CEO demographics in the US: how many there are, who they are, where they work
Key takeaways
- The US has about 1.6 million chief executives: 1,134,818 men and 502,862 women, so women hold about 31% of CEO jobs.
- Among CEOs working full time, year round, the median man earns $191,756 and the median woman $151,010, about 79 cents on the dollar.
- California has the most CEOs, about 221,000. Texas and Florida come next, then New York. Construction and computer systems design have the most CEOs.
The United States has about 1.6 million chief executives. According to the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey, 1,134,818 men and 502,862 women work as CEOs, which means women hold about three in ten of these jobs.
This post looks at who those CEOs are: how they split by gender, how many run their own businesses, what they earn, how old they are, where they live and which industries they lead. For marketers, it shows where senior decision-makers are concentrated. For consultants and founders, it gives a starting point for sizing an executive audience.
The national picture: CEOs by gender
Chief executives are a small share of the workforce. About one in every 77 employed men is a CEO, compared with about one in every 159 employed women.
- Men: 1,134,818 chief executives, 1.3% of employed men
- Women: 502,862 chief executives, 0.6% of employed women
Men outnumber women in the role by about 2.3 to 1.
Employees and business owners
About a quarter of chief executives (26%) are self-employed and run their own business. The rest are employees of companies, nonprofits or government. Women make up a larger share of CEOs who are employees (about 33%) than of CEOs who are self-employed (about 25%).
What CEOs earn
Among chief executives who work full time, year round, the median man earns $191,756 a year and the median woman earns $151,010. That puts women's median pay at about 79% of men's.
The survey doesn't explain the difference. Company size, industry, time in the role and whether a CEO owns the business can all affect pay, and this comparison doesn't account for any of them.
How old CEOs are
The typical chief executive is 51. The median age is 52 for men and 50 for women.
Where America's CEOs live
California has the most chief executives, about 221,000. Texas and Florida come next, with about 142,000 and 131,000, followed by New York with about 99,000. In each of the ten states with the most CEOs, women hold between about 26% and 38% of the roles.
| State | Chief executives | Women's share |
|---|---|---|
| California | 221,000 | 32% |
| Texas | 142,000 | 28% |
| Florida | 131,000 | 26% |
| New York | 99,000 | 38% |
| Illinois | 67,000 | 29% |
| New Jersey | 59,000 | 32% |
| Pennsylvania | 58,000 | 29% |
| Georgia | 57,000 | 29% |
| North Carolina | 54,000 | 28% |
| Ohio | 49,000 | 33% |
These are survey estimates, so close figures can't be ranked with confidence. Texas and Florida are too close to call, and so are most of the states after Illinois, including Virginia and Massachusetts (about 47,000 each), just outside the top ten.
Industries with the most CEOs
Construction has the most chief executives, about 143,000, followed by computer systems design, about 128,000, and management, scientific and technical consulting, about 75,000. The mix differs by gender.
For men, construction leads with about 121,000 CEOs, followed by computer systems design (about 98,000), consulting (about 49,000) and financial investment firms (about 35,000). Banking, other lending, real estate, and architecture and engineering firms come next, too close together to rank.
For women, the industries with the most CEOs include computer systems design (about 29,000), consulting (about 26,000), civic, social and advocacy organizations and grantmakers (about 24,000), construction (about 22,000) and banking (about 19,000). The gaps between neighboring industries on this list are within the survey's margin of error.
Using CEO data for business strategy
For market researchers: the state and industry figures show where senior decision-makers are concentrated, which helps define target markets and estimate their size.
For management consultants: California's 221,000 chief executives, about 70,000 of them women, give a baseline for executive recruitment and talent work in the state.
For startup founders: a product sold to construction firms or computer systems design firms has the largest pools of chief executives to reach, about 143,000 in construction and 128,000 in computer systems design.
About the data
National counts and pay come from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B24115, B24116, B24122 and B24123). Breakdowns by business ownership, age, state and industry come from the survey's 2024 individual records, which group chief executives with legislators, who make up about 1% of that group. For that reason, the industry figures leave out government executive and legislative offices. All figures are survey estimates with margins of error.
