Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of project manager salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest project manager salary of $101,635
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Montana has the lowest project manager salary of $68,280
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The national average salary for project managers is $91,578
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The national hourly pay for project managers is $44.03
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 project 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 project 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 project managers after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for project manager salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Project Managers By State
| Rank | State | Average Project Manager Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $101,635 | $69,000 | $147,000 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $99,738 | $72,000 | $137,000 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $98,945 | $71,000 | $136,000 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $98,736 | $71,000 | $136,000 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $97,987 | $71,000 | $134,000 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | $96,456 | $70,000 | $132,000 |
| 7 | New York | $95,094 | $68,000 | $131,000 |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | $93,570 | $67,000 | $129,000 |
| 9 | Delaware | $93,202 | $67,000 | $128,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $93,166 | $67,000 | $128,000 |
| 11 | Maryland | $92,295 | $66,000 | $127,000 |
| 12 | Washington | $91,396 | $64,000 | $129,000 |
| 13 | Virginia | $91,100 | $66,000 | $125,000 |
| 14 | Arizona | $88,366 | $61,000 | $126,000 |
| 15 | Maine | $88,274 | $64,000 | $121,000 |
| 16 | Hawaii | $87,699 | $69,000 | $110,000 |
| 17 | North Carolina | $87,011 | $63,000 | $119,000 |
| 18 | Nevada | $86,874 | $59,000 | $126,000 |
| 19 | Texas | $86,018 | $60,000 | $122,000 |
| 20 | Oregon | $84,210 | $59,000 | $119,000 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $83,728 | $60,000 | $115,000 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $83,718 | $58,000 | $119,000 |
| 23 | Michigan | $83,110 | $60,000 | $114,000 |
| 24 | Georgia | $82,855 | $59,000 | $114,000 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $81,802 | $59,000 | $111,000 |
| 26 | Ohio | $81,394 | $59,000 | $112,000 |
| 27 | Louisiana | $79,292 | $55,000 | $113,000 |
| 28 | Iowa | $79,068 | $57,000 | $108,000 |
| 29 | Alaska | $78,827 | $60,000 | $102,000 |
| 30 | Kentucky | $78,446 | $57,000 | $107,000 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $78,423 | $57,000 | $107,000 |
| 32 | Indiana | $78,333 | $57,000 | $107,000 |
| 33 | Kansas | $78,236 | $56,000 | $108,000 |
| 34 | Illinois | $78,128 | $56,000 | $107,000 |
| 35 | Utah | $77,999 | $54,000 | $111,000 |
| 36 | Colorado | $77,891 | $55,000 | $109,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $77,751 | $56,000 | $107,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $77,627 | $54,000 | $110,000 |
| 39 | Missouri | $77,452 | $56,000 | $106,000 |
| 40 | Alabama | $76,769 | $55,000 | $107,000 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $76,102 | $55,000 | $105,000 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $75,486 | $54,000 | $104,000 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $75,061 | $53,000 | $104,000 |
| 44 | North Dakota | $75,017 | $54,000 | $102,000 |
| 45 | Idaho | $73,707 | $51,000 | $104,000 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $72,571 | $51,000 | $101,000 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $72,090 | $51,000 | $100,000 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $71,946 | $52,000 | $99,000 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $70,864 | $51,000 | $98,000 |
| 50 | Montana | $68,280 | $48,000 | $95,000 |
Methodology: Project Manager Salary By State
To better understand project 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 project managers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for project managers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for project managers.
Project Manager Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for project managers?
The highest-paid state for project managers is California with an average salary of $101,635 per year.
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What city pays project managers the most?
San Francisco, CA pays project managers the most with an average salary of $108,794 per year.
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What is the worst state for project managers?
The worst state for project managers is Montana with an average salary of $68,280 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.
