How Much Do MBB Consultants Make in 2026?
A consultant hired out of undergrad at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain in the US earns a base salary of $110,000 to $112,000 in 2026, and can make up to roughly $135,000 to $140,000 in the first year with the full performance bonus and the signing bonus. Starting in January 2027, McKinsey and Bain are raising that base to $120,000, according to StrategyCase. These figures come from salary trackers, mainly Management Consulted's 2026 salary report, which is built from written offers its clients received and from firm representatives.
I'm Stephen Turban, founder of WSG and a McKinsey & Company and Harvard alum. I went through McKinsey's on-cycle recruiting myself, and I've since guided dozens of students through it.
For a closer look at one firm's pay bands, the McKinsey breakdown from Business Analyst to Partner is here. If these numbers make MBB your target, the playbook for actually getting an offer is here.
How an MBB Offer Is Structured
An MBB offer has five parts: a base salary, a yearly performance bonus paid up to a cap, a one-time signing bonus, relocation money, and a retirement contribution from the firm.
Base salary: This is the fixed part of your pay, and it arrives in regular paychecks. It's relatively flat across a firm's offices within a country, so the US office you join doesn't change your starting base much. There's also little room to negotiate it as a new graduate; Management Consulted says there's "often little room for salary negotiation unless you are an experienced hire."
Performance bonus: This is paid once a year based on your review, and the offer states it as a ceiling, such as up to $18,000 at McKinsey. That's why a total that counts the full bonus is a best case. At Bain, where Management Consulted lists a $15,000 target against the $22,500 cap, Hacking the Case Interview says top performers can earn close to the maximum and average performers typically receive about 50 to 70 percent of it.
Signing bonus: This is a one-time payment, the same at all three firms for undergraduate hires. Hacking the Case Interview notes that signing bonuses normally come with a clawback, meaning you pay the money back if you leave early, so look for the repayment terms in your offer letter.
Relocation and housing: These cover the move to your office, and the amount depends on the firm and how far you're moving. If you already live in the office's city, you're sometimes offered a smaller payment, about $2,000, or none.
Retirement contribution: Each firm puts money into your 401(k), a US retirement savings account, on top of your pay. At Bain, you don't have to put in anything yourself to get it. Hacking the Case Interview, citing Glassdoor data, says it also vests immediately, so it's yours to keep from the day it's deposited. None of this shows up in your paycheck, so it's easy to overlook when you compare two offers.
Which MBB Firm Pays the Most?
Bain pays the most cash in a year with the full bonus, while McKinsey puts the most into your retirement account, and the three offers end up within a few thousand dollars of each other. Each firm has its own name for the role: McKinsey hires undergraduates as Business Analysts, BCG as Associates, and Bain as Associate Consultants.
Offer line | McKinsey Business Analyst | BCG Associate | Bain Associate Consultant |
Base salary | $112,000 | $110,000 | $112,000 |
Performance bonus | Up to $18,000 | Up to $22,000 | Up to $22,500 (target $15,000) |
Signing bonus | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
Relocation | Up to $10,000 | Up to $6,000 (500+ miles) | Up to $5,000 ($10,000 for New York) |
Housing allowance | Up to $5,000 (some offices) | Not listed | Up to $5,000 |
Retirement | 7.5% of qualifying pay | Profit sharing up to $4,400 | 4.5% of base and bonus, up to $6,050 |
Paid time off | 19 days | 15 days | 20 days |
Source: Management Consulted, 2026 consulting salary report (US undergraduate and master's hires).
With the full bonus, Bain comes out slightly ahead, and the three offers end within a few thousand dollars of each other.
Hacking the Case Interview's first-year totals, which leave the retirement contribution out, put Bain ahead at roughly $139,000 against roughly $135,000 at McKinsey. The retirement line narrows that gap: on the $112,000 base alone, McKinsey's 7.5 percent comes to $8,400, more than Bain's $6,050 maximum or BCG's $4,400.
Is MBB Pay Going Up in 2027?
StrategyCase reported in August 2026 that McKinsey is raising its US undergraduate base from $112,000 to $120,000 effective January 2027 and that Bain has matched, though it reads the change as moving pay from bonus into base with total pay about the same. According to StrategyCase, the raise covers summer interns and candidates who had already signed, and BCG has told offer holders that revised letters are coming. Management Consulted and Hacking the Case Interview still list the 2026 bases, which are right for 2026 offers.
If StrategyCase is right, more of your first-year pay would be fixed in your base, and less would depend on your review. Total pay would stay about the same, which fits Management Consulted's forecast of "muted compensation growth at best in the next recruiting cycle." If you hold an offer for 2027 at the 2026 base, ask your recruiter whether your letter will be revised.
How MBB Pay Grows From Analyst to Partner
The biggest early jump comes at the post-MBA level, where the base rises to $190,000 to $192,000, and at partner a large part of pay comes from a share of the firm's profits.
Level | McKinsey | BCG | Bain |
Entry (undergraduate hire) | Business Analyst: about $135,000 | Associate: $130,000 to $135,000 | Associate Consultant: about $139,000 |
Post-MBA | Associate: $262,000 to $267,000 | Consultant: $210,000 to $230,000 | Consultant: up to $285,000 |
Manager | Engagement Manager: $280,000 to $350,000 | Project Leader: more than $280,000 | Manager: $300,000 to $350,000 |
Junior partner | Associate Partner: $400,000 to $600,000 | Principal: $400,000 or more | Associate Partner: $375,000 to $500,000 |
Partner | $700,000 to $1.5 million | From about $500,000 to more than $1 million | From about $700,000 to more than $1.5 million |
Source: Hacking the Case Interview's McKinsey salary, BCG career levels, and Bain salary pages, 2026. Figures are total pay.
In the post-MBA row, the base is within $2,000 at all three firms: Management Consulted lists $192,000 at McKinsey and Bain and $190,000 at BCG. McKinsey's and Bain's totals in the table count the full bonus and a $30,000 signing bonus, so the gap between them comes from the bonus cap, which Management Consulted puts at $40,000 at McKinsey and $63,000 at Bain. BCG's range comes from Hacking the Case Interview's BCG career levels page, which doesn't break it down. That range runs lower than BCG's $47,500 cap would suggest.
Promotion timing: At McKinsey, top Business Analysts are promoted to Senior Business Analyst after about two years, at a base of $130,000 to $145,000, and most Business Analysts spend two to three years in the role before reaching the post-MBA level. At Bain, strong Associate Consultants move up to Senior Associate Consultant about a year in, and the path from entry level to partner typically takes 10 to 12 years. At BCG, each level from Associate through Principal takes roughly two to three years.
Getting to the post-MBA level: Inside the firm, there are two routes. The first is promotion without the degree. At McKinsey, some standout Business Analysts are promoted to Associate without an MBA after strong performance reviews. At Bain, Hacking the Case Interview's Bain career levels page says top-performing Senior Associate Consultants are promoted straight to Consultant, some in under two years. The second is sponsorship, where the firm pays for business school in exchange for your return. StrategyCase's sponsorship page says all three firms cover full tuition plus partial living stipends for high-performing consultants, with a return commitment of typically two years and a prorated clawback with interest if you leave early. The firms don't publish these terms, so check them with people at the firm.
Raises and bonus share: Pay also rises between promotions. Management Consulted says you can typically expect a 10 to 20 percent increase in base pay, bonus, or both each year at top firms, and Hacking the Case Interview says a high performer's salary at McKinsey typically grows about 20 percent a year in the Business Analyst years. The bonus also becomes a bigger share of pay as you move up. StrategyCase puts the target bonus at about 25 percent of base after the MBA, 25 to 30 percent for managers, and 35 to 55 percent for associate partners and principals. At partner, base plus bonus gives way to profit sharing.
How MBB Pay Compares With Investment Banking
Investment banking analysts at large banks in New York earn $165,000 to $225,000 in base and bonus before their usual promotion after two years, according to Mergers & Inquisitions, against $130,000 to $134,500 in base and full bonus for a first-year MBB consultant. Banking analysts' base salaries of $100,000 to $125,000 are close to MBB's, so most of the extra pay in banking comes from the bonus. Mergers & Inquisitions puts the rarer third-year analyst at $200,000 to $270,000, against $160,000 to $180,000 for a McKinsey Senior Business Analyst in Hacking the Case Interview's estimate.
Sources: Mergers & Inquisitions' salary report, which gives one range for the analyst years without splitting it by year, for New York front-office roles from the 25th to the 75th percentile, based on 2025 bonuses and without signing bonuses; the MBB figures come from the offer table above.
Banking's range sits above MBB's both in the analyst years and in the third year.
How MBB Pay Compares With Other Strategy Firms
Other strategy firms pay undergraduate hires a base of $95,000 to $110,000 in 2026, against $110,000 to $112,000 at MBB, and most of them pay a larger signing bonus.
Firm | Base | Performance bonus | Signing bonus | Post-MBA base |
McKinsey, BCG, Bain | $110,000 to $112,000 | Up to $18,000 to $22,500 | $5,000 | $190,000 to $192,000 |
Oliver Wyman | $110,000 | Up to $18,700 | $10,000 | $190,000 |
Accenture Strategy | $105,000 | Up to $30,000 | $12,500 | $175,000 |
Kearney | $100,000 | Up to $15,000, plus profit sharing up to $8,500 | $10,000 | $188,000 |
Strategy& | $100,000 | Up to $27,000 | $5,000 | $190,000 |
EY-Parthenon | $100,000 | Up to $22,000 | $8,000 | $175,000 |
Deloitte Consulting Services (formerly S&A) | $100,000 | None until after year three | $12,500 | $175,000 |
L.E.K. Consulting | $95,000 | Up to $3,000, plus profit sharing up to $19,000 | $10,000 | $185,000 |
Source: Management Consulted, 2026 consulting salary report (US undergraduate and master's hires). Deloitte Consulting's main analyst track is listed separately, at $84,000 to $95,000.
After the MBA, Strategy&, Kearney, and L.E.K. come closer to MBB's base, Oliver Wyman stays level with BCG, and Accenture Strategy, EY-Parthenon, and Deloitte Consulting Services fall further behind.
Accenture Strategy and Strategy& pay a lower base than MBB but have higher bonus caps than any MBB firm.
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