Really helpful to have this resource - I find it really challenging to find relevant compensation data on sites like Payscale given that community is still a bit niche in the broader job market. Curious if you're able to extract any insights about how salaries compare in high cost of living cities like New York and San Francisco (for example, if they're 10% higher than average). Do you have enough data to derive any insights there?
Alright, finally had some time to sit down and work through the numbers.
The averages for major cities like NYC and SF are indeed higher, but only for more senior positions:
Average for a community manager is $78,000 USD (compared to $77,000 USD globally)
Average for a senior community manager is $130,000 USD (compared to $102,000 USD globally)
Average for a director/head of community is $168,000 USD (compared to $141,000 USD globally)
US average salary in USD:
For community managers: $87,000 (numbers are weird, but I triple checked the math for reporting on salaries for CMs in NYC/SF and it was consistently $78,000. There were significantly more CMs from outside of those two cities which is why these numbers skew higher for the rest of the US, and CM salaries outside of the US are significantly lower which is why the average CM salary globally is only $77,000)
For senior community managers: $112,000
For director/head of community: $163,000
Great thread. Alex you may want to add clarity are these base salaries? Or is it total comp including bonus and equity packages as you reach more senior roles?
These are base salaries. We asked about bonuses as a separate question, but there weren't many folks who got bonuses so I didn't include it in the main report. Happy to answer any specifics you might have around that, though!
Thanks Alex! Sorry I missed this when the survey went out. I am wrapping up week 3 now as Senior Director, Customer Community and Growth at Kaltura reporting to the VP of Marketing. My role will likely grow in the next year and report to the GM. More than 12 years in this space. Survey results you shared are great and in line with what I am seeing for those of us with many years of experience.
Really helpful to have this resource - I find it really challenging to find relevant compensation data on sites like Payscale given that community is still a bit niche in the broader job market. Curious if you're able to extract any insights about how salaries compare in high cost of living cities like New York and San Francisco (for example, if they're 10% higher than average). Do you have enough data to derive any insights there?
I think I should be able to get that info for you! Adding it to my list :)
Awesome - thank you Alex!
Alright, finally had some time to sit down and work through the numbers.
The averages for major cities like NYC and SF are indeed higher, but only for more senior positions:
Average for a community manager is $78,000 USD (compared to $77,000 USD globally)
Average for a senior community manager is $130,000 USD (compared to $102,000 USD globally)
Average for a director/head of community is $168,000 USD (compared to $141,000 USD globally)
Super helpful. Thank you Alex!
These averages are limited to NYC & SF, right? If so, possible to get a US average too, please 🙏?
US average salary in USD:
For community managers: $87,000 (numbers are weird, but I triple checked the math for reporting on salaries for CMs in NYC/SF and it was consistently $78,000. There were significantly more CMs from outside of those two cities which is why these numbers skew higher for the rest of the US, and CM salaries outside of the US are significantly lower which is why the average CM salary globally is only $77,000)
For senior community managers: $112,000
For director/head of community: $163,000
THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙏
Great thread. Alex you may want to add clarity are these base salaries? Or is it total comp including bonus and equity packages as you reach more senior roles?
These are base salaries. We asked about bonuses as a separate question, but there weren't many folks who got bonuses so I didn't include it in the main report. Happy to answer any specifics you might have around that, though!
Thanks Alex! Sorry I missed this when the survey went out. I am wrapping up week 3 now as Senior Director, Customer Community and Growth at Kaltura reporting to the VP of Marketing. My role will likely grow in the next year and report to the GM. More than 12 years in this space. Survey results you shared are great and in line with what I am seeing for those of us with many years of experience.