Best states for a project leader

Q: What is the best state for project leaders?

The best state to be a project leader is California based on project leader salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for project leaders?

The highest paying state for project leaders is Mississippi based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for project leaders?

The worst state for project leaders is Mississippi, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

Quoted expert

Elisa Chan

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Are you wondering which place in the United States is the best state for project leaders? Knowing how challenging it is to figure out where to start your career or where to move to advance your career, we decided to bring you a list of best states for project leader jobs.Our research found that California is the best state for project leaders, while California and New York are ranked highest in terms of median salary. California has a median salary of $114,108 and California has the highest median salary among all 50 states for project leaders.

In order to get you the best states for project leaders, we looked at our data on jobs and wages -- specifically the average annual wage and the number of available jobs per capita.If you are currently seeking employment as a project leader, you can find open job positions using Zippia's search tools.

10 best states for project leaders in 2025

1. California
Total project leader jobs: 6,739
Average annual salary: $114,108
Lowest 10 percent earn: $79,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $164,000
Location Quotient:
1.15
Project leader jobs in California
2. Nevada
Total project leader jobs: 462
Average annual salary: $103,884
Lowest 10 percent earn: $72,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $148,000
Location Quotient:
1.1
Project leader jobs in Nevada
3. New Hampshire
Total project leader jobs: 359
Average annual salary: $104,540
Lowest 10 percent earn: $76,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $143,000
Location Quotient:
1.03
Project leader jobs in New Hampshire
4. New York
Total project leader jobs: 2,502
Average annual salary: $107,999
Lowest 10 percent earn: $78,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $148,000
Location Quotient:
0.97
Project leader jobs in New York
5. Washington
Total project leader jobs: 2,837
Average annual salary: $99,563
Lowest 10 percent earn: $70,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $140,000
Location Quotient:
1.94
Project leader jobs in Washington
6. North Dakota
Total project leader jobs: 306
Average annual salary: $94,663
Lowest 10 percent earn: $71,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $124,000
Location Quotient:
1.64
Project leader jobs in North Dakota
7. New Jersey
Total project leader jobs: 1,637
Average annual salary: $103,248
Lowest 10 percent earn: $75,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $142,000
Location Quotient:
1.03
Project leader jobs in New Jersey
8. District of Columbia
Total project leader jobs: 810
Average annual salary: $104,801
Lowest 10 percent earn: $76,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $143,000
Location Quotient:
2.41
Project leader jobs in District of Columbia
9. Massachusetts
Total project leader jobs: 3,030
Average annual salary: $98,555
Lowest 10 percent earn: $71,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $135,000
Location Quotient:
1.65
Project leader jobs in Massachusetts
10. New Mexico
Total project leader jobs: 375
Average annual salary: $99,896
Lowest 10 percent earn: $72,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $137,000
Location Quotient:
0.96
Project leader jobs in New Mexico

Project leader jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a project leader

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a project leader

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	California	$114,108	$79,000	39,536,653	6,739
2	Nevada	$103,884	$72,000	2,998,039	462
3	New Hampshire	$104,540	$76,000	1,342,795	359
4	New York	$107,999	$78,000	19,849,399	2,502
5	Washington	$99,563	$70,000	7,405,743	2,837
6	North Dakota	$94,663	$71,000	755,393	306
7	New Jersey	$103,248	$75,000	9,005,644	1,637
8	District of Columbia	$104,801	$76,000	693,972	810
9	Massachusetts	$98,555	$71,000	6,859,819	3,030
10	New Mexico	$99,896	$72,000	2,088,070	375
11	Rhode Island	$94,205	$68,000	1,059,639	346
12	Oregon	$96,543	$68,000	4,142,776	952
13	Idaho	$96,875	$69,000	1,716,943	311
14	Virginia	$96,614	$70,000	8,470,020	2,195
15	Connecticut	$100,087	$72,000	3,588,184	588
16	West Virginia	$101,212	$74,000	1,815,857	188
17	Maryland	$101,137	$73,000	6,052,177	1,279
18	Delaware	$97,672	$71,000	961,939	227
19	Montana	$87,775	$64,000	1,050,493	335
20	Michigan	$88,537	$65,000	9,962,311	1,445
21	Arizona	$92,460	$66,000	7,016,270	1,027
22	Pennsylvania	$92,053	$67,000	12,805,537	1,874
23	South Dakota	$82,263	$61,000	869,666	241
24	North Carolina	$85,051	$62,000	10,273,419	1,844
25	Ohio	$82,578	$60,000	11,658,609	2,072
26	Nebraska	$81,661	$61,000	1,920,076	668
27	Wisconsin	$83,131	$62,000	5,795,483	1,087
28	Texas	$87,238	$62,000	28,304,596	3,459
29	Illinois	$85,380	$63,000	12,802,023	2,280
30	Minnesota	$82,293	$61,000	5,576,606	1,491
31	Maine	$84,786	$62,000	1,335,907	214
32	Iowa	$81,803	$61,000	3,145,711	567
33	Indiana	$80,793	$60,000	6,666,818	1,114
34	Hawaii	$80,273	$62,000	1,427,538	170
35	Utah	$79,371	$57,000	3,101,833	575
36	Arkansas	$79,246	$59,000	3,004,279	434
37	South Carolina	$80,811	$59,000	5,024,369	631
38	Missouri	$76,623	$57,000	6,113,532	1,181
39	Kansas	$76,811	$57,000	2,913,123	565
40	Tennessee	$76,705	$57,000	6,715,984	991
41	Alaska	$74,501	$56,000	739,795	221
42	Vermont	$78,664	$57,000	623,657	136
43	Georgia	$78,630	$57,000	10,429,379	1,763
44	Wyoming	$71,384	$52,000	579,315	136
45	Kentucky	$77,101	$57,000	4,454,189	549
46	Oklahoma	$76,931	$57,000	3,930,864	391
47	Colorado	$78,832	$58,000	5,607,154	921
48	Florida	$76,602	$52,000	20,984,400	2,390
49	Louisiana	$77,131	$54,000	4,684,333	442
50	Alabama	$75,205	$55,000	4,874,747	599
51	Mississippi	$70,736	$51,000	2,984,100	224

Highest paying states for project leaders

Rank	State	Avg. Project Leader Salary
1	California	$114,108
2	Nevada	$103,884
3	New Hampshire	$104,540
4	New York	$107,999
5	Washington	$99,563
6	North Dakota	$94,663
7	New Jersey	$103,248
8	District of Columbia	$104,801
9	Massachusetts	$98,555
10	New Mexico	$99,896
11	Rhode Island	$94,205
12	Oregon	$96,543
13	Idaho	$96,875
14	Virginia	$96,614
15	Connecticut	$100,087
16	West Virginia	$101,212
17	Maryland	$101,137
18	Delaware	$97,672
19	Montana	$87,775
20	Michigan	$88,537
21	Arizona	$92,460
22	Pennsylvania	$92,053
23	South Dakota	$82,263
24	North Carolina	$85,051
25	Ohio	$82,578
26	Nebraska	$81,661
27	Wisconsin	$83,131
28	Texas	$87,238
29	Illinois	$85,380
30	Minnesota	$82,293
31	Maine	$84,786
32	Iowa	$81,803
33	Indiana	$80,793
34	Hawaii	$80,273
35	Utah	$79,371
36	Arkansas	$79,246
37	South Carolina	$80,811
38	Missouri	$76,623
39	Kansas	$76,811
40	Tennessee	$76,705
41	Alaska	$74,501
42	Vermont	$78,664
43	Georgia	$78,630
44	Wyoming	$71,384
45	Kentucky	$77,101
46	Oklahoma	$76,931
47	Colorado	$78,832
48	Florida	$76,602
49	Louisiana	$77,131
50	Alabama	$75,205
51	Mississippi	$70,736

Expert opinions on the best states for project leaders

Are there any particularly good places in the United States for project leaders to find work opportunities?
Elisa Chan
Assistant Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of Technology
Companies, big or small, will be looking for talents in e-commerce and digital marketing. But I think that there could be more demand from small/medium-sized companies looking for help in these areas.

Project leader best states FAQs

What is the best state for project leaders?

What is the highest paying state for project leaders?

What is the worst state for project leaders?

Have more questions? See all answers to common computer and mathematical questions.

Search for project leader jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs

Total project leader jobs:	6,739
Average annual salary:	$114,108
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$79,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$164,000
Location Quotient:	1.15

Best states for a project leader

10 best states for project leaders in 2025

1. California

2. Nevada

3. New Hampshire

4. New York

5. Washington

6. North Dakota

7. New Jersey

8. District of Columbia

9. Massachusetts

10. New Mexico