Chief Medical Officer (CMO) salary, United States

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The median annual wage for Medical and Health Services Managers (the closest BLS occupation to Chief Medical Officer (CMO)) in the United States was $123,860 in BLS OEWS May 2025, and the middle half of workers earned between $94,700 and $166,100.

What does the published band tell you about a CMO offer?

The published annual P25 to P75 band for CMO in the United States is $94,700 to

66,100. That CMO band spans $71,400 in the United States; it is a spread of reported wages, not a suggested offer. For this CMO opening, compare regular pay with the duties you need covered in the United States. Neither end of the CMO band labels a worker's experience or promises what a candidate will accept.

How does CMO pay in the United States compare with the nation?

For CMO in the United States, BLS reports

23,860 as the annual median for SOC 11-9111, Medical and Health Services Managers, in the United States. CMO in the United States has a annual median $0 away from the national median of
23,860. CMO may cover different duties within that published occupation. We ask what this CMO must handle before you use the the United States median in an offer.

What does New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ add to this CMO comparison?

For CMO in the United States, new York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ reports

67,580 for Medical and Health Services Managers in BLS OEWS May 2025. The CMO median gap between the United States and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ is $43,720 on this annual basis. A CMO candidate moving between these markets still has to weigh the work and schedule. For CMO in the United States, this the United States comparison does not measure living costs, commuting distance or relocation expense.

What does Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA add to this CMO comparison?

For CMO in the United States, los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA reports

34,230 for Medical and Health Services Managers in BLS OEWS May 2025. The CMO median gap between the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is
0,370 on this annual basis. A CMO candidate moving between these markets still has to weigh the work and schedule. For CMO in the United States, this the United States comparison does not measure living costs, commuting distance or relocation expense.

Which published industries help you read CMO pay?

For CMO, Hospitals, NAICS 622000, reports a national median of

33,580. For CMO, Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories, NAICS 621500, reports a national median of
23,470. For CMO in the United States, these Medical and Health Services Managers estimates are national, not industry pay rates for the United States. Top-coded industry medians are not placed in this numeric CMO ranking. Use the CMO setting and duties to decide whether that industry comparison belongs in your brief.

What changed between releases for CMO in the United States?

CMO in the United States had a annual median of

17,960 in BLS OEWS May 2024. The BLS OEWS May 2025 median for the same CMO mapping is
23,860. For CMO in the United States, subtracting those two the United States medians gives $5,900 more in reported pay. That CMO comparison is not a forecast, an inflation adjustment or a promised raise.

What belongs beside base pay in your CMO offer?

CMO wages in the United States include base rates and guaranteed or production pay under the BLS definition. For CMO, production incentives already counted in OEWS should not be added again. For this CMO brief, overtime, shift differentials and on-call pay sit outside the OEWS wage. A non-production sign-on payment for CMO is also outside that the United States figure. We discuss those CMO terms without inventing an amount to add.

What else should you ask about this pay table?

CMO maps to SOC 11-9111, Medical and Health Services Managers. For CMO in the United States, the the United States annual median is

23,860. For CMO in the United States, this is a closest proxy, not a separate survey of this exact title.

Does the United States publish a separate wage for CMO?

CMO maps to SOC 11-9111, Medical and Health Services Managers. For CMO in the United States, the the United States annual median is

23,860. For CMO in the United States, this is a closest proxy, not a separate survey of this exact title.

Where should you place a CMO offer inside the the United States band?

The published annual P25 to P75 band for CMO in the United States is $94,700 to

66,100. That CMO band spans $71,400 in the United States; it is a spread of reported wages, not a suggested offer. For CMO in the United States, we do not assign a percentile between the published points or call a point an experience level.

Can the CMO figure in the United States stand in for the whole package?

CMO pay in this the United States table is not total compensation. For CMO in the United States, shift differential, on-call pay and non-production sign-on payments are excluded by the OEWS definition. For CMO in the United States, write those terms separately before comparing offers.

Which markets can you compare with the United States for CMO?

For CMO in the United States, new York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA have published rows for Medical and Health Services Managers. For CMO in the United States, they are employment-based comparison markets, not a claim about nearest locations. Each linked CMO table names its own area and SOC.

Is the CMO change in the United States a forecast?

CMO in the United States had a annual median of

17,960 in BLS OEWS May 2024. The BLS OEWS May 2025 median for the same CMO mapping is
23,860. For CMO in the United States, subtracting those two the United States medians gives $5,900 more in reported pay. That CMO comparison is not a forecast, an inflation adjustment or a promised raise.

The CMO national comparison markets use published employment, not geographic proximity. Read the geography and wage definitions.

Closest proxy · SOC 11-9111

BLS occupation: Medical and Health Services Managers.

BLS publishes Medical and Health Services Managers as a wider occupation. This administrative or professional function proxy does not isolate Chief Medical Officer (CMO), its clinical credentials, seniority or setting. It is not a pay estimate for the exact title.

What does this occupation pay nationally?

BLS publishes five national pay points for Medical and Health Services Managers, SOC 11-9111, in BLS OEWS May 2025: the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles. The range bar and table below show each published point. Percentiles describe the spread of pay across workers, not experience levels. Read the median as a midpoint, not an offer for your vacancy.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · OEWS May 2025Medical and Health Services Managers, United States
Pay range for Medical and Health Services Managers, United StatesMedian $123,860$62,382$242,287
  • P10 to P90 published range
  • P25 to P75 middle range
  • P50 median
Each mark uses wages published by BLS for this occupation and area. See the percentile table below for exact values.
Medical and Health Services Managers, United States, BLS OEWS May 2025. 10% of workers in this occupation earned less than the 10th percentile value.
PointAnnual wage
10th percentile$73,390
25th percentile$94,700
Median$123,860
75th percentile$166,100
90th percentile$224,340
Mean (average)$140,970

For Medical and Health Services Managers in the United States, BLS reports a median of $123,860; the middle half of workers earned between $94,700 and $166,100 (BLS OEWS May 2025).

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · OEWS May 2025Medical and Health Services Managers, United States
Pay range for Medical and Health Services Managers, United StatesMedian $59.55$30.00$116.49
  • P10 to P90 published range
  • P25 to P75 middle range
  • P50 median
Each mark uses wages published by BLS for this occupation and area. See the percentile table below for exact values.
Medical and Health Services Managers, United States, BLS OEWS May 2025. 10% of workers in this occupation earned less than the 10th percentile value.
PointHourly wage
10th percentile$35.29
25th percentile$45.53
Median$59.55
75th percentile$79.85
90th percentile$107.86
Mean (average)$67.77

For Medical and Health Services Managers in the United States, BLS reports a median of $59.55; the middle half of workers earned between $45.53 and $79.85 (BLS OEWS May 2025).

What BLS wages include and exclude

Included

  • Base rates
  • Commissions
  • Cost-of-living allowances
  • Deadheading pay
  • Guaranteed pay
  • Hazard pay
  • Incentive pay
  • Longevity pay
  • Over-the-road pay (Mileage)
  • Piece rates
  • Portal-to-portal rates
  • Production bonuses
  • Tips

Excluded

  • Attendance bonuses
  • Back pay
  • Clothing allowances
  • Discount
  • Draw
  • Holiday bonus
  • Holiday premium pay
  • Jury duty pay
  • Meal and lodging payments
  • Merchandise discounts
  • Non-production bonuses
  • On-call pay
  • Overtime pay
  • Perquisites
  • Profit-sharing payments
  • Relocation allowances
  • Severance pay
  • Shift differentials
  • Stock bonuses
  • Tool/equipment allowances
  • Tuition repayment
  • Uniform allowance
  • Weekend premium pay
  • Year-end bonuses

Employment: 597,080 jobs nationally.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, BLS OEWS May 2025. SOC 11-9111 Medical and Health Services Managers, United States. BLS page for this occupation. CSV

How has published pay changed since the last BLS release?

These are separate BLS estimates, not a wage growth forecast. Survey coverage and area boundaries can change. The table places the published median for Medical and Health Services Managers in United States from BLS OEWS May 2024 next to BLS OEWS May 2025. A top-coded value is a floor, not an exact median.

Medical and Health Services Managers, SOC 11-9111, United States. Published medians from both reference periods.
Pay basisBLS OEWS May 2024BLS OEWS May 2025
annual$117,960$123,860
hourly$56.71$59.55

Prior release: 2024-05, published 2025-04-02. Current release: 2025-05, published 2026-05-15. A top-coded value is a floor, not an exact median.

What does this pay include, and what does it leave out?

OEWS counts base rates, guaranteed pay and production incentives. It describes pay reported for employees, not an offer for this vacancy. Benefits and self-employed earnings are outside these wage estimates. For physicians and other providers, production bonuses and commissions belong in BLS wages.

Do not add them twice. Partnership distributions and contractor receipts are not a separate rate published by OEWS.

Overtime, shift differentials and on-call pay are excluded. If this job has a call rota or extra shifts, spell out those payments rather than treating the BLS median as the whole package.

Meal and lodging payments and relocation allowances are excluded. A travel per diem for those costs is not part of this wage. Keep it separate from the pay comparison.

Non-production bonuses are excluded. A sign-on or retention payment that is not tied to production should be discussed separately. BLS does not publish an amount to add for that payment.

BLS pay definitions. These notes do not add an estimated bonus or premium.

Which metro areas publish pay for this occupation?

This table lists every metro area where BLS published a median for Medical and Health Services Managers in BLS OEWS May 2025. Each row shows the median, the middle half of pay from the 25th to the 75th percentile, employment and the location quotient. Metros without a published median are left out rather than estimated.

Median and middle half (25th to 75th percentile), annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. Only metros where BLS published a median are listed.
Metro areaMedian25th to 75thEmploymentLocation quotient
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$167,580$130,030 to $219,01035,2600.97
Northern New Jersey market: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. Shared metro, not New Jersey-only.$167,580$130,030 to $219,01035,2600.97
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$166,310$104,010 to $224,09011,9801.31
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$140,670$117,590 to $175,72011,7300.97
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$138,080$99,450 to $200,6106,9801.18
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA$137,260$102,550 to $179,9206,3000.57
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$136,760$107,900 to $188,55012,9901.25
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$135,010$96,570 to $171,9606,9201.05
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$134,230$95,530 to $182,85023,7400.99
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ$130,070$101,840 to $168,2408,3700.92
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL$128,770$98,070 to $164,52012,2901.14
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI$126,880$101,320 to $160,7607,3500.98
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX$126,110$93,110 to $164,4505,1601.04
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$124,990$86,500 to $164,6908,0601.55
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL$124,980$88,320 to $163,6907,0001.26
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$124,400$95,030 to $163,15012,4100.98
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$123,090$97,010 to $168,03016,6800.96
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$122,920$95,120 to $155,96014,0601.26
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$121,640$92,230 to $156,51017,1401.10
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX$119,870$91,410 to $147,3505,0601.17
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN$116,480$85,630 to $162,1605,5101.30
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI$114,340$87,350 to $147,9807,1100.97
Raleigh-Cary, NC$113,710$88,400 to $165,1702,0700.72
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL$109,390$89,770 to $140,4105,1800.96
Columbus, OH$107,520$87,260 to $137,2805,3701.27
St. Louis, MO-IL$106,200$85,820 to $138,1705,0000.97
Pittsburgh, PA$101,570$79,390 to $129,5205,9901.40

How do you find pay for a state or nonmetro area?

Choose a state, metro or nonmetropolitan area below to open the published figures for Medical and Health Services Managers. If BLS did not publish a median, the guide shows the state or national estimate with a clear fallback label. It does not create a salary page for that missing combination. Every area page names its source row.

Does this pay differ by healthcare industry?

National industry estimates for Medical and Health Services Managers, SOC 11-9111. Industry names are the names published by BLS. These are not local industry wages. Each row uses the pay basis BLS published for that industry, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with employment. Cells BLS did not publish stay blank rather than estimated.

BLS OEWS May 2025. Each row uses its published pay basis. Non-published cells stay blank of estimates.
Industry / NAICSBasisP10P25MedianP75P90Employment
Offices of Physicians
NAICS 621100
annual$64,730$80,210$105,770$160,230$274,99080,410
Offices of Dentists
NAICS 621200
annual$54,200$66,560$78,050$105,930$143,0109,240
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
NAICS 621300
annual$63,610$79,320$98,960$121,560$161,58031,850
Outpatient Care Centers
NAICS 621400
annual$71,420$90,160$116,060$167,970$226,81046,770
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories
NAICS 621500
annual$71,620$93,960$123,470$167,320$226,3708,220
Home Health Care Services
NAICS 621600
annual$73,330$85,690$101,830$128,650$165,40030,360
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services
NAICS 621900
annual$62,400$76,910$100,460$132,250$199,80010,580
Hospitals
NAICS 622000
annual$89,380$106,830$133,580$171,890$223,600175,570
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
NAICS 623000
annual$63,270$79,740$100,520$125,210$154,73058,820
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)
NAICS 623100
annual$77,470$95,880$105,550$129,220$160,55030,930
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities
NAICS 623200
annual$53,860$65,640$82,490$109,090$142,52010,570
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly
NAICS 623300
annual$59,880$75,850$92,340$109,120$131,17015,760

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, BLS OEWS May 2025. National industry-specific estimates. A value marked “or more” is top-coded.

Where is published pay highest and lowest for this occupation?

Highest and lowest published numeric medians for Medical and Health Services Managers, SOC 11-9111. Top-coded medians cannot be ranked exactly and are not placed in this list. The table shows up to ten metros at each end, with employment and location quotient. Location quotient describes employment concentration, not pay. A metro missing here may still publish a capped value.

BLS OEWS May 2025, annual medians. Location quotient describes employment concentration, not pay.
MetroMedianEmploymentLocation quotient
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$171,2104,5601.05
Vallejo, CA$170,7308001.45
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$167,58035,2600.97
Napa, CA$167,5302700.91
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$166,31011,9801.31
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$160,1004,6000.57
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$159,3504,5001.09
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$151,2603,2100.69
Medford, OR$151,2502900.86
Urban Honolulu, HI$151,1802,1401.25
San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR$87,9809000.34
Dothan, AL$86,4503701.59
Gadsden, AL$85,1002602.04
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL$84,6102401.11
Anniston-Oxford, AL$83,8601600.93
Arecibo, PR$83,050500.34
Morristown, TN$82,3601400.77
Mayaguez, PR$73,850600.31
Ponce, PR$64,910900.38
Aguadilla, PR$62,610300.18

How does this pay compare with all wages in each metro?

We divide this occupation's median by the all-occupations median for the same area and pay basis. This is simple arithmetic on BLS rows. It is not a cost-of-living adjustment or a percentile. Location quotient is shown separately. A ratio above one means this occupation's median is higher than the area's all-occupations median.

BLS OEWS May 2025. Only exact published medians can be compared. All-occupations SOC 00-0000.
MetroOccupation medianAll-occupations medianMedian ratioLocation quotient
Arecibo, PR$83,050$26,1203.18 times0.34
Rome, GA$132,830$42,6703.11 times0.93
Gainesville, GA$141,380$45,9003.08 times0.55
Athens-Clarke County, GA$126,420$41,2203.07 times0.65
Napa, CA$167,530$55,2103.03 times0.91
Medford, OR$151,250$49,9003.03 times0.86
San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR$87,980$29,4402.99 times0.34
Salinas, CA$140,610$47,3802.97 times0.72
El Centro, CA$132,620$45,1402.94 times0.86
Mayaguez, PR$73,850$25,2702.92 times0.31

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, BLS OEWS May 2025. SOC 11-9111 Medical and Health Services Managers, metropolitan areas listed above. BLS page for this occupation. CSV

What do we see when recruiting for this role?

Read the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) brief alongside the occupation mapping. Required credentials, current duties and the work setting can differ within Medical and Health Services Managers. A BLS wage is a description of surveyed workers, not an offer recommendation. This is a qualitative view from our search work, not BLS data.

Compare the actual responsibilities and the candidate's preferences before changing the brief.

What is the median pay for Medical and Health Services Managers?

$123,860 nationally (BLS OEWS May 2025). 50% of workers in this occupation earned less than this and 50% earned more. The median covers every setting BLS surveyed, so it is a midpoint of reported pay, not an offer benchmark for your vacancy. Read the mapping note and the percentile range before you set pay.

How much do the best-paid workers earn?

10% of workers in this occupation earned more than $224,340, and 10% earned less than $73,390.

Is this the pay for Chief Medical Officer (CMO) exactly?

No. BLS publishes Medical and Health Services Managers as a wider occupation. This administrative or professional function proxy does not isolate Chief Medical Officer (CMO), its clinical credentials, seniority or setting. It is not a pay estimate for the exact title. Treat these figures as the closest published evidence, not an exact-title benchmark.

What is the hourly equivalent?

The BLS median hourly wage is $59.55. BLS converts hourly to annual with 2,080 hours a year, so the annual median is $123,860.

Where is the median highest?

Among the metro areas listed on this page, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has the highest published median at $171,210.

How many people work in this occupation?

BLS estimates 597,080 jobs nationally (BLS OEWS May 2025).