How Much Does a Safety Manager Make?

How much can you make as a safety manager? It’s a legitimate question.

There are numerous factors to ponder when considering any line of work. Safety is no different. For dedicated safety professionals, it’s certainly about more than money. It’s about their passion to make the world a better place and their calling to protect people and the environment.

But everyone needs to make a living, right? You might be interested to hear that safety professionals don’t have to sacrifice earning potential to pursue their calling.

The most recent Occupational Employment and Wages report from the U.S. Bureau of Labors Statistics (BLS) in May 2022 revealed the median annual salary for occupational health and safety specialists nationwide was $78,570. That’s about $20,000 more than the latest figure for the average U.S. worker.

Broad-based salary numbers can be a little tricky because individual salaries can vary widely based on a whole range of variables – location, industry, education, experience, and certification just to name a few. But they can give a general idea of the opportunity that exists. In this case, they demonstrate that a safety career can also be a good financial endeavor.

The more qualifications you have, the more you are likely to make. Take certification for example. BCSP’s most recent professional salary survey in 2023 revealed respondents who were full-time safety professionals earned a median salary of $105,000. The median was $120,000 for those with the Safety Management Specialist (SMS) or Certified Safety Professional (CSP) credentials.

If you are seriously considering a career in safety, the BLS data is worth closer examination. The report allows you to drill down by location and industry to get a better idea of the opportunities that exist in specific places and fields.

Safety professionals all have their own “why” for pursuing their career. Often it has little to do with how much money they can make. But it’s nice to know you can do well from a salary standpoint too.