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Average Emergency Management Directors Salary in California

Emergency Management Directors in California earn a median annual salary of $129,910, which is +39.2% compared to the national median. There are 1,170 workers employed locally in this occupation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates for California (state).

$129,910
California median annual wage
$62/hour median
+39.2%
Difference vs national median
National median is $93,330
1,170
Local employment
0.1 jobs per 1,000 workers
0.74
Location quotient
Above 1.00 means the occupation is more concentrated here than nationally
Pay distribution

Local wage range

10th
$90,130
25th
$105,320
Median
$129,910
75th
$163,130
90th
$199,020

All values are percentiles of annual wages.

This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in California, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.

Regional price parity

Cost-of-living context

All-items regional price parity
110.7%
Exact state RPP match
Median wage adjusted to the national price level
$117,332
Goods: 106.1%
Services: 158.9%
Rents: 154.3%
Comparison links

Comparable states for this occupation

State Median annual wage Compare Employment
District of Columbia $184,350 Compare 150
New Mexico $145,550 Compare 170
Washington $130,780 Compare 180
Colorado $129,660 Compare N/A
Massachusetts $123,250 Compare 220
New Jersey $120,990 Compare 490

The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.

Area context

Top occupations in California

Occupation Median annual wage LQ
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $400,150 0.78
Neurologists $357,080 0.88
Airline Pilots, Copilots, And Flight Engineers $353,900 0.88
Psychiatrists $353,500 1.66
General Internal Medicine Physicians $313,890 0.81
Obstetricians And Gynecologists $301,240 0.65
Nurse Anesthetists $292,410 0.37
Physicians, All Other $281,590 0.64

California has salary data for 807 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric.

Historical series

Trend for Emergency Management Directors in California

Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.

Interpretation

Outlook and page notes

Nationally, Emergency Management Directors are projected to change by +3.0% from 2024 to 2034, with 1,000 annual openings.

Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.

For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.