There are 417,493 full-time equivalent jobs supported by the legal cannabis industry in the U.S., according to Vangst’s comprehensive 2023 jobs report. This year, cannabis is expected to sell more than chocolate and craft beer combined, Business Insider data found. That’s a lot of cannabis jobs.
What do your cannabis industry cohorts make? Which roles are the highest paying? Are C-suite positions and leadership positions worth the risk? And what’s the hourly wage for entry-level positions? The Vangst Salary Guide has answers. Vangst conducted a survey looking at average reported salaries during the 2022 year from brands across the country, and the results contain valuable insight into what your company should be paying for each role, from the entry-level salespeople to the Vice Presidents of the company.
Do you want to contribute your salary to inform next year’s guide? 2023’s survey is currently underway! Companies, let Vangst know your salary ranges for 2023 for this year’s updated guide. Employees, do the same and offer insight for the industry. The survey is open through September 27, 2023, so don’t wait.
Here’s a list of some of the most common cannabis jobs and what Vangst’s survey found:
- Director of Cultivation – $100k – $150k
- Grow Manager – $65k – $90k
- Grower/ Horticulturist – $17 – $26/HOUR
- Trimmer / Post Harvest – $16 – $20/HOUR
- Director of Extraction – $90k – $140k
- Extraction Manager – $65k – $90k
- Quality Manager – $50k – $100k
- Chemist – $60k – $80k
- Extraction Technician – $45k – $90k
- VP of Manufacturing – $125k – $185k
- Edibles Specialist – $45k – $75k
- Production Technician – $16 – $23/HOUR
- Packager – $16 – $20/HOUR
- VP of Sales – $150k – $225k
- Sales Director – $80k – $120k
- Account Manager – $45k – $85k
- Sales Manager – $75k – $100k
- Sales Representative – $40k – $60k
- Customer Service Specialist – $17 – $24/HOUR
- VP of Retail – $140k – $200k
- Director of Retail – $100k – $130k
- Project Manager – $65k – $120k
- GM or retail manager – $65k – $100k
- Assistant GM – $50k – $70k
- VP of Human Resources – $120k – $180k
- Human Resources Coordinator – $45k – $60k
- Human Resources Generalist – $55k – $85k
- Head of People Operations – $100k – $150k
- Recruiter/ Talent Acquisition Specialist – $50k – $80k
- VP of Finance – $150k – $200k
- Accounting Supervisor – $60k – $85k
- Accounting Controller – $90k – $140k
- Staff Accountant – $55k – $75k
- Bookkeeper- $45k – $70k
- VP of Product/ Engineering – $175k – $225k
- Product Manager – $62k – $128k
- Software Engineer – $67k – $168k
- Data Analyst – $52k – $111k
- VP of Marketing – $125k – $175k
- Director of Marketing – $80k – $100k
- Brand Manager – $50k – $65k
- Marketing Manager – $65k – $80k
- Graphic Designer – $65k – $85k
- Marketing Coordinator – $45k – $55k
- Delivery Manager – $55k – $85k
- Warehouse Associate – $16 – $25/HOUR
- Delivery Driver – $16 – $26/HOUR AVG. TIPS = $5/HOUR
- Chief of Staff – $90k – $130k
- Executive/Admin Assistant – $55k – $85k
- Office Manager – $45k – $65k
The survey found that 62% of respondents are more satisfied with their cannabis career than their previous role. 43.4% said they earn more in cannabis than in their previous roles, while 22.1% say their pay is about the same, and 34.7% say they took a pay cut to work in cannabis. 82% of companies reported offering benefits to their employees. The industry’s gender balance is getting closer to equal than industry numbers in the past, with 49.06% of the staff made of men and 43.7% of women.
The survey also looked at the importance of a diverse workforce. “People who identify as white/caucasian continue to make up the biggest percentage of cannabis workers by a significant margin and even grew by 9.8% in 2022. Meanwhile, we are happy to report that respondents who identify as women grew from 41.3% to 43.7%, a chasm we predict will continue to close as the industry matures,” Headset’s experts write.
