Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of program manager salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest program manager salary of $103,085
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Oklahoma has the lowest program manager salary of $66,207
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The national average salary for program managers is $96,084
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The national hourly pay for program managers is $46.19
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do program managers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for program manager by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for program managers after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for program manager salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Program Managers By State
| Rank | State | Average Program Manager Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $103,085 | $63,000 | $166,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $95,411 | $64,000 | $142,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $93,447 | $58,000 | $148,000 |
| 4 | New York | $91,607 | $61,000 | $136,000 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $91,487 | $61,000 | $135,000 |
| 6 | Delaware | $90,560 | $60,000 | $135,000 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $89,423 | $69,000 | $114,000 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $88,721 | $60,000 | $130,000 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $88,464 | $59,000 | $131,000 |
| 10 | West Virginia | $87,949 | $57,000 | $133,000 |
| 11 | Virginia | $87,018 | $57,000 | $131,000 |
| 12 | Michigan | $87,011 | $57,000 | $131,000 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $85,419 | $55,000 | $132,000 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $84,665 | $56,000 | $126,000 |
| 15 | Arizona | $84,324 | $51,000 | $137,000 |
| 16 | Illinois | $83,360 | $54,000 | $127,000 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $81,800 | $55,000 | $120,000 |
| 18 | Kentucky | $80,736 | $51,000 | $125,000 |
| 19 | Maryland | $80,640 | $53,000 | $121,000 |
| 20 | Ohio | $80,603 | $53,000 | $122,000 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $80,114 | $51,000 | $123,000 |
| 22 | Indiana | $79,869 | $52,000 | $122,000 |
| 23 | Oregon | $79,004 | $49,000 | $125,000 |
| 24 | Georgia | $78,603 | $48,000 | $126,000 |
| 25 | Vermont | $77,756 | $52,000 | $114,000 |
| 26 | Texas | $77,410 | $46,000 | $128,000 |
| 27 | Nevada | $77,285 | $47,000 | $125,000 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | $76,730 | $50,000 | $116,000 |
| 29 | Minnesota | $76,038 | $49,000 | $116,000 |
| 30 | Tennessee | $75,750 | $47,000 | $120,000 |
| 31 | Maine | $74,664 | $50,000 | $109,000 |
| 32 | Alaska | $74,400 | $51,000 | $108,000 |
| 33 | Missouri | $73,602 | $46,000 | $115,000 |
| 34 | Iowa | $73,532 | $47,000 | $114,000 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $73,243 | $44,000 | $119,000 |
| 36 | Louisiana | $72,719 | $43,000 | $120,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $72,533 | $45,000 | $114,000 |
| 38 | Alabama | $72,494 | $44,000 | $117,000 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $72,379 | $46,000 | $112,000 |
| 40 | Mississippi | $71,273 | $43,000 | $116,000 |
| 41 | Florida | $70,731 | $42,000 | $116,000 |
| 42 | Idaho | $69,694 | $43,000 | $110,000 |
| 43 | Montana | $69,608 | $44,000 | $108,000 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $68,764 | $43,000 | $107,000 |
| 45 | Colorado | $68,050 | $42,000 | $108,000 |
| 46 | Kansas | $67,607 | $42,000 | $107,000 |
| 47 | Arkansas | $67,108 | $41,000 | $108,000 |
| 48 | Utah | $67,064 | $41,000 | $107,000 |
| 49 | Wyoming | $66,339 | $42,000 | $104,000 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $66,207 | $41,000 | $106,000 |
Methodology: Program Manager Salary By State
To better understand program manager pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for program managers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for program managers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for program managers.
Program Manager Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for program managers?
The highest-paid state for program managers is California with an average salary of $103,085 per year.
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What city pays program managers the most?
San Francisco, CA pays program managers the most with an average salary of $110,079 per year.
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What is the worst state for program managers?
The worst state for program managers is Oklahoma with an average salary of $66,207 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
