Business Development Manager Salary & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 8,151 US job postings by 3,905 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for business development managers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 8,151 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for business development managers in US job postings is $142,000 a year (2,213 postings from 1,207 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $98,000 to $188,000.
- The skills that most set business development manager postings apart are business development, negotiation, presentation.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 5 years of experience.
Business Development Manager job postings in the US, October 2026
- $142,000
- Median advertised pay (2,213 postings)
- $98,000–$188,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 8,151
- US job postings from 3,905 employers
- 5 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a business development manager make?
The median advertised pay is $142,000 a year, from 2,213 US job postings by 1,207 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $229,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 2,213 US business development manager job postings: median $142,000 a year, middle half $98,000 to $188,000.
- Median: $142,000
- 25th percentile: $98,000
- 75th percentile: $188,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.1% |
| $20K–$30K | 0.1% |
| $30K–$40K | 0.6% |
| $40K–$50K | 1.4% |
| $50K–$60K | 4.1% |
| $60K–$70K | 4.3% |
| $70K–$80K | 5.7% |
| $80K–$90K | 4.9% |
| $90K–$100K | 4.2% |
| $100K–$110K | 5.7% |
| $110K–$120K | 7.0% |
| $120K–$130K | 5.5% |
| $130K–$140K | 4.4% |
| $140K–$150K | 6.4% |
| $150K–$160K | 6.8% |
| $160K–$170K | 5.6% |
| $170K–$180K | 5.5% |
| $180K–$190K | 3.6% |
| $190K–$200K | 3.7% |
| $200K–$210K | 3.9% |
| $210K–$220K | 3.8% |
| $220K–$230K | 2.9% |
| $230K–$240K | 1.7% |
| $240K–$250K | 1.6% |
| $250K–$260K | 1.5% |
| $260K–$270K | 0.8% |
| $270K–$280K | 0.8% |
| $280K–$290K | 0.8% |
| $290K–$300K | 0.7% |
| $300K–$310K | 0.9% |
| $310K–$320K | 0.4% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $145,000 | $101K–$189K | 2,077 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $142,000 | $98K–$188K | 2,213 |
What is the starting salary for a business development manager?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Business development manager levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior business development managers have a median advertised pay of $155,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate | 4.6% | 2 years | – |
| No level in title | 88.8% | 5 years | $142,000 |
| Senior | 4.9% | 5 years | $155,000 |
Highest-paying business development manager jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of Business Development | $170,000 | 387 | 231 |
| Business Development Executive | $128,000 | 889 | 549 |
| Business Development Manager (general) | $114,000 | 401 | 246 |
Business development manager pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $162,000 | $115,000–$210,000 | 285 | 14.2% |
| New York | $140,000 | $106,000–$182,000 | 239 | 11.3% |
Skills employers ask for in business development manager job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 49% |
| Business development | 22% |
| Interpersonal skills | 16% |
| Organizational skills | 16% |
| Microsoft Office | 15% |
| Excel | 14% |
| Negotiation | 13% |
| Analytical skills | 12% |
| Self-motivated | 11% |
| Work independently | 10% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set business development managers apart
- Business development45.9× as often as in all postings · 22%
- Negotiation11× as often as in all postings · 13%
- Presentation9.4× as often as in all postings · 10%
- CRM10.6× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Presentation skills6.2× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Salesforce9.2× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Negotiation skills9.9× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Sales8.8× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Relationship-building skills9.8× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Self-starter3.4× as often as in all postings · 7%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a business development manager job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a business development manager do?
Employers post these jobs as Business Development, Business Development Specialist, Director of Business Development, Business Development Director, Business Development Executive and other titles. The largest specializations are Business Development Executive (43%), Director of Business Development (16%), Partnerships Manager (6%), Partner Manager (3%), Market Development Manager (2%), New Business Development Manager (2%).
The closest official occupation is Sales Managers (11-2022.00). Its most important tasks:
- Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
- Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
- Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
- Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
- Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a business development manager?
Among 4,332 postings that state a minimum, the median is 5 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 7% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 4,332 US business development manager job postings: median 5 years, and 7% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | under 1% |
| 1 yr | 6% |
| 2 yrs | 13% |
| 3-4 yrs | 23% |
| 5-7 yrs | 35% |
| 8-9 yrs | 6% |
| 10+ yrs | 16% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 96%, Part-time 4% of the 761 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a business development manager: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Business Development | 803 (20.6%) |
| Business Development Manager | 718 (18.4%) |
| Business Development Specialist | 240 (6.2%) |
| Director of Business Development | 231 (5.9%) |
| Business Development Director | 196 (5.0%) |
| Business Development Executive | 190 (4.9%) |
| Business Development Associate | 170 (4.3%) |
| Senior Business Development Manager | 105 (2.7%) |
| Director, Business Development | 95 (2.4%) |
| Partner Manager | 92 (2.4%) |
| Market Development Manager | 59 (1.5%) |
| Business Developer | 56 (1.4%) |
| Partnerships Lead | 56 (1.4%) |
| Business Development Intern | 54 (1.4%) |
| Vice President of Business Development | 41 (1.1%) |
| Business Development Leader | 40 (1.0%) |
| Business Development Analyst | 37 (0.9%) |
| Strategic Partnerships Manager | 34 (0.9%) |
| Commercial Director | 33 (0.9%) |
| Head of Business Development | 30 (0.8%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Business development manager job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director of Business Development | 418 | 231 | – | 5 years | communication, organizational skills, presentation |
| Business Development Specialist | 430 | 240 | – | – | communication, Microsoft Office, interpersonal skills |
| Business Development Director | 290 | 196 | – | 5 years | communication, business development, Microsoft Office |
Business Development Manager compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Development Manager | $142K | 5 years | 8,151 | – |
| Account Manager | $118K | 3 years | 24,657 | 22 |
| Sales Manager | $120K | 4 years | 11,547 | 23 |
| Sales Representative | $80K | 2 years | 44,989 | 20 |
| Sales Development Representative | $62K | 1 year | 4,767 | 15 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Account Manager | 22 | $118K |
| Sales Manager | 23 | $120K |
| Sales Representative | 20 | $80K |
| Sales Development Representative | 15 | $62K |
| Medical Sales Representative | 19 | $100K |
| Loan Officer | 17 | $102K |
Applying for business development manager jobs?
- Business development manager resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
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- Find business development manager jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a business development manager make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 37 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 35 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.