred and fifty five thousand four hundred and eighty dollars and a mean of eighty nine thousand four hundred and ninety dollars. Advertising and promotions managers, a much smaller category at twenty one thousand four hundred and seventy, have a median of one hundred and thirty three thousand six hundred and sixty dollars, a twenty fifth percentile of ninety one thousand three hundred and seventy dollars and a ninetieth percentile of two hundred and eighty six thousand two hundred and forty dollars. Public relations specialists, numbering two hundred and eighty three thousand three hundred and eighty, have a median of seventy four thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars, a twenty fifth percentile of fifty six thousand two hundred and sixty dollars and a ninetieth percentile of one hundred and thirty five thousand one hundred and fifty dollars. For reference the median across all occupations is fifty thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars. The gap between the marketing manager median and the marketing specialist median is eighty eight thousand and thirty dollars, and the two roles differ in entry requirement, the specialist role requiring a bachelor’s degree with no prior experience and the manager role requiring a bachelor’s degree plus five or more years of experience.Annual wages, May 2025Occupation25thMedian75thMarketing managers$123,020$166,790$216,410Advertising and promotions managers$91,370$133,660$201,050Marketing specialists$58,350$78,760$108,310Public relations specialists$56,260$74,750$100,370All occupations, for reference$37,590$50,980$80,520899,580 marketing specialists against 395,240 managers. The gap at the median is $88,030.
The specialist category is more than twice the size of the manager category, and pays $88,000 less at the median. Source : BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates, released 15 May 2026 (2026)

Location moves it more than the title does

For a marketing specialist, the metropolitan median runs from $50,680 at the low end of the markets I pulled to $141,960 at the high end. That is a factor of 2.80, wider than the gap between a specialist and a manager nationally.

MetroMarketing specialists, medianMarketing managers, median
San Jose$141,960$231,370
San Francisco$123,250$220,480
New York$100,520$192,840
Chicago$80,400$165,340
Atlanta$79,030$163,500
Omaha$62,280$112,870
El Paso$50,680$114,160

The national median of $78,760 sits between Chicago and Atlanta. If your reference point is a coastal number and your office is not on a coast, you are budgeting for someone else’s market. If you are hiring remotely, you are choosing a point on this table whether or not you say so.

The manager spread is narrower, 2.05x, which is worth noticing: senior compensation is more national than junior compensation.

Metropolitan variation in median annual wages for marketing specialists and marketing managersMetropolitan variation in median annual wages for marketing specialists and marketing managers, from federal metropolitan area wage estimates for May two thousand twenty five. For market research analysts and marketing specialists, the median annual wage is one hundred and forty one thousand nine hundred and sixty dollars in San Jose, one hundred and twenty three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars in San Francisco, one hundred thousand five hundred and twenty dollars in New York, eighty thousand four hundred dollars in Chicago, seventy nine thousand and thirty dollars in Atlanta, sixty two thousand two hundred and eighty dollars in Omaha, and fifty thousand six hundred and eighty dollars in El Paso, giving a ratio between the highest and lowest of these markets of two point eight. For marketing managers the same markets give two hundred and thirty one thousand three hundred and seventy dollars in San Jose, two hundred and twenty thousand four hundred and eighty dollars in San Francisco, one hundred and ninety two thousand eight hundred and forty dollars in New York, one hundred and sixty five thousand three hundred and forty dollars in Chicago, one hundred and sixty three thousand five hundred dollars in Atlanta, one hundred and fourteen thousand one hundred and sixty dollars in El Paso, and one hundred and twelve thousand eight hundred and seventy dollars in Omaha, a ratio of two point zero five, so senior compensation varies less by location than junior compensation does. The national median for marketing specialists, seventy eight thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars, falls between the Chicago and Atlanta figures. Employment is also concentrated: New York alone accounts for seventy nine thousand two hundred and ninety marketing specialists and fifty four thousand seven hundred and thirty marketing managers, while El Paso accounts for eight hundred and four hundred and ninety respectively. The practical implication is that a company benchmarking against a coastal figure while hiring elsewhere is budgeting for a different labour market, and a company hiring remotely is implicitly choosing a point on this distribution whether or not it states which point.Median wage for a marketing specialist, by metroSan Jose$141,960San Francisco$123,250New York$100,520Chicago$80,400Atlanta$79,030Omaha$62,280El Paso$50,680The national median, $78,760, sits between Chicago and Atlanta. Manager wages vary less: 2.05x, not 2.80x.
A 2.8x spread for the specialist role. Wider than the gap between a specialist and a manager nationally. Source : BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan area estimates (2026)

The 31.5% you have not budgeted

Wages are not compensation. Federal data on employer costs, for the March 2026 reference period, reports for private-industry management and professional occupations:

  • Total compensation per hour worked: $78.10
  • Wages and salaries: $53.50, or 68.5%
  • Benefits: $24.61, or 31.5%

The benefit line breaks down as paid leave 9.4%, supplemental pay 4.6%, insurance 7.3%, retirement and savings 3.7%, and legally required benefits 6.4%. Across all private-industry occupations the split is slightly different, 69.9% wages to 30.1% benefits, and in professional and technical services specifically it is 68.4% to 31.6%.

Apply that to the specialist median and the arithmetic is straightforward: $78,760 in wages loaded at 31.5% is roughly $114,980 a year. Two caveats, both worth stating out loud when you present the number. That figure is arithmetic on two separate federal series, not a published federal statistic. And the compensation data expresses costs per hour worked, with paid leave counted as a benefit cost rather than as hours, so it is an order of magnitude check rather than a quote.

The order of magnitude is the point. If your budget line says $78,760, it is short by about a third.

Split between wages and benefits in total employer compensation cost for professional occupationsSplit between wages and benefits in total employer compensation cost, for private industry management, professional and related occupations, from federal employer cost data for the March two thousand twenty six reference period. Total compensation per hour worked is seventy eight dollars and ten cents. Wages and salaries account for fifty three dollars and fifty cents of that, or sixty eight point five percent. Benefits account for twenty four dollars and sixty one cents, or thirty one point five percent, and break down as paid leave at seven dollars and thirty four cents or nine point four percent, supplemental pay at three dollars and sixty cents or four point six percent, insurance at five dollars and seventy three cents or seven point three percent, retirement and savings at two dollars and eighty nine cents or three point seven percent, and legally required benefits at five dollars and three cents or six point four percent. Across all private industry occupations the corresponding split is sixty nine point nine percent wages and thirty point one percent benefits, on total compensation of forty six dollars and sixty cents per hour worked. In the professional, scientific and technical services industry the split is sixty eight point four percent wages and thirty one point six percent benefits, on total compensation of seventy five dollars and fifteen cents. Applying the professional occupations benefit share to the national median wage for a marketing specialist of seventy eight thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars gives a loaded annual cost of approximately one hundred and fourteen thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars, and applying the all private industry share gives approximately one hundred and twelve thousand six hundred and seventy five dollars. Both figures are arithmetic combining two separate federal series rather than published federal statistics, and the employer cost series expresses costs per hour worked with paid leave counted as a benefit cost rather than as hours worked, so the result should be treated as an order of magnitude check rather than as a quotation. The underlying data come from a probability sample of approximately twenty eight thousand five hundred occupational observations drawn from approximately six thousand seven hundred private industry establishments.$78.10 an hour, and where it goesWages and salaries, 68.5%Benefits, 31.5%What the benefit third is made ofPaid leave9.4%Insurance7.3%Legally required benefits6.4%Supplemental pay4.6%Retirement and savings3.7%Applied to the specialist median$78,760 in wagesloaded at 31.5%about $115,000Arithmetic on two series, not a published figure.
Paid leave, insurance, retirement, supplemental pay and legally required contributions. None of it appears in the salary negotiation. Source : BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 2026 reference period, released 12 June 2026 (2026)

The market you are hiring into

Ten-year projections published in August 2026:

Occupation20252035ChangeAnnual openings
Marketing specialists952,7001,019,000+7.0%82,000
Marketing managers421,600450,800+6.9%34,000
Public relations specialists314,500320,200+1.8%23,000
Advertising and promotions managers33,20031,900-3.7%2,300
All occupations170,280,800176,198,500+3.5%17,461,800

Read the openings column carefully, because it is the one most often misread. Occupational openings are net employment change plus separations, meaning people leaving the labor force and people transferring to other occupations. Of the 82,000 annual openings for marketing specialists, growth accounts for only 6,630. The rest is replacement. You are hiring into a market defined by churn, not expansion.

Two disclaimers the producing agency attaches, both of which are more useful than the projections themselves. First: “The projections are not intended to be a forecast of what the future will be but instead are a description of what would be expected to happen under these specific assumptions and circumstances”, which include full employment in the target year and productivity growth “in line with the historical experience”. Second, on artificial intelligence specifically: “In a future state where technology advances much more rapidly than it has historically, it is unlikely that historical relationships would hold, and therefore BLS projection methods are unlikely to yield reasonable results.” And the agency does not project shortages or surpluses at all, by construction.

So if someone shows you a ten-year projection as evidence about how AI will reshape marketing employment, the agency that produced it has already disclaimed that use.

Ten year employment projections for marketing occupations and the composition of annual occupational openingsTen year employment projections for marketing occupations and the composition of annual occupational openings, from federal projections for two thousand twenty five to two thousand thirty five released in August two thousand twenty six. Market research analysts and marketing specialists are projected to grow from nine hundred and fifty two thousand seven hundred to one million and nineteen thousand, an increase of sixty six thousand three hundred or seven point zero percent, with eighty two thousand average annual openings. Marketing managers are projected to grow from four hundred and twenty one thousand six hundred to four hundred and fifty thousand eight hundred, an increase of twenty nine thousand one hundred or six point nine percent, with thirty four thousand average annual openings. Public relations specialists are projected to grow from three hundred and fourteen thousand five hundred to three hundred and twenty thousand two hundred, an increase of one point eight percent, with twenty three thousand annual openings. Advertising and promotions managers are projected to decline from thirty three thousand two hundred to thirty one thousand nine hundred, a fall of three point seven percent, with two thousand three hundred annual openings. Across all occupations employment is projected to grow three point five percent. Occupational openings are defined as net employment change plus occupational separations, the latter comprising exits from the labour force and transfers to other occupations, so most openings represent replacement rather than growth: of the eighty two thousand annual openings for marketing specialists, growth accounts for only six thousand six hundred and thirty. The producing agency attaches two disclaimers. It states that the projections are not intended to be a forecast of what the future will be but instead are a description of what would be expected to happen under specific assumptions and circumstances, which include an assumption of full employment in the target year and an assumption that labour productivity and technological progress will be in line with historical experience. It states further that in a future state where technology advances much more rapidly than it has historically, it is unlikely that historical relationships would hold and therefore its projection methods are unlikely to yield reasonable results. It also states that it does not project labour shortages or surpluses, because supply and demand are linked by construction in its method.Growth to 2035, and what “openings” countsOccupationChangeAnnual openingsMarketing specialists+7.0%82,000Marketing managers+6.9%34,000Public relations specialists+1.8%23,000Advertising and promotions managers-3.7%2,300Openings are not growthOf the 82,000 specialist openings a year, 6,630 come from growth. The rest are people leaving.And the agency states these projections are “not intended to be a forecast”.
Of 82,000 annual openings for specialists, growth accounts for 6,630. The rest is people leaving. Source : BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, released 27 August 2026, Table 1.2 (2026)

Four numbers nobody publishes

This is the part worth internalizing before your next vendor conversation.

There is no federal time-to-fill, and no vacancy duration. The federal job openings survey measures the stock of openings on the last business day of the month and the flow of hires during the month. It never asks how long a posting stayed open. The statistic does not exist.

There is no count of job openings by occupation. The wage survey says so itself: it “does not ask establishments for vacancy information”, the openings survey does, “However, the data are not available by occupation.” There is no federal number for open marketing jobs.

The openings survey does not even isolate professional services. Its finest industry cut merges professional, scientific and technical services with management of companies and with administrative and waste services into one supersector. Anyone quoting “job openings in professional services” is quoting a category three times wider than it sounds. For the record, in that supersector the openings rate was 4.8% in July 2026, down from 6.2% in April, with hires falling 188,000 in a single month.

There is no federal cost-per-hire. Every figure in circulation comes from a vendor or association panel of self-selected respondents.

The one adjacent federal series with real signal is employee tenure, and it answers the question you actually care about: how often will I redo this hire. Median tenure with the current employer is 4.1 years overall, 3.5 years in the private sector, and 4.8 years in management, professional and related occupations, the highest of any major occupational group. Twenty-two percent of all wage and salary workers had a year or less of tenure. Those are January 2024 figures, from a biennial supplement.

Hiring metrics that federal statistics publish and hiring metrics that they do not publishHiring metrics that federal statistics publish and hiring metrics that they do not publish. Four widely quoted hiring metrics have no federal source. There is no federal time to fill and no vacancy duration statistic, because the federal job openings survey measures the stock of openings on the last business day of the month and the flow of hires during the month, and never asks how long a posting remained open. There is no federal count of job openings by occupation; the wage survey states that it does not ask establishments for vacancy information, and that although the job openings survey does ask, those data are not available by occupation. The job openings survey does not isolate professional, scientific and technical services either: its finest available industry cut merges that sector with management of companies and with administrative and waste services into a single supersector, so a figure quoted for professional services covers a category roughly three times wider than the name suggests; in that supersector the job openings rate was four point eight percent in July two thousand twenty six, down from six point two percent in April, five point eight percent in May and five point one percent in June, with hires falling one hundred and eighty eight thousand in a single month. There is no federal cost per hire, and every figure in circulation for it comes from a vendor or association panel of self selected respondents. The adjacent federal series that does carry signal is employee tenure, a biennial supplement whose January two thousand twenty four data report median tenure with the current employer of four point one years overall, four point two years for men and three point six years for women, three point five years in the private sector against six point two years in the public sector, and four point eight years in management, professional and related occupations, the highest of any major occupational group, with management occupations specifically at five point seven years, and with twenty two percent of all wage and salary workers having a year or less of tenure with their current employer.Four numbers with no federal sourceTime to fillthe survey never asks how long a posting stayed openVacancy durationsame reason: it measures a stock, on one dayJob openings by occupation”the data are not available by occupation”Cost per hireno federal series exists at allThe one that does exist, and answers a better questionMedian tenure with the current employer4.1 years, all workersManagement, professional and related occupations4.8 yearsPrivate sector overall: 3.5 years. 22% of workers have a year or less.
Four of the numbers you will be quoted have no federal source. The fifth, tenure, does, and answers a better question. Source : BLS JOLTS, July 2026, released 1 September 2026; BLS OEWS FAQ; BLS Employee Tenure, January 2024 data, released 26 September 2024 (2026)

Budgeting it honestly

Start from the specialist band, not the manager band, unless you need someone to run other people. The gap is $88,030 in wages before benefits, and the entry requirement differs by five years of experience.

Pick your metro before you pick your number. The same role varies 2.8x. If you hire remotely, you are choosing a point on that distribution whether you name it or not.

Add a third. Wages are 68.5% of compensation for this class of role. A $78,760 salary is about $115,000 of cost.

Do not budget a time-to-fill you read somewhere. No federal source measures it. If you need a planning assumption, say it is an assumption.

Plan the second hire into the first. Median tenure in professional occupations is 4.8 years, and that is the top of the range. Whatever knowledge this person accumulates about your market leaves with them unless it lives somewhere else.