Top Metros for Advertising and Promotions Managers: New York Leads, West Coast Pays Most

Across the country, advertising and promotions managers earn a national median salary of $133,660, with an estimated 21,470 people employed in the role. National employment for this occupation is projected to decline by 2.2%, a context to keep in mind when comparing local markets. Within that national picture, LaborCove’s metro‑level results highlight substantial differences. Every one of the top 10 ranked metros has a higher median salary than the national median, and the largest reported metro employment count, in New York‑Newark‑Jersey City, represents a significant share of the national total. At the same time, the metros with the highest pay are not always the ones with the highest LaborCove Geography Scores, underscoring that the ranking reflects a combination of factors rather than salary alone.

Nationally, advertising and promotions managers have a median annual salary of $133,660. Total U.S. employment for this occupation is 21,470 people. The national projected employment growth rate for advertising and promotions managers is -2.2%. This projection applies to the occupation across the United States as a whole and is not a forecast for any specific state or metro area. Against this backdrop, LaborCove’s metro rankings highlight where pay levels and reported employment concentrations differ from the national picture, and how those differences are reflected in Geography Scores.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ ranks #1 among the listed metros, with a LaborCove Geography Score of 86.13. It is also the largest reported metro employment market in the data, with 3,630 advertising and promotions managers. New York’s median salary of $174,390 is higher than the national median of $133,660. Among the metros with supplied employment counts, New York’s 3,630 positions are substantially larger than the next‑largest reported count of 1,350 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. The combination of a high Geography Score, the highest reported employment count among these metros, and a median salary above the national benchmark makes New York stand out in LaborCove’s metro‑level results.

Several West Coast metros appear near the top of the ranking with high median salaries but different Geography Scores and employment counts. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has the highest reported median salary among the listed metros at $181,250, yet it ranks #5 with a Geography Score of 60.05. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has a median salary of $180,500 and ranks #4 with a Geography Score of 60.27, while Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA has a median salary of $167,930 and ranks #3 with a Geography Score of 61.94. Where employment counts are reported, Los Angeles has 1,350 advertising and promotions managers, compared with 440 in San Francisco and 240 in San Jose. This illustrates that in LaborCove’s results, higher pay does not automatically translate to a higher Geography Score, and metros with higher salaries can have smaller reported employment counts than a lower‑paid peer.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ranks #2 overall with a LaborCove Geography Score of 63.98 and a median salary of $163,380, both above the national median salary. Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC ranks #6 with a Geography Score of 57.03 and a median salary of $150,000, which is also above the national median. Employment counts for both Seattle and Greenville are not supplied in this dataset, so their relative employment scale cannot be compared directly with other metros. Even with these missing employment figures, their Geography Scores place Seattle and Greenville within the top six metros in LaborCove’s ranking for advertising and promotions managers.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH ranks #7 with a LaborCove Geography Score of 54.05, a median salary of $173,020, and a reported employment count of 250. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ranks #10 with a Geography Score of 48.78, a median salary of $146,510, and 660 reported advertising and promotions managers. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN ranks #8 with a Geography Score of 49.48, a median salary of $166,390, and 160 reported positions. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO ranks #9 with a Geography Score of 49.32, a median salary of $165,000, and 120 reported positions. In all four metros, the median salary exceeds the national median of $133,660, but their Geography Scores and employment counts are lower than those of New York-Newark-Jersey City. Within this group, Philadelphia has the largest reported employment count at 660, while Boston’s median salary of $173,020 is the highest.

All ten of the top‑ranked metros for advertising and promotions managers have median salaries above the national median of $133,660, but their Geography Scores, ranks, and reported employment counts vary. New York-Newark-Jersey City combines the highest Geography Score (86.13) with the largest reported employment count of 3,630, while San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont has the highest reported median salary at $181,250 but a lower Geography Score of 60.05. Other metros, such as Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and Greenville-Anderson-Greer, rank in the top six despite missing employment data, reflecting that LaborCove’s Geography Score incorporates more than just scale or pay. For individuals comparing locations, these rankings provide a structured way to see how different metros align on salary, reported employment size where available, and LaborCove’s composite Geography Score, within the broader national context for this occupation.

LaborCove’s rankings for advertising and promotions managers (occupation 11-2011) are based on authoritative labor‑market data, including the U.S. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) series with a reference period of May 2025, combined with LaborCove’s own Geography Score methodology. For this article, national figures provide context on median annual salary, total employment, and a national projected employment growth rate for the occupation. Geographic results cover select metro areas and include median salary, employment counts where available, and LaborCove Geography Scores and ranks. LaborCove’s Geography Score is a composite indicator produced by LaborCove; it is not reducible to any single metric such as salary or employment alone. Because individual career decisions depend on many personal factors, these rankings are best used as structured input alongside a person’s own priorities about location, role, and compensation.