Report: McKinsey, Bain & BCG Are Actually Boosting Starting MBA Pay

Consulting is dying, you’ll hear. Artificial intelligence can shoulder much of the research and data collection normally handled by junior consultants – and complete it in hours, not days. Some companies are building internal consulting operations, while others are choosing specialists over generalists. Let’s face it: budgets are tight – and consulting teams don’t come cheap.

You might expect consulting firms to retrench. In recent years, consulting pay has stagnated, particularly at the three firms that set the bar: McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). However, that trend may be reversing, according to a new report by Management Consulted, a four-million-member platform that collects consulting pay data and provides training in case interviews and resume development.

None of the three firms has announced a raise. Instead, Management Consulted verified the new figures through more than 120 candidate offer letters with 2027 start dates, submitted for its 2027 Consulting Salary Report. By its count, it’s the first MBB starting salary increase since August 2022.

Namaan Mian, Management Consulted’s COO, says the figures reflect firm-wide U.S. policy, not individual offers. “Entry-level base at MBB is standardized, so offers at these levels don’t vary from candidate to candidate,” he tells Poets&Quants. The same figures now appear on job postings in states that require pay disclosure, he adds.

“The death of consulting has been greatly exaggerated,” Mian says.

BCG CATCHES UP TO McKINSEY & BAIN

Released on October 27, Management Consulted’s research looks at new starting base salaries for hires beginning in 2027. It finds that starting MBA base pay will increase by 4.2% at both McKinsey and Bain over the previous hiring class. BCG comes in higher, with a 5.3% increase.

MBAs aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits. Pre-MBA hires, who join from undergraduate and master’s programs, will fare even better. Their starting base pay will rise by 7.1% at both McKinsey and Bain, and by 9.1% at BCG.

What does that mean in real numbers? Currently, MBA hires at McKinsey and Bain earn $192,000 to start. In 2027, that number climbs to $200,000. BCG goes further, raising starting MBA pay by $10,000, from $190,000 to $200,000, closing a $2,000 gap with its rivals.

The same dynamic plays out among pre-MBA hires. McKinsey and Bain will boost starting base pay from $112,000 to $120,000, while BCG moves from $110,000 to $120,000. The result: all three firms now pay exactly the same base at both entry levels.

According to Mian, McKinsey appears to have moved first, with BCG and Bain following quickly. The firms landed on identical numbers, he says, “because they compete for the same candidates at the top of the market.”

MBB 2027 STARTING SALARIES BY FIRM & LEVEL

Firm	Level (title)	Previous base	2027 base	Increase
McKinsey	Pre-MBA (Business Analyst)	$112,000	$120,000	+$8,000 (7.1%)
Bain	Pre-MBA (Associate Consultant)	$112,000	$120,000	+$8,000 (7.1%)
BCG	Pre-MBA (Associate)	$110,000	$120,000	+$10,000 (9.1%)
McKinsey	Post-MBA (Associate)	$192,000	$200,000	+$8,000 (4.2%)
Bain	Post-MBA (Consultant)	$192,000	$200,000	+$8,000 (4.2%)
BCG	Post-MBA (Consultant)	$190,000	$200,000	+$10,000 (5.3%)

Source: Management Consulted. U.S. first-year base salary only. Performance and signing bonuses are separate.

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A CATCH-UP, NOT A WINDFALL

The raises come with a caveat. U.S. prices are up about 13% since the last MBB increase in August 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures Management Consulted cites. That’s more than any of the new increases, which means starting pay remains below 2022 levels in real terms.

Mian sees the raise as modest by historical standards. From 2012 to 2022, he says, MBB starting base grew an average of roughly 3.5% to 5% a year. Spread over the four years since the last raise, the new increase works out to about 1% to 2% a year.

“This is consistent with our forecast,” Mian says, noting that Management Consulted’s 2026 report predicted muted salary growth at best for 2027. The new figures, he adds, are “below inflation and muted by any historical measure.”

So why move now? According to Mian, the firms are more confident in demand over the next one to two years.

COMPETING FOR THE SAME TALENT

Strong demand for consulting services is part of the story. But Management Consulted sees competition for the same candidates as the bigger driver – and it’s coming from inside and outside the industry.

For one, big tech is hiring again after two years of layoffs. Top tech companies were hiring about 20% more software engineers in May 2026 than a year earlier, according to The Pragmatic Engineer, which Management Consulted cites. For another, consulting firms face a newer rival: AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, which recruit the same top talent MBB wants and can dangle pre-IPO equity that no base salary can easily match.

That competition is already costing MBB candidates. “We’ve seen candidates turn down MBB offers for big tech roles,” Mian says.

Consulting firms are also competing with each other. When Tier 2 firms, the Big 4, and boutiques all have work to staff, Management Consulted says, they chase the same candidates – and the top of the market has to stay ahead. The firm calls the raise one more sign that the industry is growing.

THE TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT

The raise also carries long-term costs. Base pay is a permanent expense that compounds through every promotion, so the firms are betting that demand will hold, according to Management Consulted.

The pressure works inside firms too. Raising entry pay squeezes the levels above it, Management Consulted notes. That means 2027 hires will start closer to what current second-years earn – though MBB’s “up-or-out” model may limit how long that tension lasts.

FIRMS PLACING GREATER EMPHASIS ON PRE-MBA HIRES

Beyond the headline numbers, the bigger story may be the growing rewards for pre-MBA hires. Management Consulted ties this to a long-term trend.

“Every firm added roughly the same dollars at both levels, which means pre-MBA hires got the bigger percentage bump,” the report reads. “That fits a shift we’ve tracked for several years: leaner project teams, more AI-assisted delivery, and a heavier reliance on pre-MBA hires over more expensive MBA talent. If your staffing model leans on early-career consultants, the best of them become worth paying for.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean MBB is hiring fewer MBAs, Mian says. Instead, the hiring growth Management Consulted sees is weighted more toward undergraduate hires. “The MBA is still a viable pathway into consulting,” he says. But by his estimate, more than 60% of MBB hires now come from outside the MBA pathway, including undergraduates, PhDs, and lateral hires.

WHO MOVES NEXT

The rest of the market now has to respond. Tier 2 strategy firms, the Big 4, and boutiques are setting their own 2027 offers – and they will be measured against the new MBB figures.

Mian expects Tier 2 strategy firms and boutiques to move faster than the Big 4. Tier 2 firms may not match MBB outright, he says, “but they’ll raise pay to keep the gap where it was.”

The boutiques may move fastest of all. “Some boutiques already match MBB on salary,” Mian says, “and I expect them to move quickly to keep that parity.”

See the full Management Consulted report here.

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