# Emergency Management Directors

US SOC code 11-9161. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/11-9161

Also called: Emergency manager, EM director, Disaster management director, Crisis management director, Emergency preparedness director.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **13,500** US emergency management directors, with median pay of **$93,330** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Civil_Defense_Administration) of **3,000** from 1952, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for emergency management directors: Cloud EOC platforms, 2012 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 3.9% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9161&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **60%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Emergency Management Directors employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1941
- Latest US employment: 13,500 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $93,330 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [8]
- Outlook: +3.9% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [26]

### All 21 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1952 | 3,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Federal Civil Defense Administration [1] |
| 1963 | 6,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Office of Civil Defense [2] |
| 1965 | n/a | $7,200 (estimate) | Est., Office of Civil Defense [6] |
| 1979 | 4,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., FEMA [3] |
| 2001 | 8,500 (estimate) | $52,000 (estimate) | Est., Anna Maria College Online (employment) [4]; Est., IAEM (pay) [7] |
| 2010 | 11,800 | $55,360 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 11,050 | $57,270 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 9,550 | $59,770 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 9,800 | $62,780 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 9,770 | $64,360 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 9,840 | $67,330 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 9,570 | $70,500 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 9,560 | $72,760 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 9,550 | $74,420 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 10,060 | $74,590 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 10,210 | $76,250 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 10,320 | $76,730 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 11,290 | $79,180 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 11,910 | $83,960 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 12,570 | $86,130 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 13,500 | $93,330 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (87)

### Employment series

1. [Federal Civil Defense Administration — History and Organization (established under Executive Order 10186, January 12, 1951)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Civil_Defense_Administration), Wikipedia / Federal Civil Defense Administration records
2. [Office of Civil Defense — Wikipedia (history of OCD, 1961 Kennedy reorganization, Cuban Missile Crisis-era peak)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Civil_Defense), Wikipedia / Office of Civil Defense
3. [FEMA — History of FEMA (Executive Order 12127, April 1, 1979, consolidating FCDA and related agencies)](https://www.fema.gov/about/history), Federal Emergency Management Agency
4. [Anna Maria College Online — Emergency Management Infographic: demand increased tenfold since 9/11; 150+ colleges now offer EM degrees vs. one pre-9/11](https://online.annamaria.edu/mpa/resource/emergency-management-infographic), Anna Maria College Online
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. [Office of Civil Defense — Wikipedia (organizational history and federal context for local civil defense director roles, 1961-1972)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Civil_Defense), Wikipedia / Office of Civil Defense
7. [IAEM — History of the International Association of Emergency Managers: professionalization and compensation context from the 1990s](https://www.iaem.org/History-of-IAEM/), International Association of Emergency Managers
8. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
9. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

10. [Civil Defense in the United States — Wikipedia (CONELRAD, 1951; FCDA Blue Book, 1950)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_defense_in_the_United_States), Wikipedia
11. [Federal Civil Defense Administration — Wikipedia (Executive Order 10186, January 12, 1951)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Civil_Defense_Administration), Wikipedia
12. [IBTS OnHAND — Legislative History of the Role of the Federal Government in Disaster Assistance (Disaster Relief Act 1970, Hurricane Camille context)](https://ibtsonhand.org/resource/legislative-history-role-federal-government-disaster-assistance/), IBTS
13. [FEMA — About FEMA History (Executive Order 12127, April 1, 1979)](https://www.fema.gov/about/history), Federal Emergency Management Agency
14. [SRP Partners — History of the Stafford Act and Its Amendments (Stafford Act 1988, formalization of FEMA authority)](https://www.srp-partners.com/blog/stafford-act-history-and-amendments), SRP Partners
15. [IAEM — History of IAEM: CEM program launched 1993 following 1988-1989 FEMA-funded professional standards study](https://www.iaem.org/History-of-IAEM/), International Association of Emergency Managers
16. [EMAP — How the Evolution of Emergency Management has Impacted the Emergency Management Standard (EMAP created 1997)](https://emap.org/news/how-the-evolution-of-emergency-management-has-impacted-the-emergency-management-standard/), Emergency Management Accreditation Program
17. [Anna Maria College Online — Emergency Management History and Growth: 150+ EM degree programs post-9/11 vs. one pre-9/11](https://online.annamaria.edu/mpa/resource/emergency-management-infographic), Anna Maria College Online
18. [FEMA — National Incident Management System (NIMS): HSPD-5 mandating ICS for all federal, state, local responders (2004)](https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims), Federal Emergency Management Agency
19. [GAO — Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (S.3721, 109th Congress)](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-09-59r), U.S. Government Accountability Office
20. [The Conversation — Hurricane Katrina: 3 painful lessons for emergency management are increasingly important 20 years later](https://theconversation.com/hurricane-katrina-3-painful-lessons-for-emergency-management-are-increasingly-important-20-years-later-260907), The Conversation
21. [FEMA — IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System): WEA and EAS operational history](https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/integrated-public-alert-warning-system), Federal Emergency Management Agency
22. [GAO — Emergency Management: FEMA Has Made Progress since Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, but Challenges Remain (2016)](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-16-90t), U.S. Government Accountability Office
23. [Firehouse Magazine — Enhancing Emergency Operations Centers with AI: A New Frontier in Emergency Management (January 2025)](https://www.firehouse.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/article/55251205/enhancing-emergency-operations-centers-with-artificial-intelligence-a-new-frontier-in-emergency-management), Firehouse Magazine
24. [Pano AI — Wildfire Tech Series B $44M (June 2025): 50M+ acres, 250+ agencies, 95% of fires below 10 acres in WA DNR zones](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/06/16/3099902/0/en/Wildfire-Tech-Comes-of-Age-Pano-AI-Raises-44M-Series-B-Led-by-Giant-Ventures-to-Scale-Early-Detection-Infrastructure.html), GlobeNewswire / Pano AI
25. [Congress — Kenneth Fire False Alert Report: Genasys polygon default caused 4M-resident false evacuation; FEMA third-party cert pilot (May 2025)](https://robertgarcia.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/robertgarcia.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/false-alerts-final-report-5.10.pdf), U.S. House of Representatives

### Forecasts and exposure studies

26. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 11-9161 Emergency management directors (2025: 14.0 thousand; 2035: 14.5 thousand; +3.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9161&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 11-9161.00, human-rated β 0.6)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

28. [Civil Defense in the United States — Wikipedia (Office of Civilian Defense, Executive Order 8757, May 20, 1941)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_defense_in_the_United_States), Wikipedia
29. [Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 — Encyclopedia.com (legislative history and FCDA creation)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/federal-civil-defense-act-1950), Encyclopedia.com
30. [International Association of Emergency Managers — Wikipedia (founded 1952 as U.S. Civil Defense Council)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Association_of_Emergency_Managers), Wikipedia
31. [FEMA — About FEMA History (Executive Orders 12127 and 12148, 1979)](https://www.fema.gov/about/history), Federal Emergency Management Agency
32. [Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act — Wikipedia (P.L. 100-707, signed November 23, 1988)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford_Disaster_Relief_and_Emergency_Assistance_Act), Wikipedia
33. [IAEM — History of IAEM: CEM program launched 1993 (FEMA-funded standards work 1988-1989, Professional Standards Advisory Council)](https://www.iaem.org/History-of-IAEM/), International Association of Emergency Managers
34. [Anna Maria College Online — Emergency Management History: 9/11 transformation, 150+ degree programs post-2001, tenfold demand increase](https://online.annamaria.edu/mpa/resource/emergency-management-history), Anna Maria College Online
35. [The Conversation — Hurricane Katrina: 3 painful lessons for emergency management are increasingly important 20 years later](https://theconversation.com/hurricane-katrina-3-painful-lessons-for-emergency-management-are-increasingly-important-20-years-later-260907), The Conversation
36. [U.S. House of Representatives — Kenneth Fire False Alert Report: Genasys polygon default, 4M-resident false evacuation, FEMA cert pilot (May 2025)](https://robertgarcia.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/robertgarcia.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/false-alerts-final-report-5.10.pdf), U.S. House of Representatives / Rep. Robert Garcia

### Predecessors & successors

37. [Federal Civil Defense Administration — Wikipedia (FCDA established 1950, state and local civil defense director network)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Civil_Defense_Administration), Wikipedia
38. [IAEM — Building a Strong Emergency Management Profession: fire service as primary pre-professional feeder (Domestic Preparedness)](https://domesticpreparedness.com/articles/building-a-strong-emergency-management-profession-2), Domestic Preparedness
39. [FEMA — About FEMA History: retired military officers formed the first generation of civil defense directors; military background remains common pathway](https://www.fema.gov/about/history), Federal Emergency Management Agency
40. [O\*NET 11-9161.00 — Emergency Management Directors: typical career pathway from specialist/coordinator role after several years of experience](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9161.00), O\*NET / BLS
41. [GAO — Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (new FEMA leadership experience requirements)](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-09-59r), U.S. Government Accountability Office

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Emergency Management Directors (11-9161.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9161.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Emergency Management Directors (2024–2034): 13,200 employed, $86,130 median, 3% growth](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/emergency-management-directors.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [FEMA — National Incident Management System (NIMS): unified command framework, ICS structure, life-safety authority](https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Firehouse Magazine — Enhancing Emergency Operations Centers with AI: A New Frontier in Emergency Management (January 2025)](https://www.firehouse.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/article/55251205/enhancing-emergency-operations-centers-with-artificial-intelligence-a-new-frontier-in-emergency-management), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Juvare — WebEOC Nexus: The Future of Emergency Management Technology (cloud-native SaaS EOC platform with Juvare AI Assistant + Juvare Analyze)](https://www.juvare.com/thought-leadership/blogs/webeoc-nexus-the-future-of-emergency-management-technology/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Dataminr — AI Platform: 50+ proprietary LLMs, 43+ TB/day, ReGenAI evolving briefs at 99.5% accuracy, 100+ U.S. government agencies](https://www.dataminr.com/ai-platform/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Pano AI — Wildfire Tech Series B $44M (June 2025): 50M+ acres, 250+ first-responder agencies, 10 U.S. states + Canada + Australia](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/06/16/3099902/0/en/Wildfire-Tech-Comes-of-Age-Pano-AI-Raises-44M-Series-B-Led-by-Giant-Ventures-to-Scale-Early-Detection-Infrastructure.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Esri — Leveraging Geospatial AI in Emergency Management: 75+ pretrained GeoAI models, damage assessment, wildfire detection, situational awareness](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-pro/public-safety/new-pretrained-geospatial-ai-models-for-disaster-response), accessed 2026-05-24
- [RapidSOS — Raises $100M to Scale Emergency Response AI; 22,000+ agencies, 1B+ emergencies supported, HARMONY multilingual AI](https://rapidsos.com/blog/rapidsos-raises-100m-to-scale-emergency-response-ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Everbridge — 360 Critical Event Management platform with purpose-built AI, mass notification, supply-chain resilience](https://www.everbridge.com/platform/critical-event-management/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Genasys — IPAWS + Protect Platform: multi-channel alerting (SMS, voice, IPAWS, acoustic), predictive simulation, EVERTEL inter-agency comms](https://genasys.com/protect-platform/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Congress.gov CRS — Kenneth Fire False Alert: Genasys software default caused 4M-resident false evacuation alert; FEMA to pilot third-party certification (May 2025)](https://robertgarcia.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/robertgarcia.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/false-alerts-final-report-5.10.pdf), accessed 2026-05-24
- [FEMA — Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP): exercise design, TTX, full-scale exercise methodology](https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/exercises/hseep), accessed 2026-05-24
- [FEMA — Hazard Mitigation Grant Program: HMGP, BRIC, and EMPG grant programs for emergency managers](https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/learn/hazard-mitigation), accessed 2026-05-24
- [IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite — AI-driven weather prediction, outage forecasting, wildfire/heatwave prediction 2-14 days in advance](https://www.ibm.com/new/product-blog/how-ai-emergency-preparedness-helps-the-energy-industry), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Maxar — Open Data Program: free pre/post-event satellite imagery for disaster damage assessment and emergency response planning](https://vantor.com/company/open-data-program/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.