Logistics Manager Salary

With all the buzz in the air about the importance of supply chains and logistics, you better believe that corporations are putting their finances in gear to get staffed up. Especially now, in the post-pandemic world, as industry is still reeling from and responding to the many critical supply chain vulnerabilities the pandemic helped expose.

That response is proving to be very good news for logistics professionals, as industries across the spectrum invest heavily in solutions.

The plain fact is that there just aren’t enough trained logistics managers to go around right now. The pipeline is dry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the category of transportation, storage, and distribution managers added only a paltry 170 positions between 2019 and 2020.

But between 2020 and 2021, as you might recall, the world changed. In that one-year period, an incredible 12,430 jobs opened up for transportation, storage, and distribution managers.

And as you know from business 101, that kind of demand can’t occur without affecting pricing. And by pricing, we’re talking about salaries. Maybe even your salary, if you earn the right degree and get the right experience to become a logistics manager.

How Much Does a Logistics Manager Make?

Logistics covers a lot of ground. There are different facets of the business: transportation, storage, analysis, and so on. There are many different specializations and levels of responsibilities even within those functions. And, of course, there are a lot of different requirements and levels of demand based on the industry you work in.

Logistics skills aren’t always transferable; that means it’s not always an open market, and salaries in certain fields can skyrocket.

So there really isn’t a single answer to the question of what a logistics manager can make. But there are averages you can look at to start narrowing the range down.

Logistics management jobs straddle two different categories used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for tracking salaries and employment:

Logisticians - $77,520 median annual salary

Logisticians are the bulk of the workforce in logistics and supply chain management. They may qualify for those jobs with an associate or bachelor’s degree, or even a community college certificate in some cases. They fill out the positions in every sort of specialization in the field:

And they do it in every industry, covering all sorts of goods and services. That gives them a very broad salary range overall: $45,160 – $122,390

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers - $98,560 median annual salary

The managers and administrators that oversee those logisticians fall into the transportation, storage, and distribution manager category. This also includes more highly skilled analysts and other professionals in the supply chain. They also offer a valuable addition to any logistics specialization and in every industry. They typically have a higher level of education to qualify for those jobs.

Their overall salary range: $57,780 – $169,070

In each of these areas, of course, higher levels of education and actual experience on the job will tend to edge professionals toward the higher end of the salary range.

But there are many other factors that play into what you can expect to make as a logistics manager.

The Logistics Manager Salary Range Can Vary by Specialization

Beyond the overall job category, there are many different types of specializations in logistics. Warehouse management, global airfreight coordination, and #something technical each have their unique types of associated knowledge and skills. Naturally, some of those fields are more difficult and time-consuming to master than others. So, you can expect some of them to have substantially different salary levels than the baseline.

While it makes sense from a career perspective to look at different salary levels in different specialties, unfortunately BLS doesn’t break down their numbers in that way. Still, it’s a factor to be aware of.

In general, the more complex any given specialization, and the fewer people who have developed that kind of expertise, the higher the wage levels are likely to be.

Every Industry Offers a Different Range of Logistics Manager Salaries

You may already know that different industries place different demands on logistics professionals even within the same specialization. It takes a very different skillset to be a transportation supervisor working with a regional organ transplant organization versus someone with the same title employed by a multinational industrial equipment vendor.

That leads to different values placed on those positions in different industries. This is something that BLS keeps track of.

The top paying industries for the three categories of logistics professionals are:

Logisticians

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities - $119,820
Oil and Gas Extraction - $116,040
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing - $112,170
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction - $108,690
Natural Gas Distribution - $106,650

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing - $189,700
Scientific Research and Development Services - $178,880
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas - $166,560
Natural Gas Distribution - $158,480
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing - $156,640

Because top executives in every industry really have a very different basis for compensation, it doesn’t tell you much about high level logistics manager salary levels to check out their top ten. But in general, you can expect them to be most highly valued in the same industries as transportation, storage, and distribution managers.

Looking at the Ways Location Can Influence Logistics Manager Compensation Levels

Obviously where you work can have a big impact on what you make, too. Everyone knows that storage manager positions in big cities along the coasts are going to pay more than a rural warehouse job in the heartland. It’s partly a function of demand and partly cost-of-living.

BLS also tracks salaries by both state and rural or metro regions within the state.

The top-paying states and metropolitan areas for logistics management jobs in 2022:

Logisticians

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

BLS also shows which major metro areas to consider for the best salaries, including some surprises outside of those top-paying states:

Logisticians

California-Lexington Park, Maryland - $116,880
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California - $113,980
Huntsville, Alabama - $101,270
Trenton, New Jersey - $100,330
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland - $99,230

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California - $161,860
Trenton, New Jersey - $153,400
Midland, Michigan - $148,250
New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania - $142,670
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut - $135,190

Of course, top paying isn’t necessarily all you want to know when you’re interested in settling down in a logistics management job. You may want to stick close to family or have an affinity for snow that just isn’t going to be satisfied in the southern half of the country.

So, we also put together the average salaries in major metro areas around the United States to give you some idea how working as a logistics manager might compare:

Logisticians

New York: $93,990
Los Angeles: $85,300
Chicago: $69,420
Dallas: $77,220
Miami: $61,070
Saint Louis: $85,440
Atlanta: $74,580
Seattle: $97,100

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

New York: $142,670
Los Angeles: $110,830
Chicago: $113,120
Dallas: $112,630
Miami: $112,220
Saint Louis: $104,980
Atlanta: $122,690
Seattle: $126,890

It’s important to note that BLS only tracks base salary levels. There are a lot of forms of compensation that can come outside of your paycheck, particularly in high-level positions. Stock grants, bonuses, incentive payments, good health care and excellent retirement benefits can all be part of your total compensation as a logistics manager.

If there’s something you can bet on, though, it’s that salaries are likely to keep climbing. Demand remains high and well-educated professionals offer a competitive advantage to companies that hire them.

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Top Executives, Logisticians, and Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed July 2023.