Careers / Emergency Management Directors
Emergency Management Directors — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$93,330
United States, 2025
Employment
13,500
United States, 2025
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Job Zone 4
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.
- O*NET code
- 11-9161.00
- Job zone
- 4
- Experience required
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years
Typical tasks
- Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
- Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
- Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
- Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments.
- Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans.
- Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents, and terrorist attacks, and in recovery from these events.
- Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations.
- Collaborate with other officials to prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$54,210
25th percentile
$67,910
75th percentile
$126,490
90th percentile
$166,430
Most important skills
- Service Orientation4.3
- Complex Problem Solving4.1
- Speaking4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Writing4.0
- Monitoring4.0
- Social Perceptiveness4.0
- Coordination4.0
- Learning Strategies3.9
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 22 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
22
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Orientation | 4.3 | 5.3 | Not selected | 5.3 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.1 | 5.4 | Not selected | 5.4 |
| Coordination | 4.0 | 5.0 | Not selected | 5.0 |
| Monitoring | 4.0 | 4.6 | Not selected | 4.6 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 | 4.4 | Not selected | 4.4 |
| Speaking | 4.1 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.0 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Writing | 4.0 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Active Learning | 3.8 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Instructing | 3.8 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.6 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Time Management | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Persuasion | 3.6 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.5 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 3.5 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Negotiation | 3.4 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Operations Analysis | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Mathematics | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Emergency Management DirectorsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC | $184,350 | 150 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $173,540 | 50 | 2025 |
| Washington, DC | $163,220 | 310 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $161,180 | 150 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $155,320 | 90 | 2025 |
| NM | $145,550 | 170 | 2025 |
| Denver, CO | $136,930 | — | 2025 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $136,510 | 30 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $136,270 | 90 | 2025 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $135,910 | 50 | 2025 |
| Worcester, MA | $133,690 | 30 | 2025 |
| WA | $130,780 | 180 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $130,020 | 300 | 2025 |
| Miami, FL | $130,020 | 200 | 2025 |
| CA | $129,910 | 1,170 | 2025 |
| CO | $129,660 | — | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $126,570 | 160 | 2025 |
| MA | $123,250 | 220 | 2025 |
| NJ | $120,990 | 490 | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $119,870 | 50 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Emergency Management Directors to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.