Disaster Recovery Manager Salary

Created by Henry Steele

By Henry Steele - January 8, 2018
Reading Time: 7 minutes
Reading Time: 7 minutes

The following article discusses the career path of Disaster Recovery Manager. Learn about how to become one, education requirements, job duties, traits and qualities, national salary outlook as well as top national employers of Disaster Recovery Managers.

Job Duties

Disaster recovery managers put plans and procedures in place to ensure that an emergency such, as a natural disaster, can be properly responded to. Their work is preparatory in nature, but they also help to coordinate actions when a disaster does occur. Hence, they have close ties with nonprofit agencies, elected officials, public safety officials, and the government.

Practically, this means that they conduct risk assessments to determine the likelihood of a disaster occurring. They calculate the potential damage and put measures in place to minimize this. To achieve this, they meet with various public and private entities to put disaster response plans in place. They monitor the available resources and how these should be used and allocated, and train emergency responders.

If a disaster does occur, they ensure that all resources and equipment are utilized properly. They then conduct damage assessments to find out the extent of the emergency. They also ensure health care facilities are adequate.

Other job duties of a disaster recovery manager are:

  • To communicate and assess the requirements following disasters for the public and professional environment
  • To meet with other entities involved in disaster relief and ensure the lines of communication between them are open
  • To prioritize goals and develop business continuity plans

Where We Work

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 10,100 emergency management directors in 2016. The largest employers of these professionals were:

  • Local government, excluding education and hospitals: 52%
  • State government, excluding education and hospitals: 12%
  • Hospitals; state, local, and private: 8%
  • Professional, scientific, and technical services: 6%
  • Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state, local, and private: 5%

How to Become

Typically, a disaster recovery manager will need to hold a bachelor’s degree at least. They are also expected to have several year’s experience dealing with emergency responses, public administration, and/or disaster planning.

Education Requirements

Disaster recovery managers usually have a bachelor’s degree in public administration, business, finance, accounting, public health, or emergency management. In the private sector, they may have a degree in information technology, such as information systems administration or computer science.

Work experience is incredibly important, and most disaster recovery managers have worked in law enforcement, the military, emergency management, or fire safety for several years. This ensures they have proven experience in making difficult decisions and that they understand the available resources and how those can best be deployed.

In some states, a disaster recovery manager has to become certified, although they do so on the job. Voluntary certification options also exist, which demonstrate a commitment to excellence. These include:

  • Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), offered by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). This certification is valid for five years, after which it must be renewed.
  • Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), which is offered by the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI), which is valid for two years

Traits & Qualities

The most effective disaster recovery managers have the following traits to some degree or other:

  • Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
  • Strong critical thinking skills
  • Excellent decision making skills
  • Great interpersonal skills
  • Emphatic
  • Inspirational leadership

Minimum Education

Bachelor’s Degree

National Salary

The national average salary estimate for Disaster Recovery Manager was $94,956. This number is estimated from over 158,124 employees, users past and present job advertisements from Indeed.com. This equates to an hourly salary of $49.46 and monthly of $7,913.

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$27,000

$204,000

Salary Distribution

Salary by State

The following section lists Disaster Recovery Manager salaries in each state around the country. The figures are based on the total number of job postings through Indeed.com. For example, Hawaii had the largest quoted salary of $138,331 while North Carolina had the smallest quoted salary of $17,191.

AlabamaHawaiiMissouriTennessee
ArkansasIowaNorth CarolinaTexas
ArizonaIllinoisNew JerseyUtah
CaliforniaIndianaNew YorkVirginia
ColoradoKansasOhioWashington
DCLouisianaOklahoma
FloridaMassachusettsPennsylvania
GeorgiaMinnesotaSouth Carolina
Alabama$103,181Rank: 6th
The average salary ranks 6th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Accounting Career Network.

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$35,000

$205,000

Salary Distribution
Arkansas$102,192Rank: 7th
The average salary ranks 7th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Accounting Career Network.

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$34,000

$206,000

Salary Distribution
Arizona$42,220Rank: 25th
The average salary ranks 25th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like State of Arizona.

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$11.15

$36.25

Salary Distribution
California$109,193Rank: 2nd
The average salary ranks 2nd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Bluelighttechnologies, VMX International LLC, Robert Half Technology, and Sales Talent.

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$35,000

$224,000

Salary Distribution
Colorado$100,020Rank: 9th
The average salary ranks 9th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Flood Pros, LLC and Accounting Career Network.

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$34,000

$199,000

Salary Distribution
DC$107,319Rank: 3rd
The average salary ranks 3rd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$53,000

$179,000

Salary Distribution
Florida$34,540Rank: 26th
The average salary ranks 26th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like HKA Enterprises, G4S, BeecherMadden, and Witt O’Brien’s – On-Call/Temporary.

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$7.25

$50.85

Salary Distribution
Georgia$83,155Rank: 16th
The average salary ranks 16th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Witt O’Brien’s – On-Call/Temporary and TEKsystems.

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$9.20

$200

Salary Distribution
Hawaii$138,331Rank: 1st
The average salary ranks 1st among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Department of Homeland Security.

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$69,000

$210,000

Salary Distribution
Iowa$81,801Rank: 18th
The average salary ranks 18th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Robert Half Technology.

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$40,000

$137,000

Salary Distribution
Illinois$105,284Rank: 5th
The average salary ranks 5th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Valtech Services Inc, Request Technology, Accounting Career Network, and Request Technology – Jacqueline White.

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$40,000

$200,000

Salary Distribution
Indiana$101,741Rank: 8th
The average salary ranks 8th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Accounting Career Network.

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$35,000

$202,000

Salary Distribution
Kansas$49,992Rank: 24th
The average salary ranks 24th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like YRC Freight.

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$14,000

$145,000

Salary Distribution
Louisiana$56,595Rank: 22nd
The average salary ranks 22nd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like State of Louisiana and V Dart, Inc..

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$17,000

$117,000

Salary Distribution
Massachusetts$99,254Rank: 10th
The average salary ranks 10th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like GravITy Consultants Inc. (4 MONTHS).

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$22,000

$232,000

Salary Distribution
Minnesota$106,975Rank: 4th
The average salary ranks 4th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$35,000

$217,000

Salary Distribution
Missouri$56,041Rank: 23rd
The average salary ranks 23rd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like The Salvation Army.

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$14,000

$158,000

Salary Distribution
North Carolina$17,191Rank: 29th
The average salary ranks 29th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like V Dart, Inc..

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$60.00

$200

Salary Distribution
New Jersey$82,239Rank: 17th
The average salary ranks 17th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Blue Signal.

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$14,000

$217,000

Salary Distribution
New York$89,657Rank: 15th
The average salary ranks 15th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Government, Penda Aiken, Inc., AppleOne, and R3cruitAssist, Inc..

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$17,000

$218,000

Salary Distribution
Ohio$81,356Rank: 21st
The average salary ranks 21st among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Confidential Company – Disaster Recovery and ServiceMaster.

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$32,000

$153,000

Salary Distribution
Oklahoma$98,403Rank: 11th
The average salary ranks 11th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Accounting Career Network.

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$30,000

$204,000

Salary Distribution
Pennsylvania$94,956Rank: 12th
The average salary ranks 12th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders, The Brixton Group, Inc., and Express Employment Professionals.

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$18,000

$234,000

Salary Distribution
South Carolina$30,873Rank: 27th
The average salary ranks 27th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like SBP and Randstad.

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$7.25

$42.90

Salary Distribution
Tennessee$81,640Rank: 20th
The average salary ranks 20th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Blue Signal.

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$20,000

$184,000

Salary Distribution
Texas$94,572Rank: 14th
The average salary ranks 14th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Sunrise Systems Inc, Spero Solutions, Craftlogic Software LLC, and Spero.

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$33,000

$187,000

Salary Distribution
Utah$28,800Rank: 28th
The average salary ranks 28th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Flood Pros, LLC and CyberCoders.

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$7.50

$22.50

Salary Distribution
Virginia$94,910Rank: 13th
The average salary ranks 13th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Dept of Emergency Management and CyberCoders.

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$43,000

$167,000

Salary Distribution
Washington$81,800Rank: 19th
The average salary ranks 19th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like State of Washington.

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$37,000

$142,000

Salary Distribution

Top 20 National Employers

According to Indeed.com, the following states had employers looking to hire a Disaster Recovery Manager. The quoted salary figure represents the average salary from all job postings by this employer.

Employer NameLocationAverage Salary

Learn More

Related Careers

Career NameAverage Salary

Henry Steele
Managing Editor
Henry is Managing Editor of BusinessStudent.com. He is a seasoned business professional who regularly consults with local business's throughout Southern California. Henry pursued his undergrad in Business and Economics at the University of San Diego and gained valuable life changing experience through a unique internship upon graduation.

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