Management Analyst Salary in 2026: Pay by State, Industry and City

How Much Does a Management Analyst Make?

A management analyst makes a median $101,860 a year, and the hourly median is $48.97, in the May 2025 wage survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The handbook quotes the same annual figure. The survey counts 898,280 management analysts, and a group that size has a lot of room between its low end and its high end.

The spread is wide. The 10th percentile is $60,640 and the 25th is $77,950. The 75th is $133,370 and the 90th is $171,640, so the top tenth of management analysts earn $111,000 more than the bottom tenth. If you're starting out, the lower quarter is the honest planning range, and $60,640 to $77,950 is a solid band for a job that takes a bachelor's degree and some years of work to reach. Established management analysts, the ones with years of engagements behind them, are who the upper quarter describes.

A median is a midpoint, not an offer. It's the point where half of management analysts earn more and half earn less, and the mean of $113,790 is $11,930 above it, a sign that a long tail of high earners pulls the average up. What you'll be offered depends on who's hiring. The sections below show that a federal agency, a consulting firm and a state government department put the same job title in three different pay ranges.

Management Analyst Salary by State

Management Analyst salary by state runs from a median of $134,720 in Massachusetts to $69,390 in Mississippi, across the 50 states and the District of Columbia where the survey publishes a median. A state median is a location figure: it reflects which employers are there and what living costs, not what any one employer pays.

Highest-Paying Cities for Management Analysts

The highest-paying cities for management analysts are the metro areas below, the ten with the highest median among the 375 metro areas where the survey publishes one and at least 100 people hold the job. The second chart lists the ten metro areas that employ the most management analysts, which is where most of the openings are.

Management Analyst Salary by Industry

Management Analyst pay by industry is set out below for every industry sector where the survey publishes a median, highest first, with the number employed in each. A high median in a sector with few jobs is a real figure but a narrow door.

What Drives Management Analyst Pay?

Management analyst pay is driven by who employs you more than by what you do, and the ownership figures show it plainly. The federal government pays a median of $115,920 across 76,910 management analysts, above the private sector's $102,940. State government pays $78,630 across 80,350 jobs, which is $37,290 under the federal figure for the same title. Local government sits at $100,830. So government work isn't one pay range for a management analyst. A federal post is at the top of the ownership table and a state post is at the bottom.

Industry matters next. Professional, scientific and technical services is where consulting firms sit, and it employs 360,500 management analysts at a median of $107,330. The handbook puts that sector at 33 percent of the occupation, and the survey shows it pays above the national median. The sectors above it are smaller: utilities at $112,960 across 6,120 jobs, wholesale trade at $112,240 across 21,030, and information at $109,990 across 21,210. Finance and insurance employs 121,150 management analysts at $100,300. Educational services pays $83,810 and real estate pays $82,280, both well under the midpoint.

Metro area is the third driver, and the gaps are large. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara pays a median of $136,670 and Boston-Cambridge-Newton pays $135,640 across 26,450 jobs. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria pays $126,830 across 62,360 management analysts, the second-largest concentration in the country, and New York-Newark-Jersey City, the largest at 67,630, pays $124,390. Compare that with Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, which employs 25,600 management analysts at $82,990. Same title, $52,650 less than Boston. At the state level, Massachusetts leads at $134,720 and Mississippi is lowest at $69,390.

The handbook adds the employer-side factors. Management analysts need at least a bachelor's degree and several years of related work experience, some employers prefer an MBA, and many analysts work as consultants on a contractual basis rather than for the organization they analyze. Which side of that line you're on decides which sector you're paid in.

How Can a Management Analyst Earn More?

A management analyst earns more by moving toward the federal government, toward a consulting firm, or toward one of the metros where the median runs above $125,000. Take the ownership move first. A state government management analyst at the $78,630 median who moves to a federal agency at $115,920 is looking at a $37,290 difference at the midpoint for the same title. Even a move from state to local government, at $100,830, is a step of $22,200.

The sector move is the one the handbook describes. Many management analysts work as consultants on a contractual basis, and professional, scientific and technical services, the sector that holds those firms, pays a median of $107,330 against $83,810 in educational services. The metro move is bigger still. Boston pays $135,640 and Washington pays $126,830, and both employ tens of thousands of management analysts, so the openings are there. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue pays $126,340 across 16,930 jobs.

The handbook also describes a path up rather than across. Management analysts with exceptional skills may eventually become partners in their organization and focus on attracting new clients and bringing in revenue. It says certification isn't required but may give jobseekers a competitive advantage, and that some employers prefer an MBA. Treat those as doors into the higher-paying employers above rather than as raises in themselves.

The steps into the job, and whether a general studies degree is enough to get there, are in the management analyst career guide.