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Hourly Wage for Sustainability Manager Salary in the United States

How much does a Sustainability Manager make hourly?

As of September 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for a Sustainability Manager in the United States is $60, which translates to an annual salary of about $125,225.

However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $72 per hour
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $54 to $66 per hour
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $47 per hour

Key Factors That Influence Sustainability Manager Salaries

A Sustainability Manager's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Sustainability Manager Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Sustainability Manager's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Sustainability Analyst II (4-7 years): $102,730
  • Sustainability Analyst III (7+ years): $118,248
  • Sustainability Manager (7+ years): $125,225
  • Sustainability Senior Manager (7+ years): $149,084
  • VP of Sustainability (7+ years): $217,083
Job Role Years of Experience Average Salary
Sustainability Analyst II4-7 years$102,730
Sustainability Analyst III7+ years$118,248
Sustainability Manager7+ years$125,225
Sustainability Senior Manager7+ years$149,084
VP of Sustainability7+ years$217,083

Top Paying Cities for Sustainability Managers

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $157,946
  • San Francisco: $156,217
  • Oakland: $152,925

What Skills Can Increase a Sustainability Manager's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Initiative (Mentioned in 5.73% Job Postings): Taking decisive action and initiating plans independently to address problems, improve professional life, and achieve goals.
  • Benchmarking (Mentioned in 1.31% Job Postings): Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. Benchmarking is used to measure performance using a specific indicator (cost per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure, cycle time of x per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure) resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others. Also referred to as "best practice benchmarking" or "process benchmarking", this process is used in management in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best-practice companies' processes, usually within a peer group defined for the purposes of comparison. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to improve their practices.
  • Procurement (Mentioned in 0.55% Job Postings): Procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms, and acquiring goods, services, or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process. Procurement is used to ensure the buyer receives goods, services, or works at the best possible price when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. Corporations and public bodies often define processes intended to promote fair and open competition for their business while minimizing risks such as exposure to fraud and collusion. Almost all purchasing decisions include factors such as delivery and handling, marginal benefit, and price fluctuations. Procurement generally involves making buying decisions under conditions of scarcity. If sound data is available, it is good practice to make use of economic analysis methods such as cost-benefit analysis or cost-utility analysis.
Skills Demand Percentage
Initiative 5.73%
Benchmarking 1.31%
Procurement 0.55%

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Sustainability Manager's salary.

  • Investor Relations: Can increase your salary by up to 7%.
  • Corporate Communications: Can increase your salary by up to 6%.
  • Alignment: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Investor Relations $133,991
7%
Corporate Communications $132,739
6%
Alignment $131,486
5%

Sustainability Manager Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

Sustainability Manager salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $139,944. While startup companies pay approximate $118,378.

Sustainability Manager Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup 1~50 $118,378
Growth Stage 51~500 $125,197
Established 501~5000 $135,134
Enterprise 5000+ $139,944

Sustainability Manager Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Sustainability Manager roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 100% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Retail & Wholesale and Telecom sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 50% above the average. In contrast, Sustainability Manager positions in Software & Networking or Transportation typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Sustainability Manager as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Sustainability Manager

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Retail & Wholesale$187,838$90.050%
Telecom$181,576$87.045%
Media$175,315$84.040%
MFG Nondurable$169,054$81.035%
Construction$162,792$78.030%

Sustainability Manager Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Sustainability Manager's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$111,329
Average $125,225/year
$138,150
$9,277
Average $10,435/month
$11,513
$2,141
Average $2,408/week
$2,657
$54
Average $60/hour
$66
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $138,150 $11,513 $2,657 $66
Average $125,225 $10,435 $2,408 $60
25th Percentile $111,329 $9,277 $2,141 $54

Most common benefits for Sustainability Manager

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Sustainability Manager

Here are companies hiring for Sustainability Manager and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Sustainability Manager

1. What are the responsibilities of Sustainability Manager?

Manages an organization's sustainability programs. Leads research and analysis used to develop corporate sustainability strategies to ensure that business practices, products, and services are environmentally friendly and compliant with government rules and regulations. Collaborates with other leaders to implement processes and technologies that reduce the organization's carbon footprint. Promotes and explains the organization's sustainability philosophy to internal and external audiences. Requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a director. Manages subordinate staff in the day-to-day performance of their jobs. True first level manager. Ensures that project/department milestones/goals are met and adhering to approved budgets. Has full authority for personnel actions. Typically requires 5 years experience in the related area as an individual contributor. 1 - 3 years supervisory experience may be required. Extensive knowledge of the function and department processes.

2. What are the skills of Sustainability Manager

Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.

1.)

Initiative: Taking decisive action and initiating plans independently to address problems, improve professional life, and achieve goals.

2.)

Benchmarking: Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. Benchmarking is used to measure performance using a specific indicator (cost per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure, cycle time of x per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure) resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others. Also referred to as "best practice benchmarking" or "process benchmarking", this process is used in management in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best-practice companies' processes, usually within a peer group defined for the purposes of comparison. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to improve their practices.

3.)

Procurement: Procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms, and acquiring goods, services, or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process. Procurement is used to ensure the buyer receives goods, services, or works at the best possible price when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. Corporations and public bodies often define processes intended to promote fair and open competition for their business while minimizing risks such as exposure to fraud and collusion. Almost all purchasing decisions include factors such as delivery and handling, marginal benefit, and price fluctuations. Procurement generally involves making buying decisions under conditions of scarcity. If sound data is available, it is good practice to make use of economic analysis methods such as cost-benefit analysis or cost-utility analysis.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources. We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.

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