How Much Does a CMO Make? (2025)
A chief marketing officer (CMO) is responsible for providing overall vision, leadership, strategy, and execution of all marketing efforts and programs of the organization.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, some of the top industries for chief executives, like CMOs, are management of companies and enterprises, professional, scientific, and technical services, healthcare and social assistance, and government. In recent statistics, the average tenure for CMOs was around 3 years in the year 2023.
Read this salary guide as we thoroughly discuss CMO salary insights, responsibility, factors that affect their compensation, and how to become one.
What does a CMO do?
A chief marketing officer develops an end-to-end marketing function that delivers messaging, branding, digital presence, product support, demand generation, content, research, and thought leadership. Here is a more detailed roles and responsibilities of a CMO:
- They collaborate with the line of business leaders to ensure marketing activities, strategic planning, and advertising expenditures support the revenue and growth objectives of the company.
- They establish teams and technology required to collect, test, measure, and analyze marketing metrics necessary to identify trends in the marketplace, program effectiveness, and consumer behavior.
- They identify potential markets, customer segments, and products to explore.
- They oversee the marketing team, set marketing objectives that align with the organizational goals, and ensure that plans coincide with the sales and product teams.
- They allocate resources, like marketing budgets, accordingly so that the strategic direction and business goals meet success.
- They are responsible for driving revenue growth and brand awareness in the competitive market.
What is CMO Salary Overview?
As of August 10, 2025, the average salary for CMOs in the United States is $372,800 per year. The salary ranges from $296,382 to $452,848, with earnings mostly between $332,800 and $414,700.
The average monthly rate is $31,067 with a range from $24,699 to $37,737, while the average hourly rate is $179 with a range from $142 to $218.
2025 CMO Salary:$372,800 per year ($179 per hour)
Depending on the percentile, a CMO salary with bonus ranges from $333,822 to $840,091, with $558,300 as the average value.
| Percentile | Salary + Bonus |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile | $333,822 |
| 25th Percentile | $440,800 |
| 50th Percentile | $558,300 |
| 75th Percentile | $705,800 |
| 90th Percentile | $840,091 |
The average total compensation for CMOs, including the core compensation and benefits, is $372,800. The median base salary for CMOs makes up 54.1% of the total pay, while benefits like social security, healthcare, and time off make up 14%.
| Core Compensation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Median | % of Total | |
| Base Salary | $372,800 | 54.1% |
| Bonus | $185,500 | 26.9% |
| Value of Benefits | ||
| Social Security | $19,014 | 2.8% |
| 401K/403B | $10,500 | 1.5% |
| Disability | $11,166 | 1.6% |
| Healthcare | $8,352 | 1.2% |
| Pension | $13,500 | 2.0% |
| Time Off | $68,714 | 10.0% |
| Total Compensation | $689,546 | 100% |
What Can Affect CMO Salaries?
Several factors, like experience level, geographic location, education, and skills, can affect the salary for CMOs. Here are the detailed effects of these factors in terms of compensation every year.
By Experience Level
The salary of CMOs increases as the experience level advances. An entry-level CMO salary is $348,322, while an expert level with over 8 years of experience can expect $372,800 on average.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level CMO | $348,322 |
| Intermediate Level CMO | $351,904 |
| Senior Level CMO | $356,681 |
| Specialist Level CMO | $363,845 |
| Expert Level CMO | $372,800 |
By Geographic Location
Geographic location affects salaries in the United States due to the local economy, cost of living, and industry presence. Here are the hot cities in the US with competitive CMO salaries:
| Cities | 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, California | $415,600 | $465,500 | $517,900 |
| Washington, District of Columbia | $368,400 | $412,700 | $459,200 |
| Miami, Florida | $319,700 | $358,200 | $398,500 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $343,900 | $385,200 | $428,600 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | $371,100 | $415,700 | $462,500 |
| New York, New York | $385,600 | $432,000 | $480,600 |
| Dallas, Texas | $328,600 | $368,100 | $409,500 |
According to Salary.com data, San Francisco has the most competitive pay among the hot cities, with salaries ranging from $415,600 to $517,900, while Miami has the least, with salaries ranging from $319,700 to $398,500.
By Skills
CMO salary gets higher with more acquired skills and competencies, especially with highly compensated ones. Data from Salary.com's Real-time Job Posting Salary Data Report suggests that CMO salary gets the highest increase at 8.86% with new product launch skills, followed by resource planning skills at 8.57%.
Some important skills also include customer acquisition, competitive intelligence, marketing automation, and ROI analysis.
| Skills | Demand | Salary Increase |
|---|---|---|
| New Product Launch | 10.20% | +8.86% |
| Resource Planning | 10.50% | +8.57% |
| Customer Acquisition | 10.50% | +8.43% |
| Competitive Intelligence (CI) | 10.40% | +8.41% |
| Marketing Automation | 10.50% | +8.12% |
| ROI Analysis | 10.80% | +8.08% |
How to Become a Chief Marketing Officer
To become a CMO, one needs to have a combination of extensive marketing experience and education, as these enable chief marketing officers to gain a comprehensive understanding of marketing principles and organizational leadership. Here is how to become a perfect fit for the role of CMO:
-
Complete a bachelor's degree
Aspiring CMOs can enroll in any bachelor's program that can develop their knowledge and skills in marketing-related jobs, such as business management, data science, psychology, sociology, and marketing. -
Gain experience in marketing
Early careers and roles that are substantial to becoming a future CMO include search engine optimization specialists, sales representatives, data analysts, copywriters, public relations associates, and social media specialists. After a few years in these positions, you can explore leadership roles, like project and marketing manager. -
Pursue higher education
A master's degree in business administration can help marketing professionals expand their leadership skills and advance to a CMO role in the future. Some of the courses that are offered in the MBA are business analytics, financial and managerial accounting, and change and innovation management. -
Apply for senior-level marketing roles
After earning adequate years of experience and further education, marketing professionals can be CMOs in organizations. Since companies usually hire one candidate for this position, pursuing major marketing roles in the meantime can boost chances of being a CMO in the future. This includes the VP of marketing and brand or communications manager.
What are the FAQs about CMO?
Here are some common questions about the chief marketing officer salary:
What is the highest salary for a CMO?
According to a study, 122 marketing executives, like CMOs, are ranked among the top five highest-paid employees. As of August 10, 2025, the highest salary for CMOs in the United States is $452,848. Their compensation is usually affected by the experience level, skills, and location, as shown above.
Top earners are those with expert-level experience, highly compensable competencies, and living in high-paying states and cities. Salary for CMOs with more than 8 years of experience is $372,800 per year, those with competitive new product launch skills get an 8.86% pay increase, while CMO salary in San Jose, California, reaches $465,500.
Company size and industry sector also affect the salary for CMOs. Businesses with higher revenues tend to offer higher compensation compared to smaller companies. Industries, such as tech companies and finance sectors, usually give higher pay due to their competitive nature.
Is CMO a stressful job?
Yes, CMO can be a stressful job since they constantly need to adapt to a fast-paced work environment, market trends, and consumer behavior. They are also at the forefront of brand crises and their unpredictability, so they need to formulate dynamic and proactive solutions. Other factors that contribute to stress in their job are the intense competition and performance metrics.
To combat these stressors in being a chief marketing officer, one must set work-life boundaries, leverage automation in their operations, and get creative with delegating team members to streamline tasks and workload efficiently.
Is CMO higher than VP?
Yes, the CMO is higher than the VP of marketing. The chief marketing officer is the highest member of the marketing department and supervises the marketing initiatives of the VP of marketing. The VPs of marketing report to the CMO, while CMOs report to the chief executive officer (CEO) and work closely with other departments.
What is a fractional CMO?
Fractional CMOs are marketing executives with part-time employment, providing high-level expertise and strategic leadership without the same level of financial commitment compared to full-time CMOs.
