Social and Community Service Managers Salary

The median social and community service managers salary in the United States is $80,390 per year ($38.65/hour). Salaries range from $53,150 at the entry level to $132,260+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 209,330 social and community service managers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 6.4% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$80,390
per year
Hourly Rate
$38.65
per hour
Employment
209,330
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$53,150
25th percentile
$64,290
Median
$80,390
75th percentile
$103,200
90th percentile
$132,260

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+6.4%
Faster than average

Annual Openings

18,600
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Bachelor's degree
+ Less than 5 years experience

Social and Community Service Managers Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for social and community service managerss.

Social and community service managers run the programs behind nonprofits, community health centers, government human services, and behavioral health agencies β€” homeless services, workforce development, refugee resettlement, older adult services, youth programs, and reentry. They manage grants, budgets, staff, outcomes, and the compliance side of every federal, state, and foundation funding stream. Entry Program Manager $52-72k; established $72-98k; Sr Program Manager / Director $92-135k; Executive Director / VP $130-215k+. Large nonprofits (Goodwill, Catholic Charities, YMCA) and health systems pay 15-25% above small community-based orgs.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Grants management (federal, state, foundation)
OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), federal indirect cost negotiation, foundation reporting cycles, and audit-ready documentation. Poor grants management is how nonprofits lose funding β€” this is the highest-stakes skill.
Program design & logic models
Build a theory of change, logic model, and outcome measures. Distinguish outputs (units of service) from outcomes (life change). Every funder now expects logic models and increasingly evidence-based practice.
Budget & financial oversight
Multi-fund accounting, cost allocation across restricted and unrestricted funds, monthly budget-to-actual review, and cash flow management. Manage $500k-$15M budgets depending on org size.
Staff supervision & clinical / non-clinical leadership
Hire, coach, and manage 5-40 staff including licensed clinicians, case managers, peer specialists, and support staff. Navigate union contracts where applicable.
Outcome measurement & data systems
HMIS for homeless services, ETO or Apricot for case management, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, and custom dashboards. Report outcomes to funders and the board on a quarterly cadence.
Community partnerships & collaboration
MOUs with government, health systems, schools, courts, and other nonprofits. Coalition work, referrals, and shared clients require constant relationship maintenance.
Advocacy & public policy
State and federal advocacy for the funding streams that pay for your work. Legislative testimony, coalition sign-on letters, and constituent engagement.

How to Become a Social and Community Service Managers

  1. 1
    Earn a bachelor's or master's in social work, public administration, human services, or nonprofit management
    MSW is the most common credential; MPA, MPP, and MNM (Master in Nonprofit Management) are strong alternatives. Some managers come from a program-line background without a graduate degree.
  2. 2
    Start as a program coordinator, case manager, or program associate
    $38-52k. Learn a specific population (homelessness, older adults, workforce, youth) and a specific funding stream (HUD CoC, WIOA, Older Americans Act, Medicaid HCBS).
  3. 3
    Advance to Program Manager
    $52-72k. Own one program's staff, budget, and outcomes. Manage a $250k-$1.5M budget and 3-8 staff. This is the on-ramp to leadership.
  4. 4
    Move to Sr Program Manager or Director
    $72-135k. Own a portfolio of 2-6 programs, $2-8M in funding, and 15-40 staff. Interface with funders, the board, and coalition partners.
  5. 5
    Progress to Executive Director / VP / CEO
    $130-215k+ base plus performance bonus at larger orgs. Own the strategy, fundraising, and board relationship for an entire organization or a major division of a larger one.

Career Progression

Program Manager
3-8 yrs$52-72k + benefits
  • β€’Own one program: staff, budget, outcomes
  • β€’Manage $250k-$1.5M annual budget
  • β€’Supervise 3-8 staff
  • β€’Report to funders monthly and to leadership quarterly
Next: Sr Program Manager at 5-9 years.
Sr Program Manager / Established
5-12 yrs$72-98k + benefits + bonus
  • β€’Own a portfolio of 2-4 related programs
  • β€’Manage $1-4M budget across programs
  • β€’Supervise 10-20 staff including program managers
  • β€’Lead grant proposals and funder relationships
Next: Director of Programs at 8-13 years.
Director of Programs / Division Director
8-15 yrs$92-135k + benefits + bonus
  • β€’Own a division of 4-8 programs
  • β€’$4-15M budget
  • β€’Direct staff of 20-60 including managers
  • β€’Report to Executive Director or COO; interface with the board
Next: Executive Director / VP at 12-18 years.
Executive Director / VP / CEO
12+ yrs$130-215k+ + performance bonus + benefits
  • β€’Lead the organization or a major division
  • β€’$5-40M budget and 40-300+ staff
  • β€’Own board relationship, strategy, and major-gift fundraising
  • β€’Public face on advocacy and coalition work
Next: Foundation program officer, government appointment, or CEO at a larger system.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 13 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a program you built or turned around.behavioral
STAR with real numbers. Situation: a workforce program with a 22% placement rate against a 45% funder target; $850k in HUD funding at risk. Task: your role. Action: restructured intake to focus on job-ready participants first while adding wraparound (child care, transit) for barriered participants; renegotiated employer partnerships; changed outcome tracking cadence from quarterly to weekly. Result: placement rate rose to 51% in 8 months; funder renewed and expanded the contract by $300k. Interviewers want to hear specific decisions and measurable outcomes.
Q2. How do you handle a funder audit finding?situational
Take it seriously and don't get defensive. Read the finding carefully. Convene the fiscal, program, and compliance leads. Draft a corrective action plan with specific steps, owners, and timelines. Communicate proactively with the funder β€” do not wait for their follow-up. Fix the underlying process, not just the specific finding. Document the fix. Findings handled well often improve funder trust; findings handled poorly cost the contract.
Q3. Describe your approach to managing a $2M budget across restricted and unrestricted funding.technical
Chart of accounts mapped to each funding source with cost allocation methodology documented. Monthly budget-to-actual review with the CFO and program managers; quarterly deep review of any variance over 10%. Track restricted funds separately with a spend-down projection to avoid unspent grant funds at year-end. Reserve unrestricted for match, gap funding, and program innovation. Present a one-page dashboard to the board quarterly. Interviewers screen for actual fiscal fluency, not just management vocabulary.
Q4. Why community services work?culture
The honest answer that lands: you want work where the outcome is measurable in lives changed, and where the challenge is doing that within tight funding and complex compliance. Avoid saying 'I want to help people' as the only reason β€” every candidate says that. Name a specific population, a mentor, or a program experience that shaped the direction.
Q5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?closer
Show the tracks: Director of Programs, Executive Director, foundation program officer, or government human services role. Say which you're leaning toward and why. Naming a specific credential (MSW licensure, CFRE, MNM) signals concrete planning.

Resume Template β€” Program Manager (3-8 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Program Manager (3-8 yrs)
  • β–ΈManage $1.2M HUD-funded homeless services program serving 340 adults annually; team of 6 case managers.
  • β–ΈIncreased permanent housing placement rate from 42% to 68% over 24 months by restructuring intake and adding rapid rehousing case management.
  • β–ΈPassed 2 annual HUD monitoring visits with zero findings and one commendation on data quality.
  • β–Έ$68k base + benefits + 403(b) match + $2,000 professional development budget.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—No fiscal fluency β€” cannot read a budget-to-actual or explain restricted vs unrestricted funding.
  • βœ—Weak outcome discipline β€” talks about activity levels but not participant outcomes.
  • βœ—No experience with compliance audits (federal, state, or foundation).
  • βœ—Poor supervision skills β€” high turnover on their team is a red flag hiring committees now screen for.
  • βœ—Cannot manage a difficult funder or advocacy conversation without defensiveness.
  • βœ—No fundraising experience above program-officer level; senior roles require grant writing plus donor cultivation.
  • βœ—Weak data fluency β€” can't build a dashboard, can't defend numbers to the board.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Master's degree (MSW, MPA, MPP, MNM) triggers automatic salary bumps at most large nonprofits.
  • βœ“LCSW / LMSW licensure adds $4-10k in clinical program roles.
  • βœ“Metro cost-of-living (SF, NYC, DC, Boston, LA) commands a 20-35% premium.
  • βœ“Government (city, county, state) roles pay lower base but add pension and job security.
  • βœ“Sign-on bonuses of $3,000-15,000 are increasingly common at large nonprofits with hard-to-fill roles.
  • βœ“Loan repayment through Public Service Loan Forgiveness makes government and 501(c)(3) service financially competitive over 10 years.
  • βœ“Executive comp at large nonprofits ($10M+ budget) often includes performance bonus (10-25%) and deferred comp.

Social and Community Service Managers Resume Review β€” $29

Personalized resume review from someone who has hired social and community service managerss. Purchase, email your resume to support@weblabra.com, and receive detailed written feedback within 7 days.

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  • βœ“ Missing skills / keywords flagged
  • βœ“ Formatting + ATS-readability feedback
  • βœ“ 7-day turnaround, 100% refund if we miss it

Social and Community Service Managers Career Kit β€” $19

  • βœ“ All 13 interview questions with expert answers
  • βœ“ 6 real questions aggregated from Glassdoor, Blind, Reddit, LinkedIn
  • βœ“ Interview format intel for 6 top employers
  • βœ“ 3 copy-paste salary negotiation emails
  • βœ“ Resume bullets for every level of the career ladder
  • βœ“ 30–60–90 day plan for your first role
  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
  • βœ“ Detailed salary negotiation script
  • βœ“ Ranked list of certifications with cost + ROI
  • βœ“ Downloadable PDF for offline access
  • βœ“ Instant access, no expiration, no subscription
βœ“ 7-day money-back guarantee β€” no questions asked

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Social and Community Service Managers Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$56K
$107Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

District of Columbia
$107K
+33%
Washington
$103K
+28%
Alaska
$98K
+22%
Colorado
$97K
+21%
New York
$96K
+19%
New Jersey
$95K
+19%
Virginia
$95K
+18%
Tennessee
$88K
+10%
Maryland
$87K
+9%
Oregon
$87K
+8%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
District of Columbia$106,700+32.7%
Washington$103,000+28.1%
Alaska$98,370+22.4%
Colorado$97,440+21.2%
New York$95,980+19.4%
New Jersey$95,290+18.5%
Virginia$94,970+18.1%
Tennessee$88,240+9.8%
Maryland$87,450+8.8%
Oregon$87,010+8.2%
1–10 of 51

Social and Community Service Managers Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Lansing-East Lansing, MI$110,570+37.5%
Salem, OR$110,210+37.1%
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA$108,380+34.8%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$106,400+32.4%
Richmond, VA$104,070+29.5%
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA$103,890+29.2%
Walla Walla, WA$103,740+29.0%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$101,310+26.0%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$101,240+25.9%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$100,570+25.1%
1–10 of 386
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A social and community service managers earning $80,390/year would need 741 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 796 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how social and community service managers salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Social and Community Service Managers salary trend (2011–2024) β†’