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Best states for a project manager
Quoted expert
Lisa Noble
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We decided to bring you a list of the best states for jobs for project managers in the United States. Project manager positions are available in every state, but not all states are the same. Some states do not offer the same wages, benefits, time off, etc for project managers.Our research found that Massachusetts is the best state for project managers, while California and Massachusetts are ranked highest in terms of median salary. Massachusetts has a median salary of $99,738 and California has the highest median salary among all 50 states for project managers.
To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for project managers. Massachusetts is the best state for project managers, where the median salary is $99,738.Massachusetts is the best state, and Pacifica is the city with the highest pay for project managers.
10 best states for project managers in 2025
1. Massachusetts
Total project manager jobs: 1,794 Average annual salary: $99,738 Lowest 10 percent earn: $72,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $137,000 Location Quotient: 1.162. Rhode Island
Total project manager jobs: 211 Average annual salary: $97,987 Lowest 10 percent earn: $71,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $134,000 Location Quotient: 1.033. New Jersey
Total project manager jobs: 1,366 Average annual salary: $98,945 Lowest 10 percent earn: $71,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $136,000 Location Quotient: 1.034. California
Total project manager jobs: 5,898 Average annual salary: $101,635 Lowest 10 percent earn: $69,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $147,000 Location Quotient: 1.25. New Hampshire
Total project manager jobs: 277 Average annual salary: $96,456 Lowest 10 percent earn: $70,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $132,000 Location Quotient: 0.946. Connecticut
Total project manager jobs: 470 Average annual salary: $98,736 Lowest 10 percent earn: $71,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $136,000 Location Quotient: 0.857. Washington
Total project manager jobs: 2,012 Average annual salary: $91,396 Lowest 10 percent earn: $64,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $129,000 Location Quotient: 1.648. New York
Total project manager jobs: 2,245 Average annual salary: $95,094 Lowest 10 percent earn: $68,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $131,000 Location Quotient: 1.049. Pennsylvania
Total project manager jobs: 1,691 Average annual salary: $93,570 Lowest 10 percent earn: $67,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $129,000 Location Quotient: 0.8710. Vermont
Total project manager jobs: 116 Average annual salary: $93,166 Lowest 10 percent earn: $67,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $128,000 Location Quotient: 0.9
Project manager jobsNear Columbus, OH
How Zippia determines the best states to be a project manager
You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.
Detailed list of the best states for a project manager
| Rank | State | Average salary | Lowest 10% earn | Population | Job count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $99,738 | $72,000 | 6,859,819 | 1,794 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $97,987 | $71,000 | 1,059,639 | 211 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $98,945 | $71,000 | 9,005,644 | 1,366 |
| 4 | California | $101,635 | $69,000 | 39,536,653 | 5,898 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | $96,456 | $70,000 | 1,342,795 | 277 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $98,736 | $71,000 | 3,588,184 | 470 |
| 7 | Washington | $91,396 | $64,000 | 7,405,743 | 2,012 |
| 8 | New York | $95,094 | $68,000 | 19,849,399 | 2,245 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $93,570 | $67,000 | 12,805,537 | 1,691 |
| 10 | Vermont | $93,166 | $67,000 | 623,657 | 116 |
| 11 | Virginia | $91,100 | $66,000 | 8,470,020 | 2,110 |
| 12 | Texas | $86,018 | $60,000 | 28,304,596 | 3,887 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $95,094 | $68,000 | 693,972 | 639 |
| 14 | North Carolina | $87,011 | $63,000 | 10,273,419 | 1,585 |
| 15 | Delaware | $93,202 | $67,000 | 961,939 | 183 |
| 16 | Nevada | $86,874 | $59,000 | 2,998,039 | 337 |
| 17 | Maryland | $92,295 | $66,000 | 6,052,177 | 1,255 |
| 18 | Ohio | $81,394 | $59,000 | 11,658,609 | 1,717 |
| 19 | Arizona | $88,366 | $61,000 | 7,016,270 | 853 |
| 20 | Michigan | $83,110 | $60,000 | 9,962,311 | 1,191 |
| 21 | Maine | $88,274 | $64,000 | 1,335,907 | 177 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $83,718 | $58,000 | 2,088,070 | 329 |
| 23 | Oregon | $84,210 | $59,000 | 4,142,776 | 902 |
| 24 | Georgia | $82,855 | $59,000 | 10,429,379 | 1,754 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $81,802 | $59,000 | 5,576,606 | 1,159 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $83,728 | $60,000 | 1,815,857 | 136 |
| 27 | Hawaii | $87,699 | $69,000 | 1,427,538 | 141 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | $78,423 | $57,000 | 5,795,483 | 933 |
| 29 | Utah | $77,999 | $54,000 | 3,101,833 | 577 |
| 30 | Iowa | $79,068 | $57,000 | 3,145,711 | 454 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $76,102 | $55,000 | 6,715,984 | 919 |
| 32 | Indiana | $78,333 | $57,000 | 6,666,818 | 837 |
| 33 | Kentucky | $78,446 | $57,000 | 4,454,189 | 424 |
| 34 | Kansas | $78,236 | $56,000 | 2,913,123 | 420 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $75,017 | $54,000 | 755,393 | 150 |
| 36 | Illinois | $78,128 | $56,000 | 12,802,023 | 1,803 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $79,292 | $55,000 | 4,684,333 | 304 |
| 38 | Alaska | $78,827 | $60,000 | 739,795 | 122 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $77,751 | $56,000 | 5,024,369 | 559 |
| 40 | Alabama | $76,769 | $55,000 | 4,874,747 | 462 |
| 41 | Missouri | $77,452 | $56,000 | 6,113,532 | 849 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $75,486 | $54,000 | 1,920,076 | 340 |
| 43 | Florida | $77,627 | $54,000 | 20,984,400 | 2,112 |
| 44 | Colorado | $77,891 | $55,000 | 5,607,154 | 802 |
| 45 | Idaho | $73,707 | $51,000 | 1,716,943 | 259 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $75,061 | $53,000 | 3,930,864 | 311 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $72,090 | $51,000 | 579,315 | 82 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $71,946 | $52,000 | 869,666 | 108 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $70,864 | $51,000 | 3,004,279 | 313 |
| 50 | Montana | $68,280 | $48,000 | 1,050,493 | 166 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $72,571 | $51,000 | 2,984,100 | 173 |
Highest paying states for project managers
| Rank | State | Avg. Project Manager Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $99,738 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $97,987 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $98,945 |
| 4 | California | $101,635 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | $96,456 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $98,736 |
| 7 | Washington | $91,396 |
| 8 | New York | $95,094 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $93,570 |
| 10 | Vermont | $93,166 |
| 11 | Virginia | $91,100 |
| 12 | Texas | $86,018 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $95,094 |
| 14 | North Carolina | $87,011 |
| 15 | Delaware | $93,202 |
| 16 | Nevada | $86,874 |
| 17 | Maryland | $92,295 |
| 18 | Ohio | $81,394 |
| 19 | Arizona | $88,366 |
| 20 | Michigan | $83,110 |
| 21 | Maine | $88,274 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $83,718 |
| 23 | Oregon | $84,210 |
| 24 | Georgia | $82,855 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $81,802 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $83,728 |
| 27 | Hawaii | $87,699 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | $78,423 |
| 29 | Utah | $77,999 |
| 30 | Iowa | $79,068 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $76,102 |
| 32 | Indiana | $78,333 |
| 33 | Kentucky | $78,446 |
| 34 | Kansas | $78,236 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $75,017 |
| 36 | Illinois | $78,128 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $79,292 |
| 38 | Alaska | $78,827 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $77,751 |
| 40 | Alabama | $76,769 |
| 41 | Missouri | $77,452 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $75,486 |
| 43 | Florida | $77,627 |
| 44 | Colorado | $77,891 |
| 45 | Idaho | $73,707 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $75,061 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $72,090 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $71,946 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $70,864 |
| 50 | Montana | $68,280 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $72,571 |
Expert opinions on the best states for project managers
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for project managers to find work opportunities?
Lisa Noble
Director of Employer Engagement and Entrepreneurship and DavisConnects Advisor for Consulting, Colby College
With remote work likely to remain a primary way of doing business, and a fraction of the workforce returning to the office, it's expected that geography won't matter as much for new graduates as it has in the past. We are seeing more young alumni heading to less dense geographies, where there are exciting tech hubs and mountains for outdoor recreation. Jackson Hole, Park City, and Denver are beginning to overtake San Francisco and Seattle as attractive destinations for their relative affordability and quality of life. Increasingly, COVID has made everyone crave wide open spaces, after months of confinement in small apartments in big cities.
If the class of 2020 is any indication, the technology industry will likely continue to be a significant employer of graduates of all majors, followed by business, then education. We see many of our alumni in the humanities in non-coding roles in technology like UX Design, social media marketing, Customer Experience, product management, sales, marketing, employee engagement, and recruiting.
In this economic climate, where traditional media (book publishing, broadcast and print journalism, advertising) have frozen hiring, we are seeing our English majors exploring roles in business and corporate communications, investor relations, brand management, learning and development, and more.
Project manager best states FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025