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Entrepreneur: Salary, Job Outlook and Education by Specialty

BLS does not track entrepreneurs as an occupation, and business owner income is not captured by wage surveys. The closest official categories are Chief Executives and General and Operations Managers; BLS Employment Projections also report the share of each occupation that is self-employed. Treat wage figures here as context, not as owner earnings. Across the 2 official occupations below, BLS counts about 3,707,370 workers. National median annual wages range from $105,770 to $213,990 (May 2025).

$0$200K$400KChief executives$213,990General and operations managers$105,770
Annual wage distribution for entrepreneur occupations, United States, May 2025. Highest median: Chief executives at $213,990. The bar spans the 25th to 75th percentile, the thin line spans the 10th to 90th percentile, and the red mark is the median.
Entrepreneur occupations compared
OccupationMedian wageEmploymentChange 2025 to 2035Typical entry education
Chief executives
SOC 11-1011
$213,990204,350+3.2%Bachelor's degree
General and operations managers
SOC 11-1021
$105,7703,503,020+5.0%Bachelor's degree

Compare the top five side by side

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, National. May 2025 reference period. Published April 30, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Table 1.2: Occupational projections, 2025-35, and worker characteristics, 2025. Base year 2025, projected year 2035. Published August 27, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.