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Agency Role Salary Benchmarks 2026

Make informed compensation decisions with official US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. See median salaries, employment trends, and agency-specific context for common agency roles.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2024 • Updated annually

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How to Use This Data for Agency Hiring

✅ Do

  • • Use as a baseline — then adjust for your market
  • • Add 10-20% for major metros (NYC, SF, LA, Chicago)
  • • Factor in agency experience premiums
  • • Consider total comp (benefits, bonuses, equity)
  • • Benchmark against agency-specific salary surveys too

❌ Don't

  • • Treat BLS medians as exact market rates
  • • Ignore regional cost-of-living differences
  • • Skip the "agency context" — roles differ by industry
  • • Forget to factor in your agency's billing rates
  • • Lowball based on national averages alone

🧮 The Agency Math

Most agencies target a 2.5-3x multiplier on fully-loaded employee costs to set billing rates. If you hire a Marketing Manager at $161K salary + ~30% benefits/taxes = $209K loaded cost, they should generate $523K-$627K in annual billable revenue to maintain healthy margins.

All Agency Roles by Salary

RankRoleMedian SalaryEmployment10yr Outlook
1Marketing Manager11-2021$161,030369K6%
2Public Relations Manager11-2031$138,520129K5%
3Software Developer15-1252$133,0801.6M17%
4Advertising & Promotions Manager11-2011$126,96022K3%
5Art Director27-1011$111,04093K4%
6Web Developer & Digital Designer15-1257$98,090216K8%
7Market Research Analyst13-1161$76,950942K7%
8Editor27-3041$75,260116K1%
9Writer & Author27-3043$72,270135K4%
10Public Relations Specialist27-3031$69,780316K5%
11Graphic Designer27-1024$61,300266K2%

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024. Click any row for details.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Data source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024.

Visit BLS.gov for full methodology and additional data →