Emergency management salary data by state

Emergency Management Director Salary In 2026

The median emergency management director salary is $93,330 a year. That is a midpoint rather than an offer: half of the 13,500 people doing this job earn less than $93,330 and half earn more. The full range is wide. The bottom 10% earn $54,210, the top 10% clear $166,430, and the middle half falls between $67,910 and $126,490. That is a $112,220 gap between the 10th and 90th percentiles, so where you work matters more than the headline number suggests.

The mean is $102,420, $9,090 above the median. When the mean sits that far above the midpoint it means the distribution is pulled up by a group of high earners rather than being evenly spread, which fits an occupation where a handful of federal and large-metro roles pay far more than the rural county jobs that make up much of the field.

Emergency Management Director Salary By State

Every state BLS publishes for this occupation, highest median first. Employment counts are included because a high median on a small base moves a lot year to year: New Mexico's $145,550 median rests on 170 jobs, while Texas reports 1210 at $93,570.

Where Emergency Management Directors Earn The Most

District of Columbia at $184,350, New Mexico at $145,550, Washington at $130,780, California at $129,910, Colorado at $129,660. The District of Columbia figure is the outlier that proves the pattern: it is a concentrated federal jobs market with 150 positions, and its 25th percentile alone is $141,710, higher than the median in most states.

At the other end, Mississippi at $48,650, Arkansas at $50,180, West Virginia at $60,460, Oklahoma at $60,990, Montana at $62,770. The gap between the top and bottom state medians is $135,700, which is larger than the entire median salary in Mississippi.

Where Emergency Management Director Jobs Actually Are

The highest-paying states are not the ones hiring most. The five largest employers of emergency management directors are Texas (1210 jobs, $93,570 median), California (1170 jobs, $129,910 median), New York (790 jobs, $92,570 median), Florida (720 jobs, $99,020 median), Pennsylvania (520 jobs, $81,550 median). Between them they account for 4410 of the 12,450 positions the states report. If you are weighing where to move, the trade is usually between a higher median and a market with enough openings to actually get hired into.

How An Emergency Management Director Salary Compares With Nearby Jobs

Emergency management sits below both occupations that most commonly border it. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives earn a median of $106,040 across 154,610 jobs, and Managers, All Other earn a median of $141,900 across 622,190 jobs. Both of those are far larger occupations, which is the more important difference: an emergency management director title is harder to reach simply because there are 13,500 of them.

That comparison is worth taking seriously if you are already in public safety. Moving from a police supervisor role into emergency management is a lateral or downward step on pay at the median, so the case for it rests on the work and the trajectory rather than the salary.

Common Questions About Emergency Management Director Salary

Sources For Emergency Management Director Salary Data

• All wage and employment figures: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release, SOC 11-9161.
• Occupation description: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.