Social Media Manager Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,434 US job postings by 1,006 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for social media managers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,434 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for social media managers in US job postings is $77,000 a year (423 postings from 257 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $50,000 to $105,000.
- The skills that most set social media manager postings apart are instagram, tiktok, facebook.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Social Media Manager job postings in the US, October 2026
- $77,000
- Median advertised pay (423 postings)
- $50,000–$105,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,434
- US job postings from 1,006 employers
- 3 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a social media manager make?
The median advertised pay is $77,000 a year, from 423 US job postings by 257 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $145,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 423 US social media manager job postings: median $77,000 a year, middle half $50,000 to $105,000.
- Median: $77,000
- 25th percentile: $50,000
- 75th percentile: $105,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 4.4% |
| $30K–$40K | 7.4% |
| $40K–$50K | 13.7% |
| $50K–$60K | 8.0% |
| $60K–$70K | 8.2% |
| $70K–$80K | 10.4% |
| $80K–$90K | 7.7% |
| $90K–$100K | 8.8% |
| $100K–$110K | 9.3% |
| $110K–$120K | 3.6% |
| $120K–$130K | 4.4% |
| $130K–$140K | 3.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 1.7% |
| $150K–$160K | 2.2% |
| $160K–$170K | 2.2% |
| $170K–$180K | 1.7% |
| $180K–$190K | 0.3% |
| $190K–$200K | 0.3% |
| $200K–$210K | 0.3% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.3% |
| $230K–$240K | 1.9% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pay postings, annualised | $77,000 | $50K–$105K | 423 |
What is the starting salary for a social media manager?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying social media manager jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Media Manager (general) | $74,000 | 315 | 192 |
Skills employers ask for in social media manager job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 38% |
| 31% | |
| Tiktok | 29% |
| 21% | |
| Organizational skills | 19% |
| Canva | 19% |
| Attention to detail | 18% |
| Youtube | 18% |
| 15% | |
| Social media | 15% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set social media managers apart
- Instagram356.2× as often as in all postings · 31%
- Tiktok362.3× as often as in all postings · 29%
- Facebook282.3× as often as in all postings · 21%
- Youtube340.1× as often as in all postings · 18%
- Canva164.7× as often as in all postings · 19%
- Capcut499.4× as often as in all postings · 12%
- Linkedin103.7× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Social media106.7× as often as in all postings · 15%
- Content creation241.6× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Social media platforms139.9× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Social media management309.6× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Pinterest494.2× as often as in all postings · 8%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a social media manager job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a social media manager do?
Employers post these jobs as Social Media Specialist, Social Media Intern, Social Media Coordinator, Social Media Content Creator, Social Media Strategist and other titles. The largest specializations are Social Media Intern (12%), Influencer Marketing Manager (5%), Social Strategist (5%), Creator Partnerships Manager (2%), Paid Social Specialist (under 1%), Organic Social Media Manager (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (13-1161.00). Its most important tasks:
- Prepare reports of findings, illustrating data graphically and translating complex findings into written text.
- Seek and provide information to help companies determine their position in the marketplace.
- Conduct research on consumer opinions and marketing strategies, collaborating with marketing professionals, statisticians, pollsters, and other professionals.
- Collect and analyze data on customer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits to identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand.
- Devise and evaluate methods and procedures for collecting data, such as surveys, opinion polls, or questionnaires, or arrange to obtain existing data.
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 social media manager?
Among 573 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. 1% say 0 years and 16% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 573 US social media manager job postings: median 3 years, and 16% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 1% |
| 1 yr | 15% |
| 2 yrs | 25% |
| 3-4 yrs | 32% |
| 5-7 yrs | 25% |
| 8-9 yrs | 2% |
| 10+ yrs | 1% |
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.
Other names for a social media manager: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Social Media Manager | 166 (16.5%) |
| Social Media Specialist | 102 (10.1%) |
| Social Media Intern | 76 (7.5%) |
| Social Media Coordinator | 72 (7.2%) |
| Social Media Content Creator | 48 (4.8%) |
| Social Media Strategist | 32 (3.2%) |
| Social Media Lead | 26 (2.6%) |
| Social Media Assistant | 25 (2.5%) |
| Influencer Marketing Manager | 19 (1.9%) |
| Social Media Internship | 18 (1.8%) |
| Social Media Associate | 17 (1.7%) |
| Social Media Marketing Intern | 15 (1.5%) |
| Social Content Creator | 13 (1.3%) |
| Social Media Marketing Specialist | 11 (1.1%) |
| Social Media Marketing Manager | 11 (1.1%) |
| Senior Social Media Manager | 11 (1.1%) |
| Head of Social | 11 (1.1%) |
| Social Media Creator | 10 (1.0%) |
| Director of Social Media | 10 (1.0%) |
| Influencer Manager | 10 (1.0%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Social Media Manager compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Media Manager | $77K | 3 years | 1,434 | – |
| Video Editor | $76K | 3 years | 945 | 14 |
| Producer | $70K | 3 years | 938 | 13 |
| Communications Manager | $110K | 5 years | 2,372 | 11 |
| Marketing Manager | $130K | 5 years | 10,752 | 13 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Video Editor | 14 | $76K |
| Producer | 13 | $70K |
| Communications Manager | 11 | $110K |
| Marketing Manager | 13 | $130K |
| Writer | 10 | $92K |
| Media Planner | 13 | $98K |
Applying for social media manager jobs?
- Social media manager resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find social media manager jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a social media 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 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 18 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.