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McKinsey Associate Salary: Base Pay (2026)
A McKinsey Associate earns a $192,000 base salary in 147 of 149 US H-1B filings, and about $267,000 in the first year with bonuses.
McKinsey pays an Associate a base salary of $192,000 in US H-1B filings from January 2025 to June 2026: 147 of 149 Associate filings name exactly $192,000, across 28 US cities. McKinsey's own Associate posting gives new joiners in the US and Canada the same $192,000. Associate is the level McKinsey hires MBAs and other advanced-degree graduates into. Business Analysts below it are filed at $112,000 and Engagement Managers above it at $220,000. With a $40,000 performance bonus and a $30,000 signing bonus, Management Consulted's 2026 report puts an Associate's first year at about $267,000.
Where the numbers come from. Base salaries are from 149 Associate and other public US Department of Labor filings, worked out in code, the same filings as our McKinsey salary page. H-1B filings show base salary only: no bonus, signing bonus, profit sharing or benefits. Bonus figures come from the dated report named next to them.
Associate pay next to the levels around it
Median base salary in McKinsey's US H-1B filings, January 2025 to June 2026. Range is the 10th to 90th percentile of the filed salaries.
| Level | Filings | Median base | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Analyst | 58 | $112,000 | $112,000 |
| Senior Business Analyst | 107 | $112,000 | $112,000 |
| Associate | 149 | $192,000 | $192,000 |
| Engagement Manager | 124 | $220,000 | $200K to $220K |
The step up to Engagement Manager is $28,000 at the median. Engagement Manager filings spread more, from $200,000 to $220,000.
Associate salary by city
Cities with three or more filings for this level, by number of filings.
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 19 | $192,000 |
| Chicago, IL | 11 | $192,000 |
| Newark, NJ | 8 | $192,000 |
| San Francisco, CA | 8 | $192,000 |
| Redwood City, CA | 7 | $192,000 |
| Washington, DC | 7 | $192,000 |
| Austin, TX | 6 | $192,000 |
| Boston, MA | 6 | $192,000 |
Pay is set by level, not by office. The two Associate filings off $192,000 are $200,000 in Austin and $212,000 in Chicago, both from January 2025.
What an Associate does
On McKinsey's consulting roles page, Associates lead their own workstreams and own complex problems, working with clients and their own team. The Associate posting says an Associate joins a client service team and takes ownership of a workstream. It asks for, typically, an advanced graduate degree such as an MBA or PhD, or equivalent work experience.
Posted pay against the filings
| Firm and level | Median base in filings | Posted first-year base |
|---|---|---|
| McKinsey Associate | $192,000 | $192,000 |
| BCG Consultant | $190,000 | $200,000 from January 1, 2027 |
| Bain Consultant | $192,000 | $200,000 |
Filings are from January 2025 to June 2026. Posted pay is the US first-year base in each firm's job posting as we read it on October 26, 2026: McKinsey, BCG and Bain. BCG's are its US experienced-hire postings. McKinsey's posted Associate pay matches the filings to the dollar.
Bonus, signing bonus and benefits
From Management Consulted's Consulting Salaries Report 2026, which covers offers made in 2025 (via Poets&Quants, January 26, 2026): an Associate gets $192,000 base, a $40,000 performance bonus and a $30,000 signing bonus, about $267,000 in the first year, with a 7.5% 401(k) contribution, 19 days of paid time off and a $10,000 housing allowance for qualified consultants.
How we got these numbers
US employers that hire someone on an H-1B visa must first file a Labor Condition Application with the US Department of Labor, stating the job title, work site and the wage they will pay. The DOL publishes every filing in its LCA disclosure data. We read the filings through h1bdata.info, a free search of that data, because the DOL's own quarterly files run to hundreds of MB. We read them on October 15, 2026.
- Filing window: filings submitted from January 2025 to June 2026, the latest the DOL has published.
- Filings counted: 438 across the rows shown, one per DOL case number.
- Job titles matched:
- Business Analyst: "Business Analyst Management Consultant" (58)
- Senior Business Analyst: "Senior Business Analyst Management Consultant" (107)
- Associate: "Associate Management Consultant" (149)
- Engagement Manager: "Engagement Manager Management Consultant" (124)
- Median: the middle filed salary for that title. Range: the 10th to 90th percentile, so a few unusual filings don't stretch it.
- Base salary only. An H-1B filing states the base wage. Bonuses, signing bonuses, profit sharing and benefits are not in it, so the bonus figures on this page come from the dated reports named next to them.
- Who is in it. Only roles filed for visa holders, at every US office. A filing is the wage the employer committed to pay, not proof of a hire.
- McKinsey files the level as "Associate Management Consultant" under its US entity, McKinsey & Company Inc. United States.
Searches read:
Getting the offer
Read our McKinsey interview guide, the McKinsey case interview guide, the Solve guide and the PEI questions. Students can start with the McKinsey internship. Then work a McKinsey-style practice case out loud. Our AI case interviewer asks follow-ups the way a real interviewer does, and you can start with a free week. More prep by firm and case type is on our consulting interview page.
Other levels: McKinsey Business Analyst, McKinsey Associate, BCG Associate, BCG Consultant, Bain Associate Consultant and Bain Consultant. Every firm we cover is on consulting salary. What each level does and where people go next is on our consulting career path guide.
Sources
- US Department of Labor, H-1B LCA disclosure data, filings submitted January 2025 to June 2026, via h1bdata.info, read October 15, 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Consulting roles, read October 26, 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Associate (job posting), read October 26, 2026
- Poets&Quants (Jeff Schmitt), citing Management Consulted's Consulting Salaries Report 2026, Consulting Pay: What MBAs Earned In 2025, January 26, 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much does a McKinsey Associate make?
A $192,000 base salary, in 147 of 149 filings from January 2025 to June 2026 and in McKinsey's current posting. With bonus and signing bonus, Management Consulted's 2026 report puts the first year at about $267,000.
Who joins McKinsey as an Associate?
McKinsey's posting asks for, typically, an advanced graduate degree such as an MBA or PhD, or equivalent work experience. Undergraduates join as Business Analysts, filed at $112,000.
Does a McKinsey Associate earn more in New York or San Francisco?
No. All 19 New York and 8 San Francisco Associate filings name $192,000.
How much does a McKinsey Engagement Manager make?
The median Engagement Manager filing is $220,000, with most between $200,000 and $220,000.
Does a McKinsey Associate earn more than a BCG or Bain Consultant?
On base, the three are close: $192,000 at McKinsey, $190,000 at BCG and $192,000 at Bain in the filings. BCG and Bain now post $200,000, above McKinsey's posted $192,000.
Related guides
- Bain Associate Consultant Salary: Base Pay (2026)
- McKinsey Salary 2026: Base Pay by Level from H-1B Filings
- BCG Associate Salary: Base Pay (2026)
- McKinsey Business Analyst Salary: Base Pay (2026)
- BCG Salary 2026: Base Pay by Level from H-1B Filings
- Deloitte Consultant Salary 2026: Base Pay by Level and State