The Role of a Community Manager
Community managers are professionals who oversee the daily operations of community associations. Their work combines financial management, urban planning, facility maintenance, community development, volunteer coordination, and project management.
An Evolving and Expanding Profession
One of the most compelling aspects of community management is its resilience. Community management is a young and rapidly growing field. In 1970, about 10,000 community associations existed in the United States. By 2024, that number had increased to more than 369,000, representing homes for 77 million residents. For professionals seeking untapped opportunities with strong income potential, career mobility, and long-term stability, community management may be the right path. Housing demand and the continued growth of common interest communities make association management a largely recession-proof field. Demand for qualified community managers remains strong regardless of market conditions.
Many of the characteristics that make the community management profession unique dovetail quite well with qualities younger generations of employees are looking for: flexibility, diverse responsibilities, job security, good pay, advancement opportunities, collaborative environment, and work-life balance. Increasingly relevant is the ability to get all that without a college diploma and its associated loan burden.
A Welcoming Career
Most community managers come from diverse professional backgrounds, making community management an ideal career path for adaptable, multi-skilled professionals from a variety of circumstances. Professionals with strong organizational skills and people management experience often transition successfully. Many states require licensure or certification, and credentials through CAI can enhance credibility and earning potential.
Find Your New Job
Community managers are typically hired by community association management companies, homeowners associations, condominium associations, master-planned communities, and commercial associations. Many find opportunities through CAI, which offers career resources, networking events, regional chapters, and professional credentialing pathways. Others enter the field via industry job boards or by starting in adjacent positions in property management or community operations and advancing into management roles.
Community Association Manager Handbook
Get your very own copy of our new Community Association Manager Handbook. It covers everything from community association basics and working with volunteer leaders and business partners to finances, reserves, insurance, maintenance, and more.