Facilities Manager
Facilities Manager scores 38/100 on this site's structural exposure measure — a task-content score dragged down by how much of the administrative side of the job (scheduling, budget tracking, vendor paperwork, compliance-log documentation) already overlaps with what AI-powered building-management software handles well; the facility-tech industry itself markets predictive-maintenance AI, automated work-order routing, and compliance-scheduling tools that are genuinely reducing this role's administrative workload today.
We have not ingested real-world usage data for this occupation yet. We show a band only where genuine data exists, rather than estimate one.
What a facilities manager actually does
A facilities manager is responsible for the physical operation of one or more buildings — the mechanical, electrical, and life-safety systems that have to keep working every day regardless of what else is happening in the organization. The job splits roughly into three streams: day-to-day building operations (HVAC, plumbing, elevators, security systems, cleaning contracts), capital projects (renovations, tenant build-outs, roof replacements, major equipment swaps), and compliance (fire alarm testing, elevator certification, ADA accessibility, OSHA workplace safety).
A facilities manager walks the building regularly rather than only reviewing a dashboard remotely, because leaks, HVAC failures, and life-safety violations show up as physical problems that need a person on-site to diagnose and direct a response to. They also sit at the center of a web of outside contractors — HVAC technicians, electricians, elevator inspectors, janitorial crews, landscapers — negotiating and managing service contracts and making the judgment call about which vendor gets called for what.
In many organizations, the facilities manager is also formally designated the building's fire-safety 'responsible person' or safety officer, a role that carries direct personal liability if life-safety systems fail an inspection or an emergency response goes wrong.
Why it reads this way
Facilities Manager scores 38/100 on this site's structural exposure measure — a task-content score dragged down by how much of the administrative side of the job (scheduling, budget tracking, vendor paperwork, compliance-log documentation) already overlaps with what AI-powered building-management software handles well; the facility-tech industry itself markets predictive-maintenance AI, automated work-order routing, and compliance-scheduling tools that are genuinely reducing this role's administrative workload today.
What the numeric score misses is the physical side: a facilities manager has to walk the building, not just review a dashboard, because a leak, an HVAC failure, or a life-safety violation shows up as a physical problem someone has to diagnose and direct a response to in person.
In many jurisdictions the role also carries a real, individually-certified legal duty — New York City, for example, requires a Fire and Life Safety Director holding an FDNY F-89 Certificate of Fitness to be physically present on-site during business hours in every high-rise office building and hotel, a requirement tied to a specific certified person rather than a system.
That certification requirement is jurisdiction-specific rather than a uniform national license, so it's a real but narrower wall than a Professional Land Surveyor's state-mandated signature — disclosed honestly rather than oversold. Combined with steady, near-average demand (roughly 13,200 openings projected annually against about 151,400 people currently employed in the role), the physical-presence requirement and certified safety duty keep this role's core work with a human even as the paperwork side automates.
Skills this role draws on
We don't yet have task-by-task time-share data for this occupation, so we can't show which specific tasks carry the exposure score above. This is the real skill set instead.
Typical salary range (USD)
$64,480–$176,120
Average: $106,660/yr
Range source: BLS OEWS wage data via O*NET OnLine (2025 release), SOC 11-3013.00 'Facilities Managers'
Average source: BLS OEWS wage data for Facilities Managers (11-3013.00) via O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage)
Related careers
Head-to-head comparisons
Facilities Manager scores 38/100 — a task-content score reflecting how much of the administrative and compliance-tracking side of the job already overlaps with AI-powered building-management software (predictive maintenance, automated work-order routing, and compliance scheduling are genuinely deployed today). What the numeric score misses: the role requires physical, on-site diagnosis of building problems (leaks, HVAC failures, life-safety issues), and in many jurisdictions a specific certified individual — for example, an FDNY F-89 Fire and Life Safety Director in New York City high-rises — must be physically present on-site during business hours, a requirement tied to a certified person rather than a system. That certification wall is real but jurisdiction-specific rather than a uniform national license, and a search for named AI-driven facilities-manager headcount cuts specifically came up empty, as of 2026-08-13.
This is a researched judgment (checklist v1.2), not a statistical measurement — it sits alongside, not instead of, the structural exposure signal above. Next scheduled review: 2027-02-13.
Sources (6)
- https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3013.00
- https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/11-3013.00
- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/administrative-services-managers.htm
- https://nyc-business.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/description/certificate-of-fitness-for-fire-life-and-safety-director-f89t89
- https://home.nyc.gov/site/fdny/business/all-certifications/cof-f89.page
- https://facilio.com/blog/ai-in-facilities-management/
Data sources & methodology
Salary data: BLS OEWS wage data via O*NET OnLine (2025 release), SOC 11-3013.00 'Facilities Managers'. Min/max figures represent the 10th–90th percentile annual wage range across the United States. Average figure sourced separately: BLS OEWS wage data for Facilities Managers (11-3013.00) via O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage).
Automation Risk Score: Based on O*NET occupational analysis (11-3013.00) evaluating task complexity, physical requirements, social intelligence, and environmental variability. Methodology based on research from Frey & Osborne (Oxford, 2017).
Growth projections: 3-4% (2024-2034), about as fast as the average for all occupations, with roughly 13,200 projected annual openings against current employment of about 151,400 (O*NET OnLine / BLS Employment Projections), based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.