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Project specialist salary

Quoted expert
Kim Chatani

Average project specialist salary

$65,993

$31.73 hourly rate

Entry-level project specialist salary
$41,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Average Project Specialist Salary

The average salary for a Project Specialist in the United States is $65,993 per year. This figure represents typical earnings for professionals in this role, which often requires a blend of project management skills and technical expertise. Salaries can vary significantly based on factors such as location, industry, and experience.

Where Can a Project Specialist Earn More?

Project Specialists in states like California, New York, and Texas tend to earn higher salaries, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in these regions. For example, top-paying industries include technology, healthcare, and engineering, where Project Specialists can command salaries above the national average.

Job Opportunities

As companies continue to invest in project management, there is a growing need for Project Specialists across various sectors. Job seekers can explore openings on platforms like Zippia, where they can find tailored resources to assist in their career advancement.

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Where can a Project Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
101k
81k
61k
41k
21k
Columbus, OH$83,553
Indianapolis, IN$50,774
Compare salary by company
Vs
141k
121k
101k
81k
61k
Meta$123,575
Solectron Corp$91,067

Project specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Payscale, the average salary for a project specialist typically falls between $62,767 and $116,031.
zippia
$65,993yearly
indeed[1]
$67,924yearly
Salary.com[2]
$116,031yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$68,871yearly
payscale[4]
$62,767yearly
SalaryExpert[5]
$68,666yearly

Average project specialist salary by state

The highest-paying states for project specialists are California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The lowest average project specialist salary states are Minnesota, Montana, and Kansas.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for project specialists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1District of Columbia$74,769$35.95
2Nevada$68,074$32.73
3North Dakota$63,758$30.65
4Michigan$65,092$31.29
5New Hampshire$64,459$30.99
6Pennsylvania$73,013$35.10
7Virginia$69,628$33.48
8Massachusetts$76,048$36.56
9Idaho$61,643$29.64
10Rhode Island$71,324$34.29
11Alaska$68,870$33.11
12California$76,140$36.61
13New York$69,432$33.38
14Connecticut$70,256$33.78
15West Virginia$58,405$28.08
16Oregon$65,775$31.62
17South Carolina$60,588$29.13
18Ohio$55,990$26.92
19Delaware$63,805$30.68
20Hawaii$66,105$31.78
21Texas$61,657$29.64
22New Jersey$67,166$32.29
23Georgia$56,050$26.95
24Louisiana$56,253$27.04
25Oklahoma$56,082$26.96
26Tennessee$53,715$25.82
27Washington$60,664$29.17
28Utah$56,992$27.40
29Arizona$56,406$27.12
30Missouri$53,862$25.90
31Maryland$57,693$27.74
32Nebraska$52,089$25.04
33Maine$54,082$26.00
34Illinois$58,379$28.07
35Kentucky$53,594$25.77
36New Mexico$50,408$24.23
37Wisconsin$50,760$24.40
38Vermont$54,924$26.41
39Indiana$51,116$24.57
40Iowa$49,370$23.74
41Minnesota$48,686$23.41
42Arkansas$49,298$23.70
43North Carolina$53,370$25.66
44Alabama$49,569$23.83
45Kansas$47,799$22.98
46Wyoming$46,962$22.58
47South Dakota$46,280$22.25
48Mississippi$48,886$23.50
49Montana$48,150$23.15
50Colorado$49,535$23.81
51Florida$47,320$22.75

Highest paying cities for project specialists

The highest-paying cities for project specialists are San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA, and Washington, DC.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$83,553$40.17
2Boston, MA$75,856$36.47
3Washington, DC$74,703$35.91
4Philadelphia, PA$73,489$35.33
5Arlington, VA$72,365$34.79
6New York, NY$69,606$33.46
7Urban Honolulu, HI$66,218$31.84
8Grand Rapids, MI$63,692$30.62
9San Antonio, TX$62,255$29.93
10Olympia, WA$62,036$29.82
11Chicago, IL$58,918$28.33
12Cleveland, OH$58,459$28.11
13Baltimore, MD$57,983$27.88
14Phoenix, AZ$56,562$27.19
15Baton Rouge, LA$56,379$27.11
16Atlanta, GA$56,338$27.09
17Oklahoma City, OK$56,191$27.01
18Raleigh, NC$54,479$26.19
19Las Cruces, NM$51,184$24.61
20Indianapolis, IN$50,774$24.41

Project specialist salary details

A project specialist's salary ranges from $41,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $103,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average project specialist salary graph
Average project specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a project specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$103,000$8,583$50
75th Percentile$83,000$6,917$40
Average$65,993$5,499$32
25th Percentile$51,000$4,250$25
10th Percentile$41,000$3,417$20

Highest paying project specialist jobs

The highest paying types of project specialists are senior specialist, project consultant, and staff specialist.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Project Officer$59,291$4,941$28.51127,352
Project Consultant$86,654$7,221$41.66113,013
Project Coordinator$50,375$4,198$24.2238,743
Project Administrator$52,862$4,405$25.41141,253
Project Analyst$71,174$5,931$34.22207,513

How would you rate the starting salaries for project specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Kim Chatani

Assistant Professor, Concordia University Irvine

Starting salaries will continue to increase but will be more dictated by supply and demand for the skill sets that graduates will provide. The current COVID 19 pandemic has put traditional thinking on its head. Employers will be evaluating employee skills in a multi-dimensional plane, competency, mobility, and transferability.

Top companies hiring project specialists now:

  1. Ernst & Young jobs (37)
  2. American Tower jobs (55)
  3. Cisco jobs (93)
  4. Pwc jobs (45)
  5. General Electric jobs (49)

Which companies pay project specialists the most?

Project specialist salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average project specialist salary at companies like Ernst & Young and Credit Suisse are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Meta$123,575$59.41
2Apple$118,322$56.89
3Ernst & Young$108,968$52.39
4Credit Suisse$106,971$51.43
5Northern Trust$100,480$48.31
6Chevron$99,552$47.86
7Cisco$97,493$46.87
8Nisum$96,881$46.58
9Novo Nordisk$96,600$46.44
10Newpark$96,412$46.35
11State Street$96,350$46.32
12Uber Technologies$95,739$46.03
13Technip USA Corporation$95,511$45.92
14Boehringer Ingelheim$95,334$45.83
15Crown Castle International$92,656$44.55
16Palo Alto Networks$92,323$44.39
17Zscaler$92,264$44.36
18City of Detroit$91,991$44.23
19Persistent Systems$91,402$43.94
20Solectron Corp$91,067$43.78

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$68,000$66,400$64,800$63,200$61,600$60,000
MaleFemale

Project Specialist salary by industry

The average project specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average project specialist salary in the professional industry is $77,221, the highest of any industry.
  • The average project specialist salary in the finance industry is $75,348.
  • Project specialists in the finance industry earn an average salary of $57,171, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for project specialists

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Professional$77,221$37.13
2Technology$75,348$36.23
3Manufacturing$68,724$33.04
4Health Care$65,960$31.71
5Retail$58,375$28.06
6Finance$57,171$27.49

High paying project specialist jobs

Project specialist salary trends

The average project specialist salary has risen by $9,712 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average project specialist earned $56,281 annually, but today, they earn $65,993 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for project specialists over the last decade.

Compare project specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average project specialist salary over time

Compare project specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Project specialist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$66,000$31.73+3.8%
2024$63,500$30.52+2.3%
2023$62,000$29.80+0.7%
2022$61,500$29.59+1.4%
2021$60,700$29.18+1.3%

Recently added project specialist salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Eversource EnergySpecialist, Project Engagement (Hybrid)Westwood, MA06/30/2025$95,340
CloroxProject Specialist-Operations (DAY Shift)Wheeling, IL06/30/2025$69,163
VirtuaFloor Project Specialist-EVSMount Holly, NJ06/30/2025$36,648
Cha Health SystemsProcurement Construction Project SpecialistChicago, IL06/29/2025$87,000
ArcadisProject Excellence SpecialistHighlands Ranch, CO06/29/2025$67,000
Orsini Specialty PharmacyRCM Payer Project Specialist-RemoteElk Grove Village, IL06/29/2025$45,914
CintasImplementation Project Specialist L1Chicago, IL06/28/2025$59,400
California State University Dominguez HillsProject, Thesis, and Dissertation Review SpecialistIone, CA06/28/2025$55,176
CorpayProject SpecialistLexington, KY06/28/2025$31,200
STS/UtiliquestProject Specialist-InventoryBlaine, MN06/28/2025$48,001

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