Consulting Pay: What MBAs Earned In 2024

Think it’s rough being wrong? Just wait until you’re right.

That’s the dilemma facing Management Consulted. In its 2024 Consulting Salaries Report, Management Consulted projected “slow growth” in the consulting industry, where demand would “outpace” supply for open roles. As a result, firms would have “little incentive to boost pay.”

Fast forward to the 2025 Consulting Salaries Report and Management Consulted became the classic Cassandra. The past year played out as grim as predicted: stagnant pay and scaled back benefits. Forget the roaring 20s – as in 2021 and 2022— where firms stockpiled talent and 10% year-over-year pay increases were the expectation. Now, lean-and-mean is the industry mantra, as firms navigate through the aftershocks of economic recession, global uncertainties, and technological disruptions.

IT COULD BE WORSE

In its latest report, Management Consulted spells out issues that buffeted consulting in 2024. That starts with scandals and lawsuits. In December, for example, McKinsey forked over $650 million dollars to settle claims over its services to Purdue Pharma. In Australia, PwC generated headlines over allegedly marketing private government tax information to clients. Such incidents produced a perception problem in an industry where work is expected to be clean and confidential. That doesn’t count the hiring freezes and delayed start dates that dogged new graduates and career changers alike.

Despite the negativity, Management Consulted strikes a more optimistic tone in this year’s report. “Look below the surface, and you will see that the patient is healthier than at first glance. Demand for consulting services continues to grow, headcounts are higher than they were one year ago (although headcount growth was slower than historical averages), and starting consultant compensation is >20% higher than five years ago.”

A little Pollyannish? Maybe – but unevenness is the new normal for an industry accustomed to a ‘sky is the limit’ outlook. Now, according to the 2025 Consulting Salaries Report, turnover has slowed with more consultants staying in place. To cut costs, firms have tapped into new ways to boost productivity without adding headcount. True to form, the burden was often shouldered by junior consultants.

“Firms flexed their muscles in a loosening labor market by eliminating starting salary increases,” the report reads. This was made possible by the commensurate slowdown in Big Tech and Finance, but also in Fortune 1000 internal strategy practices – [that] were also impacted by cost-cutting.”

Bain consultants heading to an engagement. Photographer: Roger Kenny.

A DEEP POOL OF DATA

Just how much did firms flex? In an email to P&Q, Namaan Mian, Management Consulted’s Chief Operating Officer, noted that over 90% of firms froze starting base salaries in 2024. It was the second consecutive year that pay freezes have hit this threshold. Such trending gives a decided advantage to larger firms according to the report.

“The total comp gap between the top firms and everyone else remains large. While most firms kept base salaries flat this year, the top firms (who drive outsized industry growth) still offer dramatically higher variable compensation, more generous benefits, and less travel. With more attractive comp and lifestyle perks, there may be less reasons than ever for top candidates to choose smaller firms.”

At its core, the 2025 Consulting Salaries Report answers the age-old question: How much are different consulting firms paying up front to MBAs and undergraduates – and what types of perks are included in each firm’s package. Since 2008, Management Consulted has been cataloging a firm-by-firm list of bases, bonuses, and benefits. This year, it covers pay for 124 consulting firms, broken out between two groups MBA/PhD and Undergraduate/Master’s degree holders. As a whole, Management Consulted boasts over four million users between its verified website visitors for reports and podcasts, along with consumers of its case interview and resume prep services and consulting coursework. In some cases, these populations provide Management Consulted with pay offers from their firms. Other times, the data comes directly from consulting firms.

One differentiator for the 2025 Consulting Salaries Report: The numbers are based strictly off 2024 responses. Unlike data from sources like Glassdoor, PayScale or Indeed, Management Consulted doesn’t average its pay against the previous year. As a result, it is more reliable and up-to-date. Pay data is also represented in U.S. dollars for consistency.

MBB PAY STALLS OUT

Consulting pay may have remained flat in 2024, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t big differences in compensation between levels of education and firms of choice. Take top of the market pay. According to Management Consulted data, MBAs can expect to top out at $192,000 in base. By the same token, their performance bonus and signing bonus can reach $63,000 and $35,000 respectively. That’s a major upgrade over bachelor’s degree holders who landed consulting jobs in 2024. Starting out, their base hit $112,000 at the high end – or $80,000 less than their MBA counterparts. And there was a similar drop-off in performance bonus ($30,000), and signing bonus ($5,000).

If you think high-end pay starts with the MBB – McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and the Boston Consulting Group – guess again. At the undergraduate level, Alvarez and Marsal pays $50,400 more than Bain & Company in base and bonuses to start. On top of that, Accenture Strategy, OC&C, and CapOne Strategy hires outearn Bain bachelor’s degree hires too – at least in base starting out. The trend plays out similarly among newly-minted MBAs entering consulting. Among total compensation, Kearney tops all comers, with Alvarez and Marsal again besting Bain & Company.

Among MBAs in the MBB, Bain hires earned the most in total compensation at the max level. Here, Bain MBAs pulled in $285,000. Boston Consulting Group hires maxed out at $270,000, with McKinsey reaching $267,000. That said, for all three firms, these numbers haven’t budged over the past three years. To put this slump in perspective, from 2022-2023, Bain MBA hires watched their high-end pay jump from $246,000 to $285,000. Over that same period, BCG and McKinsey MBA hires enjoyed similar increases ($248,000 to $270,000 and $250,000 to $267,000 respectively). To put it another way, had compensation momentum continued unabated over the past three years, Bain MBAs would be collecting $383,500 in the first year, not $285,000. And the numbers would be $320,900 and $299,000 for BCG and McKinsey respectively at the top end. That’s quite a difference!

Still, each MBB firm offers something a bit different for MBAs in their starting pay packages. The bases start at $192,000 at Bain and McKinsey, with BCG coming in slightly lower at $190,000. Similarly, all three firms offer signing bonuses up to $30,000. However, performance bonus turns out to be a differentiator among the MBB firms. McKinsey caps its performance bonus at $40,000, while Bain and BCG hit $63,000 and $60,000 respectively. Bain also offers 25 days of PTO compared to 19 (McKinsey) and 15 (BCG) for MBA s out of the gate. Unlike Bain and BCG, McKinsey includes 50% 2nd year tuition reimbursement for returning interns in its package. BCG contributes more, dollar-wise, than Bain to a 401K ($11,875 vs. $8,000). For those re-locating, BCG only budgets $6,000 to cover a new hire’s cost, far less than Bain ($8,000 for under 400 miles; $15,000 for over 600 miles) or McKinsey (up to $10,100). In other words, the value of the starting package varies depending on what a new hire values.

Switch over to bachelor’s degree hires and the MBB follows a similar pattern. Bain and McKinsey start this segment out with a $112,000 base, slightly higher than BCG at $110,000. Each MBB firm provides a $5,000 signing bonus, though McKinsey’s $18,000 performance bonus lags behind both Bain (Up to $22,500) and BCG ($22,000). True to form, Bain offers more PTO days (20) than McKinsey (19) or BCG (15). McKinsey compensates re-location up to $10,000 (compared to $6,000 and $5,000 at BCG and Bain respectively). When it comes to retirement, Bain chips in up to $6,050 compared to $4,400 in profit-sharing at BCG (and McKinsey committing up to 7.5% in qualified comp). Bain and McKinsey also set aside $5,000 each for a housing allowance for undergraduate hires.

Deloitte photo

BREAKING DOWN THE BIG 4

Total compensation has also flatlined among the Big 4 – Ernst & Young, KMPG, Deloitte, and PwC – over the past three years. During the period, you’ll find top-end total MBA compensation locked into the same bands as 2023 and 2024: Deloitte Consulting ($204,000), EY Consulting ($242,000), KPMG Consulting ($210,000), PwC Strategy& ($280,000) and PwC Consulting ($245,000). Among bachelor’s degree hires, that same three-year pay lull continued at Deloitte Consulting ($107,500), EY Consulting ($90,000), KPMG Consulting ($110,000), PwC Strategy& ($132,000), and PwC Consulting ($102,000).

According to the 2025 Consulting Salaries Report, consulting firms pursued strategies that attempted to paper over the base play restrictions, such as lifting caps on performance bonuses. In the end, the pay slump reflected management restoring the balance of power after years of catering to increasingly-empowered talent.

“Many firms are using depressed raises as a tool to increase attrition,” Management Consulted explains. “With slowdowns in traditional exit sectors (e.g., corporate strategy, PE), firms aren’t worried about too much talent leaving at once.”

This is reflected in the enticements deployed by several Big 4 firms in their packages. For MBAs, EY Consulting and EY-Parthenon both feature unlimited PTO, with the latter also providing performance bonuses up to $52,500. KPMG Consulting also doles out up to 30 days of PTO, along with relocation reimbursement up to $10,000. Those 30 days of PTO also apply to bachelor’s degree holders, who receive above-average $10,000 sign-on bonuses. At EY-Parthenon, aside from unlimited PTO, undergrads also collect a $50,000 retention bonus after three years of service.

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