Salary AI Book a Demo

Major General Salary in the United States

How much does a Major General make in the United States?

As of October 01, 2026, the average salary for a Major General in the United States is $43,871 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $21.

However, a Major General's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $51,797
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $40,056 to $48,020
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $36,582
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Major General Salaries

A Major General'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, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Major General Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Major General'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:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $44,665
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $53,093
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $63,134
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $94,315
  • Expert (over 8 years): $104,632
Levels Salary
Major Gen... Level Major General$44,665
Productio... Level Major General$53,093
Productio... Level Major General$63,134
Productio... Level Major General$94,315
Productio... Level Major General$104,632
View as Graph

How Do Major General Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Major Generals. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $48,574.
  • California: $48,389.
  • Massachusetts: $47,744.

Top Paying Cities for Major Generals

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: $55,334
  • San Francisco: $54,728
  • Oakland: $53,575

What Skills Can Increase a Major General's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Communication Skills (Mentioned in 4.8% Job Postings): Communication skills are your ability to share or understand information, ideas, and feelings successfully.
  • Continuous Improvement (Mentioned in 2.48% Job Postings): A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility. Some see CIPs as a meta-process for most management systems (such as business process management, quality management, project management, and program management). W. Edwards Deming, a pioneer of the field, saw it as part of the 'system' whereby feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organisational goals. The fact that it can be called a management process does not mean that it needs to be executed by 'management'; but rather merely that it makes decisions about the implementation of the delivery process and the design of the delivery process itself.
  • Purchasing (Mentioned in 1.64% Job Postings): Purchasing refers to a business or organization attempting to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between organizations. Typically the word “purchasing” is not used interchangeably with the word “procurement”, since procurement typically includes expediting, supplier quality, and transportation and logistics (T&L) in addition to purchasing.
Skills Demand Percentage
Communication Skills 4.8%
Continuous Improvement 2.48%
Purchasing 1.64%
See More Skills

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 Major General's salary.

  • Project Management: Can increase your salary by up to 36%.
  • Process Improvement: Can increase your salary by up to 22%.
  • Production Planning: Can increase your salary by up to 21%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Project Management $59,664
36%
Process Improvement $53,522
22%
Production Planning $53,084
21%
Get Latest Data

Major General Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Major General roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 70% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Financial Services and Internet sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 20% above the average. In contrast, Major General positions in Transportation or Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Major General as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Major General

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Financial Services$52,645$25.020%
Internet$52,645$25.020%
Software & Networking$52,645$25.020%
Biotechnology$50,451$24.015%
Healthcare$50,451$24.015%

How Education impacts a Major General's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Major Generals enter the field with a High School Diploma or Technical Certificate degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Major General with a High School Diploma or Technical Certificate is between $45,578 and $48,929).

Major General Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Major General
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 3.3%
High School 38.2%
Associates 22.8%
Bachelors 30.9%
Masters 4.9%
Doctorate 0.0%
View as Graph

Major General Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Major General'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 October 01, 2026
$40,056
Average $43,871/year
$48,020
$3,338
Average $3,656/month
$4,002
$770
Average $844/week
$923
$19
Average $21/hour
$23
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $48,020 $4,002 $923 $23
Average $43,871 $3,656 $844 $21
25th Percentile $40,056 $3,338 $770 $19

Most common benefits for Major General

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

Common company salaries for Major General

Here are companies hiring for Major General and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Major General Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Major General job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

For Employees

Analyze the market and your qualifications to negotiate your salary with confidence.

Get a Salary Increase

Search thousands of open positions to find your next opportunity.

Search Job Openings

For Employers

Individualize employee pay based on unique job requirements and personal qualifications.

Adjust Employee Salary

Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry.

Price My Industry Jobs

FAQ about Major General

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Major General?

The Financial Services industry offers the highest average compensation for Major General roles, with salaries approximately 20% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst