How to use this report
Use it to smell a package, not to write one. Forums quote a number with no office, no sign-on, and no tax. This report keeps the firms candidates actually stack against each other and shows the parts that move first-year cash.
- Compare total package, not base alone.
- Keep currencies local. Do not convert a London base into a New York story.
- Treat crowdsourced medians as a range check, not a rate card.
- If it is not in writing, you do not have an offer. You have a vibe.
Reviewed by Ned. Figures are triangulated from firm career pages for level structure, Management Consulted salary tables, levels.fyi submissions, official postings, and, where named, US Department of Labor filings. Offers move by office, cohort, and year. Last full pass: 30 July 2026.
Methodology and filter
Most public salary pages dump every boutique into one spreadsheet. That looks comprehensive and weakens the decision. This report is filtered to MBB, Big 4 consulting and strategy tracks, and a short list of other large global firms that still show up in serious offer decisions. We cut smaller boutiques and firms under roughly 2,000 employees from the headline tables.
Three kinds of number appear here, and they are not interchangeable.
- Posted or filed base. A firm posting or a certified Labor Condition Application. Floor and fact. Usually excludes bonus and signing.
- Public tracker bands. Management Consulted, levels.fyi, offer-tracking sites. Useful for package shape. Self-selecting samples.
- Illustrative year-one totals. Base plus a mid-to-strong bonus plus signing. A model, not a promise.
When two sources disagree, trust the official firm page for structure and the crowdsourced trackers for the live range. Then confirm with someone who took the offer you care about.
For context: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of about $99,410 for management analysts. Large-firm consulting offers sit well above that occupational median. That gap is why one offer decision is worth getting right.
The 2026 story
2026 looks like a mostly flat-pay year at the top of consulting, not a salary-reset year. MBB starting bases have held near the 2023 package. Year-over-year submissions on levels.fyi show the same flattening at the MBB base level, and firm career pages have not advertised the aggressive base jumps that defined the post-2021 market.
That flattening is why brand and total package matter more than a $5,000 base gap. A first-year Associate or Consultant offer at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain lands near the same base. Signing, performance-bonus ceilings, and relocation still move first-year cash by tens of thousands.
The consulting salary freeze, in this sense, means MBB base has stayed largely flat since 2023. The gap between candidates now sits on bonus, signing, and which tier extends the offer, not on who negotiated a $8,000 base bump. Inflation still compounds. A flat nominal base is a real cut.
- Bonus ceilings still create separation at the top end.
- Brand-name firms benefit more when salaries compress, because the tie-breaker shifts from cash to exits and signaling.
- Large firms still dominate the candidate conversation because recruiting scale and exit value are hard to replicate.
Headline table: large firms, 2026
Short version. Undergrad and MBA bases are the figures candidates compare most often. Top reported total cash is a ceiling from public trackers, not a promise.
| Firm | Undergrad / pre-MBA base | MBA / PhD base | Top reported total cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bain & Company | $112,000 | $192,000 | $255,000 |
| McKinsey & Company | $112,000 | $192,000 | $232,000 |
| Boston Consulting Group | $110,000 | $190,000 | $237,500 |
| Oliver Wyman | $110,000 | $190,000 | $226,100 |
| Strategy& | $100,000 | $190,000 | $250,000 |
| Kearney | $100,000 | $188,000 | $253,800 |
| EY-Parthenon | $100,000 | $175,000 | $227,500 |
| Accenture Strategy | $105,000 | $175,000 | $230,000 |
Pay by tier
Where you land usually depends less on negotiation and more on which tier makes you an offer. Cliffs sit between tiers, not inside a class.
| Tier | Representative firms | MBA base | Year-1 total (typical band) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MBB | McKinsey, BCG, Bain | $190k–$192k | $267k–$285k |
| Tier 2 / strategy arms | Oliver Wyman, Kearney, Strategy&, EY-Parthenon | $175k–$190k | $200k–$260k |
| Big 4 consulting | Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG (generalist tracks) | $80k–$115k | $95k–$145k |
The structural reason for the gap: MBB prices high-stakes strategy work at premium rates with smaller teams. Some of that pricing power flows into compensation. Big 4 firms often work at higher volume across implementation, technology, risk, and advisory. Do not mix a Monitor or Strategy& letter with a generalist Advisory letter and call it one market.
MBB, first year
Public benchmarks cluster McKinsey, BCG, and Bain tightly at the MBA level. The bigger differences show up in bonus structure, signing treatment, and office policy.
| Firm | Undergrad base | MBA base | Typical signing | Illustrative year-1 total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinsey | $112,000 | $192,000 | ~$30,000 | ~$267,000 |
| Bain | $112,000 | $192,000 | ~$30,000 | ~$255,000–$285,000 |
| BCG | $110,000 | $190,000 | ~$30,000 | ~$237,500–$270,000 |
- McKinsey uses defined bands. US Business Analyst base sits at $112,000 in the public 2026 tables. Post-MBA Associate base sits at $192,000. Senior pay is more variable and increasingly profit-share driven.
- BCG generally tracks McKinsey on base. Public tables put undergrad Associate near $110,000–$115,000 and MBA Consultant at $190,000, with illustrative year-1 totals near $237,500–$270,000 depending on bonus assumptions.
- Bain is competitive on post-MBA base ($192,000) and often shows the strongest bonus ceiling in MBB public tables, with illustrative year-1 totals up to about $285,000.
MBA base is often the same dollar figure across US cities. Cost of living is not. A Chicago letter and a Manhattan letter can print the same base and buy very different lives.
Tier 2 and strategy arms
This middle layer is where candidates get confused. Oliver Wyman and Strategy& can sit close to MBB on post-MBA cash. The gap to MBB is often bonus ceiling and exit signaling, not year-one base.
| Firm | MBA base (public range) | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Oliver Wyman | $158k–$190k | Consultant is the undergrad hire; Associate is the MBA hire. Do not mix the labels. |
| Kearney | $178k–$200k | Reported total cash has reached about $254k in public tables. |
| Strategy& | $130k–$190k | Confirm Strategy& vs broader PwC consulting before you compare. |
| EY-Parthenon | $130k–$175k | Signing often cited near $30k. Verify office and level. |
| Accenture Strategy | About $175k | Strategy track, not a generic Accenture implementation offer. |
| Roland Berger | About $160k US; €140k–€160k EU | Lower US cash; European roles are a different conversation. |
Oliver Wyman ladder
Oliver Wyman posted $110,000 base for the 2026 US entry-level Consultant intake. That is a contractual undergrad number, not the MBA Associate package. A reader who searches the wrong level will think the firm pays far above or far below the market.
| Level | Typical entry | Reported median total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consultant | Undergraduate | ~$120,000 | Posted base $110,000 (2026 US intake) |
| Senior Consultant | Internal, 1–2 years | ~$136,300 | First promotion. Small step vs the MBA jump. |
| Associate | MBA / advanced degree | ~$209,000 | Reported range about $209k–$284k |
| Engagement Manager | Internal | ~$263,400 | Bonus starts doing real work (~22% of base) |
| Principal | Partner track | ~$357,500 | Widest spread. Partnership decision lives here. |
| Partner | Partnership vote | $555k–$900k | Cash. Reported stock grants $0 at consulting levels. |
| MBA package piece | Oliver Wyman Associate | McKinsey Associate | BCG Consultant | Bain Consultant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base (public) | $158k–$188k | $192,000 | $190,000 | $192,000 |
| Signing (reported) | $23k–$38k | ~$30,000 | ~$30,000 | ~$30,000 |
| Bonus (reported) | $28k–$58k | ~$40,000 | ~$47,500 | ~$63,000 |
| Illustrative total | $209k–$284k | ~$267,000 | ~$270,000 | ~$285,000 |
L.E.K. filed bases
L.E.K. sits below the ~2,000-employee cutoff used for the headline tables. It is included here because the US Department of Labor filings are unusually clean. Nine of eleven 2025 Consultant filings are $185,000 whether the office is Chicago or San Francisco. One San Francisco filing sits at $200,000.
| Level | Base (2026 read) | Total (reported) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate (undergrad) | ~$94,500 avg | ~$109,500 | levels.fyi, 31 July 2026 |
| Associate Consultant | ~$134,700 avg | ~$149,700 | Master's / experienced hire |
| Consultant (MBA) | $185,000 filed | ~$212,000 | H-1B filings, 2023–2025 |
| Manager | $241,500 filed | ~$311,700 | NY and Chicago filings |
At McKinsey, Associate is the MBA hire. At L.E.K., Associate is the undergraduate hire and Consultant is the post-MBA hire. Ignore the title. Check the base against the filed figure.
Big 4 consulting tracks
These figures are management-consulting roles, not audit or tax. Strategy arms pay more than technology or implementation.
| Firm | Analyst base | Post-MBA / senior consultant | Signing (typical) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deloitte (core) | $90k–$100k | About $170k base / ~$195k all-in | About $15k |
| KPMG | $93k–$112k | $115k–$140k manager band | Varies |
| PwC Advisory | $80k–$90k | $110k–$135k manager band | $5k–$35k by level |
| EY (core) | $78k–$91k | $105k–$130k manager band | Varies |
Analyst bonuses at Big 4 are usually lower than MBB. Retirement match, overtime, or local adjustments can close part of the junior gap. They do not close the MBA year-one gap.
Deloitte and Monitor
Deloitte consulting salary is a ladder by level crossed with a split by practice. Core Deloitte Consulting total cash runs roughly $100,000 at Analyst and about $240,000 at Manager. Monitor Deloitte, the strategy practice, generally pays about 10 to 20 percent above core at the same level.
| Level | Base | Target bonus | Total cash (est.) | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst | $90,000 | $10,000 | $100,000 | Undergraduate |
| Consultant | $110,000 | $15,000 | $125,000 | Promotion or experienced |
| Senior Consultant | $170,000 | $25,000 | $195,000 | MBA / advanced degree |
| Manager | $200,000 | $40,000 | $240,000 | Promotion |
| Senior Manager | $275,000 | $60,000 | $335,000 | Promotion |
| MD / Partner | $450,000+ | Equity / profit share | $700k–$1.5M+ | Promotion |
A concrete Monitor example: a post-MBA Senior Consultant base sits near $192,000 at Monitor versus about $170,000 at core. Official Deloitte postings add a second layer of truth with wide current-role ranges. A Strategy Growth and Transformation Consultant posting has listed $84,400 to $140,600. That is a current-role range for one title, not a universal Consultant salary.
PwC Advisory vs Strategy&
A search for PwC consulting salary pulls $72,000 to over $700,000 because it mixes Advisory, Strategy&, six levels, and a dozen geographies. Split the entity first.
| Level | PwC Advisory total | Strategy& total |
|---|---|---|
| Associate | $93k–$132k | $115k–$161k |
| Senior Associate | $134k–$185k | $156k–$249k |
| Manager | $154k–$236k | $204k–$320k |
| Senior Manager | $200k–$290k | $270k–$400k |
| Partner | $308k–$558k+ | $390k–$728k+ (higher for top performers) |
levels.fyi reports a $195,000 median across PwC management-consultant roles and a $239,000 median for Strategy&. At Associate in the New York area, a reported Strategy& package of about $150,000 ($106,000 base plus $45,000 bonus) is the tell: the strategy track loads more of its cash into bonus. Post-MBA hires enter as senior associates; signing can push all-in first-year cash toward $185,000–$210,000.
US bands and city adjustments
Major offices (NYC, SF, Chicago, Boston, DC) sit toward the top of each band. Smaller offices sit lower. MBB MBA base is often the same dollar figure across US cities.
| Path | MBB | Strong Tier 2 / strategy | Big 4 consulting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergrad / analyst | $110k–$125k base; $125k–$160k+ all-in | $90k–$110k base; $100k–$135k all-in | $85k–$105k base; $90k–$125k all-in |
| MBA / experienced | $175k–$195k base; $220k–$280k+ all-in | $160k–$180k base; $175k–$230k all-in | $150k–$175k base; $160k–$210k all-in |
| City | MBB base | Tier 2 / Big 4 adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | None (standardized cohort base) | +$10k–$20k in some practices |
| San Francisco | None | +$10k–$15k in some practices |
| Chicago | None | At par |
| Dallas / Houston | None | -$5k to at par |
| Boston / DC | None (confirm live letter) | Usually near the top of the national band |
UK and EU, first year
Quoted in local currency. Converting everything to USD is how people lie to themselves.
| Path | London MBB (indicative) | Other EU hubs (indicative) |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst / BA | Base often £50k–£70k plus bonus. Signing exists, smaller than US | Base often lower than London. Bonus and tax differ a lot |
| MBA | Base often £90k–£110k plus bonus and a signing cheque | Wide spread. Ask for base, bonus target, and signing in writing |
A London package that looks low versus NYC can still be the right office. Tax and rent are not personality. Middle East postings can include allowances that change the total; compare those in local currency with the recruiter-confirmed letter, not a forum conversion.
Progression after year one
Year-one cash gets the headlines. The real money is in progression. Public bands suggest consulting pay can roughly double from analyst to manager over a typical six-year track, with wide variance by rating, geography, and practice.
| Level | Years in | MBB total | Tier 2 total | Big 4 total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst / Associate | 0–2 | $135k–$285k | $120k–$260k | $95k–$145k |
| Senior Associate / Consultant | 2–4 | $250k–$400k | $200k–$350k | $150k–$220k |
| Manager / EM | 4–6 | $350k–$550k | $280k–$450k | $200k–$350k |
| Principal / Senior Manager | 6–8 | $500k–$800k | $400k–$650k | $300k–$500k |
A candidate who stays through Manager on a higher-paying strategy track may earn meaningfully more cumulative cash than a peer on a lower-paying track. The spread depends on bonus ratings, promotion speed, geography, retention, and practice mix. Leaving one promotion later is frequently worth more than any raise you would have negotiated on the way in.
Internships
Internship pay is almost always a pro-rata of the full-time base for that office and path, paid weekly or monthly for 8–10 weeks. Do not annualise a summer and compare it to a first-year package.
Bain publishes monthly base on its 2026 US postings: about $9,000 a month for Associate Consultant Interns and about $16,000 a month for Summer Associates, plus what Bain calls fully paid individual medical, dental, and vision premiums. Those are monthly figures for the internship period. They exclude housing or relocation that some offices add.
- Ask for the weekly or monthly rate in writing.
- Ask whether housing or a relocation stipend is separate.
- A return offer, if it exists, is the number that matters. The internship cheque is not a career plan.
- Bain states that successful Summer Associates receive a full-time consultant offer in the same office without a second interview loop. That is the product. Confirm the live posting.
How to read an offer
Add these, then stop.
- Base salary.
- Signing and relocation (one-time). Divide signing by three if you want a boring annualised view.
- Target performance bonus — the target, not the max poster.
- Retirement match, if it is real.
- Overtime, London weighting, or a named city differential.
Ignore total-rewards slides, gym, fruit, and 'exit opportunities' as if they were cash.
Worked example: two MBA offers, New York
Directional model, not a live quote.
| Piece | BCG MBA Associate | Deloitte MBA Consultant |
|---|---|---|
| Base | $190,000 | $100,000 |
| Expected bonus | $40,000 (80% of a stated max) | $17,500 (70% of a stated max) |
| Signing | $30,000 | $15,000 |
| 401(k) match | $7,600 | $4,000 |
| Year-1 total | $267,600 | $136,500 |
The year-one gap is large. Over three years it stays meaningful only if bonus, promotion, and retention play out. Tax is not optional. The single biggest variable in this table is not negotiation. It is which tier extends the offer.
The MBB versus Big 4 call
Take the MBB offer if you want maximum optionality after consulting and the role is a fit. MBB on a resume still opens doors that a generalist Big 4 title does not. The cash gap can compound over a multi-year stint.
Take the Big 4 offer if you want industry specialization, a named practice, faster responsibility in that domain, or a work model that fits your life better. If you plan to stay in consulting long-term, partner economics become practice-specific and less comparable from public averages.
If the letter is Monitor, Strategy&, or EY-Parthenon, do not use the core Big 4 column. Those are strategy-arm offers. Price them against Tier 2 and the bottom of MBB, then confirm the practice in writing.
What moves in a negotiation
MBB base for a campus cohort is usually fixed. Asking the firm to break a class-wide band for one person is the wrong opening. The leverage, when it exists, sits elsewhere.
- Signing, especially with a competing written offer or a documented relocation cost.
- Start date, office, and (for experienced hires) level placement. Level is often worth more than any signing line.
- Relocation and housing language.
- Clawback window on signing if you leave in year one. Read it.
Do not bluff a competing offer. Do not negotiate signing before you have the written letter. Do not lead a coffee chat with compensation. Use the tables to ask sharper questions about project mix, staffing, and progression.
Questions to send recruiting
- Base, target bonus, and historical bonus payout for my class.
- Signing, relocation, and whether signing is clawed back if I leave in year 1.
- Overtime, London weighting, or city differential.
- When the first bonus hits.
- How promotions work in year 2, in one sentence, not a framework.
- Which entity and practice this letter is for — core, Monitor, Strategy&, Parthenon, or something else.
If they will not put numbers in writing, you do not have an offer.
What not to do
- Compare a US all-in to a London base.
- Treat a LinkedIn humblebrag as data.
- Mix Oliver Wyman Consultant with McKinsey Associate, or L.E.K. Associate with McKinsey Associate.
- Quote the ceiling of a levels.fyi band as if it were your offer.
- Negotiate signing before you have the written offer.
- Ask for a number so you can feel ready. Confirm the live letter.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Management Analysts (2024 median near $99,410).
- Management Consulted annual consulting salary tables (MBB and strategy-arm base and total cash by level), checked against the July 2026 pass.
- levels.fyi consulting compensation pages, including Oliver Wyman (31 July 2026) and L.E.K. (31 July 2026).
- Firm recruiting pages and 2026 intake postings (McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Strategy&, EY-Parthenon, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, Accenture) for role structure. Oliver Wyman 2026 US entry-level Consultant posting stated $110,000 base.
- Bain 2026 US internship postings: about $9,000 / month ACI and about $16,000 / month Summer Associate.
- Poets & Quants, 26 January 2026, MBA consulting pay. BusinessBecause / GMAC reporting on 2025–2026 salary stagnation.
- StrategyCase Deloitte and PwC notes (2026). Deloitte Careers posting ranges for named roles.
- US Department of Labor H-1B filings for LEK Consulting LLC (162 records, 2020–2025), pulled 31 July 2026.
- Wall Street Oasis BCG and Bain salary pages (large self-reported samples). PrepLounge US consulting salary note, 2026.
When two sources disagree, trust the official firm page for structure and the crowdsourced trackers for the live range. Then confirm with someone who took the offer you care about.
CoachNed is independent practice. Not affiliated with McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, Oliver Wyman, Kearney, L.E.K., Accenture, or any firm named here. Compensation is not the interview. Use the tables to choose a tier, then go back to cases.