What Does It Cost to Hire a Social Media Manager?
Last updated . Every number on this page was checked October 2, 2026.
The short answer to "cost to hire social media manager" is that there's no one price, so here's each published figure with its source. Two pay sites give US pay for social media manager jobs, as read on October 2, 2026: Indeed shows an average of $65,584 a year (updated September 28, 2026; its page changes often), and PayScale shows an average base salary of $60,881 a year. The headline on Upwork's own cost page says social media managers on Upwork cost $14 to $35 an hour, as of October 2026. If the person is your employee, employer taxes come on top of the wage.
This page is a plain reading of the rules. It isn't legal or tax advice.
How much does it cost to hire a social media manager?
Hiring a social media manager costs, in pay alone, an average of $65,584 a year by Indeed's figure for US jobs (updated September 28, 2026), or $60,881 a year by PayScale's, both as read on October 2, 2026. On Upwork, the headline on Upwork's own cost page says social media managers cost $14 to $35 an hour (as of October 2026). What it costs you depends on how you bring the person on, and each figure measures a different thing. The table keeps them apart.
| Figure | Source | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| $65,584 a year | Indeed, from about 3,200 salaries in job posts. Indeed's own date is September 28, 2026, and this site read the page on October 2, 2026. It changes often | Average pay for social media manager jobs in the US |
| $60,881 a year | PayScale, from 2,595 salary profiles, as read on October 2, 2026 | Average base salary for social media manager jobs in the US |
| $14 to $35 an hour | The headline of Upwork's cost page for social media managers, as of October 2026 | What social media managers on Upwork cost. It's one marketplace's own figure. The headline isn't split by country |
| $6,529.40 a month | BLS May 2025 median wage for a marketing specialist in Texas, plus 2026 employer taxes, with this site's math | The employee-path cost of a full-time marketing specialist, before benefits. It isn't a social media manager wage |
| $3,277.01 a month | BLS May 2025 hourly median wage for a marketing specialist in Texas, plus 2026 employer taxes, with this site's math | The same job part time, at 20 hours a week. The 20 hours is this site's assumption |
| $7,068.93 a month | BLS May 2025 median wage for a marketing specialist in the US, plus 2026 employer taxes, with this site's math | The same job full time at the US median. No state unemployment tax is counted |
| $3,536.65 a month | BLS May 2025 hourly median wage for a marketing specialist in the US, plus 2026 employer taxes, with this site's math | The same job part time at the US median, at 20 hours a week. No state unemployment tax is counted |
The first two rows are what the jobs pay. They aren't what a service charges, and they aren't an overseas rate. This page doesn't blend the figures into one number, because they don't measure the same thing.
- For the hiring steps, see hire social media manager.
- For the decision itself, see should I hire a social media manager.
What does a social media manager cost as an employee?
A social media manager hired as an employee costs you the wage, plus employer taxes, plus any benefits you offer. For the wage, the two pay sites show $65,584 a year (Indeed, updated September 28, 2026) and $60,881 a year (PayScale) for US social media manager jobs, both as read on October 2, 2026.
On top of the wage, a new Texas employer pays four taxes in 2026. Social Security is 6.2% of a worker's wages, up to $184,500 of wages in 2026, and Medicare is 1.45% of all wages. Federal unemployment tax is 0.6% of the first $7,000 of a worker's pay with the full state credit, so $42 a worker a year at most. Texas unemployment tax for a new employer in 2026 is 2.70% of the first $9,000 of a worker's pay in a calendar year, so $243 a worker a year at most. Each one is worked out line by line on can I afford to hire an employee.
This page doesn't add those taxes to the Indeed or PayScale figures and print a total. Those two are averages from job posts and salary profiles, so they aren't a quote for your hire.
For a figure with the taxes worked in, this site uses a different BLS job. BLS has no job called "social media manager" in its May 2025 list. The closest job this site has figures for is the one BLS calls Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists. In Texas, a full-time marketing specialist hired as an employee at the middle (median) wage costs $6,529.40 a month. That's wages plus employer taxes, before benefits (BLS May 2025 wages, 2026 tax rates). It's a middle wage for that job, so your hire can cost less or more.
The first hire cost page shows how that kind of total is worked out, and it has four first-hire options by the month.
DeskTeam360 runs this site. If the content is the part you'd pay someone to make, a call is where you can ask what its team would cover.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
What does a contractor or marketplace hire cost?
For a contractor or marketplace hire, this site has one published figure, and it's one marketplace's own: the headline on Upwork's cost page says social media managers on Upwork cost $14 to $35 an hour, as of October 2026. The headline isn't split by country. It isn't a market rate, and this page gives no market rate for contract work.
A contractor is a different path from an employee. The IRS says a business generally doesn't have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to an independent contractor. For the forms and taxes on each path, see 1099 vs W-2.
The IRS and the Texas Workforce Commission each have a test for who counts as a contractor. And when a worker paid as a contractor turns out to be an employee, the IRS says the business may be held liable for that worker's employment taxes if it had no reasonable basis for the call. Both tests are walked through in independent contractor vs employee test.
Not legal or tax advice. Ask your accountant.
For where the role sits in an agency, see marketing agency team structure.
More on first hires for an agency
If you'd rather not add a person at all, a call shows whether a flat-rate team fits the work.
The button opens DeskTeam360's Book a Call page.
Sources
- Indeed, social media manager salaries in the United States, read October 2, 2026
- PayScale, social media manager salary, read October 2, 2026
- Upwork, what social media managers on Upwork cost, as of October 2026
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupation Profiles, Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (BLS code 13-1161), Texas and US
- IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare
- IRS Topic 759, federal unemployment tax
- Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment tax rates
- IRS, independent contractor (self-employed) or employee
- Texas Workforce Commission, classifying employees and independent contractors
- The math: each total worked out two different ways
All checked October 2, 2026.
This site isn't connected to the State of Texas or any government agency.
What changed
- October 2, 2026: First version of this page.