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This is our seventh Chief of Staff salary report, and the largest so far. Nearly 500 Chiefs of Staff answered, from 100 cities in 26 countries. Our first survey, in 2019, had 65 answers. This year we also asked about AI for the first time.
This page gives the headline numbers. The full report has every chart and table, and you can download it free at the end of this page.
What we found
- The average base salary is $165.6k, 7% more than in 2024.
- 23% of Chiefs of Staff earn more than $200k in base salary.
- Average base salary rises at each level, from $91k for Analyst / Associate to $194k for Executive / CXO.
- 38% of Chiefs of Staff get no cash bonus.
- Chiefs of Staff who rate themselves AI First earn $40k more on average than AI Novices.
The average base salary rose 7% in a year
The average base salary is $165.6k and the median is $159k. The average was $154.7k in the 2024 report and $131.2k in 2023. The share of Chiefs of Staff above $200k grew from 17% in 2023 to 23% in 2025.
Pay by Chief of Staff level
People chose their own level from our Chief of Staff Leveling Framework. The biggest jump between two levels is from Sr. Associate to Manager, at $33k. The middle 50% range shows where most people at each level sit.
- Analyst / Associate: $91.5k average, middle 50% $83k–$101k
- Sr. Associate / Jr. Manager: $111.5k average, middle 50% $78k–$135k
- Manager / Sr. Manager: $144.5k average, middle 50% $110k–$182k
- Director: $173.7k average, middle 50% $132k–$202k
- Vice President: $186.7k average, middle 50% $145k–$219k
- Executive / CXO: $194k average, middle 50% $141k–$220k
AI and pay
People rated their own AI maturity and their company's. AI First Chiefs of Staff average $189k in base salary, and AI Novices average $149k. Pay and AI maturity rise together in this data. The survey does not show that one causes the other.
What the full report adds
- Pay by company size and by years of experience
- Cash bonus and equity, with medians and ranges
- Pay for women and men at each experience level
- Pay by region, city and industry
- AI maturity for people and for companies, side by side
- Why Chiefs of Staff leave a job
Get the full report
Download the full 2025 report as a PDF with the form on this page. It is free.
PRO members of the Chief of Staff Network also get the anonymized raw survey data, so they can cut the numbers their own way. See PRO membership.
About the data
Nearly 500 Chiefs of Staff answered the 2025 survey, and 80% of them are in the United States. Salary figures are base salary. Where the report text and its charts disagree, this page uses the charts. For example, the text gives a $167,954 average and the chart gives $165,574.
