Best degree programs for Financial Managers, ranked by enrollment
11 college programs and 947 schools train Financial Managers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $166,570 median wage, 841,710 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
11 college programs at 947 schools train financial managers, graduating 57,922 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Finance, General. The job pays a median of $166,570 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About financial managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
11 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance, Generalmain feeder CIP 52.0801 | 49,441 | 85.4% | 753 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0304 | 3,776 | 6.5% | 134 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 3 | CIP 30.7104 | 2,582 | 4.5% | 50 | — | — |
| 4 | CIP 52.0305 | 1,487 | 2.6% | 101 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 5 | CIP 52.0899 | 273 | 0.5% | 36 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 6 | CIP 52.0215 | 236 | 0.4% | 17 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 7 | CIP 30.1601 | 45 | 0.1% | 6 | — | — |
| 8 | Public Financemain feeder CIP 52.0808 | 36 | 0.1% | 4 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 9 | International Financemain feeder CIP 52.0806 | 34 | 0.1% | 3 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 10 | Credit Managementmain feeder CIP 52.0809 | 6 | 0.0% | 3 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 11 | Financial Risk Managementmain feeder CIP 52.0810 | 6 | 0.0% | 2 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 857 | Finance, General | 88% | — | 61% |
| 2 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 843 | Finance, General | 72% | — | 48% |
| 3 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 735 | Finance, General | 86% | — | 24% |
| 4 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 707 | Financial Analytics | 97% | $22,055 | 5% |
| 5 | Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 634 | Finance, General | 43% | $34,565 | 100% |
| 6 | Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 634 | Accounting and Finance | 33% | — | — |
| 7 | Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 602 | Finance, General | 84% | — | 57% |
| 8 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 597 | Finance, General | 89% | — | 27% |
| 9 | The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 571 | Finance, General | 73% | — | 77% |
| 10 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 548 | Finance, General | 75% | — | 84% |
| 11 | Florida International University Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 538 | Finance, General | 74% | — | 55% |
| 12 | University of Houston Houston, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 538 | Finance, General | 65% | — | 74% |
| 13 | University of Georgia Athens, GA Public · 1 feeder programs | 536 | Finance, General | 90% | — | 38% |
| 14 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 512 | Finance, General | 86% | — | 61% |
| 15 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs | 502 | Finance, General | 84% | — | 58% |
| 16 | University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC Public · 2 feeder programs | 483 | Finance, General | 79% | — | 60% |
| 17 | Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 480 | Finance, General | 80% | — | 75% |
| 18 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL Public · 2 feeder programs | 476 | Finance, General | 77% | — | 43% |
| 19 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs | 470 | Finance, General | 68% | — | 90% |
| 20 | Bentley University Waltham, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 470 | Finance, General | 87% | $31,677 | 45% |
| 21 | University of Miami Coral Gables, FL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 466 | Finance, General | 84% | $26,589 | 19% |
| 22 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 456 | Finance, General | 71% | — | 74% |
| 23 | University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 2 feeder programs | 447 | Finance, General | 78% | — | 40% |
| 24 | Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 429 | Finance, General | 86% | $33,106 | 14% |
| 25 | University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Public · 2 feeder programs | 425 | Finance, General | 89% | — | 45% |
| 26 | The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 416 | Finance, General | 76% | — | 65% |
| 27 | Auburn University Auburn, AL Public · 1 feeder programs | 407 | Finance, General | 82% | — | 46% |
| 28 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 390 | Finance, General | 81% | — | 85% |
| 29 | University of Massachusetts - Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 383 | Finance, General | 83% | — | 60% |
| 30 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 380 | Finance, General | 69% | — | 80% |
| 31 | Clemson University Clemson, SC Public · 1 feeder programs | 379 | Finance, General | 87% | — | 38% |
| 32 | Georgetown University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 378 | Finance, General | 95% | $22,242 | 13% |
| 33 | Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 364 | Finance, General | 69% | — | 73% |
| 34 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 357 | Finance, General | 86% | — | 55% |
| 35 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs | 353 | Finance, General | 74% | — | 42% |
| 36 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 334 | Finance, General | 75% | — | 80% |
| 37 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 328 | Finance, General | 63% | — | 66% |
| 38 | University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 328 | Finance, General | 90% | — | 45% |
| 39 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 314 | Finance, General | 91% | — | 24% |
| 40 | Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 311 | Finance, General | 43% | $21,535 | 79% |
| 41 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 310 | Finance, General | 85% | — | 42% |
| 42 | University of Delaware Newark, DE Public · 2 feeder programs | 308 | Finance, General | 81% | — | 71% |
| 43 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 307 | Finance, General | 95% | $19,452 | 11% |
| 44 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 306 | Finance, General | 71% | — | 93% |
| 45 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 302 | Finance, General | 86% | $25,823 | 44% |
| 46 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 298 | Finance, General | 85% | — | 80% |
| 47 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 290 | Finance, General | 75% | — | 85% |
| 48 | Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 281 | Finance, General | 83% | — | 50% |
| 49 | Georgia State University Atlanta, GA Public · 2 feeder programs | 275 | Finance, General | 53% | — | 55% |
| 50 | The University of Tampa Tampa, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 273 | Finance, General | 64% | $33,070 | 40% |
What financial managers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $164,860 | 71,870 | 0.94× | 58 | 5,375 |
| Florida | $153,280 | 48,910 | 0.91× | 41 | 4,363 |
| North Carolina | $166,780 | 22,460 | 0.84× | 68 | 3,663 |
| Pennsylvania | $145,610 | 32,180 | 0.98× | 60 | 3,663 |
| Ohio | $140,870 | 27,360 | 0.91× | 44 | 2,992 |
| New York | $219,880 | 80,810 | 1.54× | 60 | 2,754 |
| Massachusetts | $206,760 | 26,150 | 1.33× | 33 | 2,180 |
| Illinois | $165,880 | 52,720 | 1.60× | 36 | 1,872 |
| Michigan | $139,370 | 22,490 | 0.94× | 36 | 1,717 |
| New Jersey | $199,110 | 32,510 | 1.40× | 22 | 1,542 |
| Arizona | $139,830 | 14,900 | 0.85× | 6 | 1,541 |
| Georgia | $166,790 | 21,390 | 0.81× | 20 | 1,494 |
| Wisconsin | $139,720 | 15,530 | 0.98× | 26 | 1,409 |
| Alabama | $140,500 | 7,200 | 0.63× | 18 | 1,336 |
| Connecticut | $174,830 | 20,040 | 2.18× | 14 | 1,291 |
| South Carolina | $136,160 | 9,020 | 0.72× | 13 | 1,205 |
| Indiana | $135,840 | 12,560 | 0.73× | 27 | 1,201 |
| Utah | $150,450 | 8,860 | 0.94× | 11 | 1,089 |
| California | $180,770 | 93,310 | 0.95× | 29 | 1,058 |
| Iowa | $133,320 | 9,130 | 1.08× | 15 | 1,049 |
| Minnesota | $163,410 | 16,680 | 1.04× | 29 | 965 |
| Louisiana | $126,800 | 7,070 | 0.68× | 13 | 964 |
| Tennessee | $141,010 | 17,630 | 0.99× | 23 | 946 |
| Virginia | $185,220 | 20,850 | 0.94× | 18 | 919 |
| Maryland | $158,750 | 19,770 | 1.32× | 9 | 860 |
| Washington | $174,840 | 12,930 | 0.67× | 11 | 775 |
| Kansas | $159,380 | 5,190 | 0.67× | 18 | 763 |
| District of Columbia | $188,880 | 8,930 | 2.35× | 7 | 730 |
| New Hampshire | $144,730 | 4,330 | 1.17× | 7 | 721 |
| Missouri | $143,460 | 13,330 | 0.84× | 23 | 713 |
| Oklahoma | $132,460 | 6,670 | 0.72× | 14 | 692 |
| Arkansas | $116,570 | 7,120 | 1.01× | 13 | 671 |
| Kentucky | $130,650 | 6,630 | 0.61× | 14 | 663 |
| Rhode Island | $166,940 | 2,570 | 0.95× | 8 | 621 |
| Delawaremoderate | $181,580 | 2,810 | 1.07× | 4 | 520 |
| Colorado | $182,690 | 10,640 | 0.68× | 8 | 467 |
| Mississippi | $111,390 | 3,470 | 0.55× | 8 | 417 |
| Idaho | $127,210 | 3,120 | 0.67× | 5 | 411 |
| Nebraska | $140,360 | 5,630 | 1.02× | 7 | 401 |
| Oregon | $156,460 | 7,610 | 0.71× | 9 | 333 |
| Nevadalimited | $132,490 | 8,090 | 0.96× | 2 | 281 |
| North Dakota | $135,890 | 2,140 | 0.92× | 6 | 201 |
| West Virginia | $113,140 | 2,610 | 0.69× | 6 | 150 |
| Hawaiilimited | $134,210 | 3,790 | 1.12× | 2 | 144 |
| Maine | $133,610 | 3,120 | 0.90× | 5 | 141 |
| South Dakota | $159,700 | 1,000 | 0.40× | 7 | 81 |
| Wyominglimited | $124,910 | 730 | 0.48× | 1 | 70 |
| Montanamoderate | $131,060 | 1,510 | 0.55× | 4 | 53 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $133,700 | 2,530 | 0.54× | 3 | 37 |
| Alaskamoderate | $127,030 | 2,020 | 1.14× | 3 | 33 |
| Vermontlimited | $128,690 | 1,790 | 1.09× | 1 | 13 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
- Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
- Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of workers in branches, offices, or departments of establishments, such as branch banks, brokerage firms, risk and insurance departments, or credit departments.
- Recruit staff members.
- Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.
- Oversee training programs.
- Evaluate needs for procurement of funds and investment of surpluses and make appropriate recommendations.
- Delegate authority for the receipt, disbursement, banking, protection, and custody of funds, securities, and financial instruments.
Skills
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Monitoring3.7
- Writing3.7
- Active Learning3.6
- Mathematics3.5
Knowledge areas
- Economics and Accounting4.5
- Mathematics4.0
- English Language4.0
- Administration and Management3.9
- Customer and Personal Service3.7
- Law and Government3.2
Abilities
- Written Comprehension4.1
- Oral Expression4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Problem Sensitivity3.9
Core activities
- Getting Information4.6
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
- Analyzing Data or Information4.4
- Working with Computers4.4
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Processing Information4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Financial Manager
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- 5 years or more
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 11 majors mapped to Financial Managers11 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
- 30.7104Financial Analytics
- 52.0215Risk Management
- 52.0304Accounting and Finance
- 52.0305Accounting and Business/Management
- 52.0801Finance, General
- 52.0806International Finance
- 52.0808Public Finance
- 52.0809Credit Management
- 52.0810Financial Risk Management
- 52.0899Finance and Financial Management Services, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Financial Manager?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Finance, General, which awarded 49,441 degrees in 2024-25, 85.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Financial Manager?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 11 programs to this occupation. The largest are Finance and Financial Management Services, Accounting and Related Services, Data Analytics, Business Administration, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 57,922 people a year.
How much do financial managers earn?+
The median is $166,570 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $94,310 at the 10th percentile to $323,270 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for financial managers growing?+
BLS projects a +14.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 74,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
947 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 11 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do financial managers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Treasurer, Controller, Comptroller, Branch Manager, Portfolio Manager, Corporate Treasurer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-3031.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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