Chief of Staff Salary (2025): U.S. Average Pay?

Feb 5

Comparing Results from Three Reports on Salary Data

In my humble opinion, the Chief of Staff position is one of the most exciting in business. The years I spent as Chief of Staff were some of the most rewarding in my own professional experiences. I learned so much working alongside our company’s Chief Executive Officer and the rest of the leadership team.

Maybe you’re looking to add a Chief of Staff to your team and you want to make an efficient decision that fits your budget. Maybe you’re eyeing some job openings yourself. Or maybe you have an interview lined up and want to gut-check your target number.

How Much Does a Chief of Staff Make?

So, how much does a Chief of Staff make?

The average core compensation for a Chief of Staff falls between $150,000 and $185,000.

Salary ranges can vary greatly based on various factors, including experience, region, industry, company budgets, and more. Of course, the full job description and responsibilities for Chiefs of Staff can also differ significantly from company to company.

Sources: Three Reports

We’ll examine three main reports on Chief of Staff salaries. Each presents a slightly different result and varying explanations for pay differentials.

COS Network Report

Our first source comes from the Chief of Staff Network. Per their 2024 Chief of Staff Salary Report, the average Chief of Staff salary comes to $154,673.

The COS Network is a membership organization for corporate Chiefs of Staff, with events, networking opportunities, a job board, advice and insights on the role, and more. I spoke with the General Manager of the CoS Network, Rahul Desai, on my podcast. He broke down their annual salary report, including:

Average Salary by Chief of Staff Level (1-5)
Average Salary by Company Size
Average Salary by Education
Average Salary by Gender
Average Salary by Geographic Region
Percentage of Compensation by Base Salary vs. Bonus
What Roles Former Chiefs of Staff Are Currently In

Check out the full episode for more information.

Chief of Staff Association Report

Our next report comes from the Chief of Staff Association (CSA). The CSA’s 2023 Chief of Staff Compensation Report provides an average salary of $192,100.

The Chief of Staff Association is a broad, international network of Chiefs of Staff, including corporate, non-profit, government, and military sectors. This report examines the effects of job titles, education, experience, location, and industry or sector on total compensation.

Ask a Chief of Staff Report

Our third report is from Ask a Chief of Staff, whose 2024 Chief of Staff Salary Report provides an average annual salary of $167,140.

Ask a Chief of Staff describes itself as a community where Chiefs of Staff can share their experiences and knowledge with one another.

This report includes salary breakdowns by:

Gender
Geography
Education
Industry
Experience
Previous role
Company stage

Key Summary Points

While there are some interesting differences between these three reports (more on that below), I want to provide an upfront look at the three factors that influence Chief of Staff salary the most:

Location
Years of experience
Industry

Chiefs of Staff in North America typically earn more. People with more experience earn more. And, some industries just pay more than others.

Comparison of Reports and Factors

So, how do these factors (and more) compare across these different reports?

First, a note on recency. The reports from CoS Network and Ask a Chief of Staff are from last year (2024), while CSA’s report is from 2023. This is about as close as you can get to real-time Chief of Staff compensation data. I’m keeping an eye out for new numbers from CSA and will update this post when they’re ready.

Next, let’s talk a little about the salary survey data behind each report.

Sample size matters! Here are the number of respondents from each report:

CSA: 244

Ask a Chief of Staff: 403

COS Network: ~400

COS Network doesn’t include the number of respondents in their report. However, you can access the raw dataset if you sign up for a membership. I got the ~400 number from my conversation with Rahul Desai. Interestingly, he also told me that 400 is about 1% of Chiefs of Staff globally — giving them a 97.5% confidence interval. The report does include some interesting comparisons of the year-over-year demographics of their respondents, which the numbers geek in me appreciated.

Education

All three reports looked at education — with some interesting and divergent results.

The numbers from CSA might look how you’d expect: more education = more money.

Interestingly, Ask a Chief of Staff respondents almost showed the opposite, with respondents reporting similar salaries on average across educational levels. For instance, Chiefs of Staff with doctorates actually tend to make slightly less than those with MBAs or law degrees.

Sample size likely plays a large factor here. Respondents with a bachelor’s degree were the largest group, with smaller representation from advanced degrees such as Master’s and MBA, and very little representation at other levels of education, which may skew results.

However, the Chief of Staff Network’s report follows the same general path. Their data shows only a slight relation between educational level and average salary.

Experience

Nothing too surprising here. Salary goes up according to the number of years on the job or years of managerial experience.

COS Network reports that salary increases with years of experience — but strangely takes a dip at 15+ years. Why would that be? The report speculates “that this may be due to ageism in the workplace.”

CSA’s report also shows that salaries rise with years of experience. While their numbers cap out at 5+ years, they do break things down year-by-year, so it’s important to keep in mind that these are slightly different categories in that respect.

Gender

COS Network, CSA, and Ask a Chief of Staff all include gender in their report. And they don’t show the same thing!

COS Network shows women Chiefs of Staff making significantly more than men on average, to the tune of nearly $17,000 more in annual compensation.

Ask a Chief of Staff, on the other hand, shows a gender gap of $3,000 between male and female respondents, with men making more.

Meanwhile, CSA shows that men make nearly $15,000 more than women in Chief of Staff roles. We were surprised to see these three surveys produce such extremely different results in this area.

Not too sure what could explain this discrepancy! That said, Ask a Chief of Staff does mention that “this sample may not be representative of the broader industry,” while COS Network says that “some of this is related to the fact that COS in general skew female” and “females may be getting higher-quality CoS roles than males.”

Region

All three reports took geography into account.

COS Network shows that Chiefs of Staff make the most in North America, followed by Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.

However, it’s important to note that COS Network grouped the Middle East and Asia together into one “Asia” category, while CSA broke things down further. According to CSA, Chiefs of Staff in the Middle East earn the most, followed by South America, North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.

62.5% of Ask a Chief of Staff’s respondents are from the United States, while another 21.3% are in remote roles, so we didn’t put much weight into their geographical data.

Industry

The COS Network and Ask a Chief of Staff reports both touched on salary by industry, while CSA did not include industry data in this year’s report. There’s no clear consensus here, but there are some commonalities.

Per the COS Network report, the top-earning industries for Chiefs of Staff are:

Hiring and Staffing
Sports and Media
Professional Services

And...from Ask a Chief of Staff:

Technology, Information, and Media
Financial Services
Professional Services

So, we see somewhat similar results from these two reports, with some divergence as well. It’s no real surprise that professional/financial services and tech-related fields fared well.

How To Use This Data

Going into your job search, interview, or negotiation, learn all you can about the scope of the role at that particular organization so that you can come to a fair number in terms of compensation.

Expect the typical, annoying (and accurate) answer to all questions related to the Chief of Staff: "It depends." It’s important for you to understand the main factors that “it depends” on.

Make sure the organization is aligned with your personal goals. The job of Chief of Staff is not a “phone it in” job. If it's your first career path, you might take a little less than benchmark compensation or your exact pay target if it provides other opportunities — namely acquiring additional skills, exposure to top management, solving critical issues, and gaining insight into daily operations and operational activities. You can learn a lot on the job. I often compare it to an on-the-job advanced degree or mini-MBA.

Be sure to read the full job description and understand the scope, expectations, and how the organization sees this role. Don't just chase after a fancy new job title. If you'll do a lot of heavy lifting, make sure they have the right organizational structures in place.

Take a look at the lowest and highest Chief of Staff salaries for the data points that match your own scenario. Knowing your market value will help enormously during negotiations. Keep in mind a base salary number that makes you comfortable and be armed with the average total compensation for people with similar backgrounds. Also, understand the job leveling structure. Does it include Junior Chief of Staff or Deputy Chief of Staff positions, or is the Chief of Staff serving at the highest levels?

Salary Matters, But...

Salary is just one factor when you’re looking for a new job. It’s always an important one, but just one among many. How the role suits you, the opportunities for growth, how you fit into your team or department, and the overall culture of the company are important to consider, too.

Is the COS Role Right For You?

The Chief of Staff is such an exciting, dynamic role. You’re the point of contact between top management and staff members. You’re trusted to bring a unique perspective on operational activities to solve critical issues and achieve the organization’s major goals.

Your comprehensive knowledge of the overall departmental function gives your principal an invaluable leadership edge. They may trust you with the management of executive support staff. You may work directly with the organization’s president. Chiefs of Staff provide strong leadership at the highest levels and play a critical role as the right hand to the CEO or other principals.

The Chief of Staff plans special projects and broad functional objectives. You see the big picture and the little details, tying various sub-functions to the broader corporate function. You’re heading up strategic initiatives and projects of high importance.

Since this is such a unique role, there’s no clear linear career path or sequence of jobs to get there. Each Chief of Staff’s path will look different. Some transition from executive assistant, project management, or strategic initiatives. While Chief of Staff may be the end goal or final career path for many — it’s that rewarding! — it can also lead to other roles on the executive team such as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and even Founder and CEO.

More Resources

If you’re looking for the very best Chief of Staff insights, or ways to build out additional skills, check out my book: An Insider’s Perspective on the Chief of Staff. I’m also running a special Chief of Staff series on my podcast, Leveraging Leadership, and have more resources available at https://chiefofstaffbook.com.

If you want to make sure you’re updated when the latest info comes out, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter.

About The Author

Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.

Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.

Emily Sander