Also called: Town Manager, Chief Administrative Officer
The professional CEO of a city, hired by the council to run all departments day to day.
City managers oversee police, fire, water, parks, and planning, often managing thousands of employees and budgets in the hundreds of millions. They propose the city budget, negotiate with unions, and handle emergencies. Unlike mayors, they're hired, not elected.
Pay scales with city size.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 10 years after high school. Master of Public Administration (MPA) is standard, plus years climbing through city government.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Public Administration, Political Science, Urban Studies, Business Administration.
Growing about average. Approximate; chief executives in government.
Low risk for 10 years. AI drafts budgets and reports; leading departments, working with the council and handling crises stay human.
Classes: AP Government, Economics, Speech and Debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.