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Lead program manager salary
Average lead program manager salary
$119,480
Average Lead Program Manager Salary
The average salary for a Lead Program Manager in the United States is approximately $119,480 per year, or about $57 per hour. Salaries can differ based on various factors including experience level, geographic location, and industry. For example, Lead Program Managers with extensive experience and those in high-demand sectors may see salaries significantly above the average.
Salary by State
In states such as California and New York, salaries can be notably higher due to the cost of living and industry concentration. For instance, the highest paying states for this role often include:
- California
- Washington
- New York
Understanding the regional salary differences is essential for job seekers aiming to maximize their earning potential. Additionally, exploring various industries, such as technology and finance, can reveal opportunities that offer competitive salaries and benefits.
Opportunities for Advancement
For those aspiring to grow in this field, gaining experience in project management methodologies and leadership roles can lead to higher-paying positions. Continuous professional development and networking within industry circles can enhance your prospects, making you a strong candidate for lucrative roles in project management.
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Where can a Lead Program Manager earn more?
Lead program manager salary estimates from across the web
Average lead program manager salary by state
The average lead program manager salary in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average lead program manager salary states are Colorado, Minnesota, and South Carolina.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for lead program managers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $147,928 | $71.12 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $145,647 | $70.02 |
| 3 | Montana | $127,564 | $61.33 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $142,128 | $68.33 |
| 5 | Washington | $129,238 | $62.13 |
| 6 | Virginia | $132,858 | $63.87 |
| 7 | New York | $134,431 | $64.63 |
| 8 | Delaware | $132,191 | $63.55 |
| 9 | Kansas | $122,210 | $58.75 |
| 10 | Alaska | $125,778 | $60.47 |
| 11 | Oregon | $123,893 | $59.56 |
| 12 | Maryland | $135,065 | $64.94 |
| 13 | Iowa | $129,239 | $62.13 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | $126,173 | $60.66 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $121,503 | $58.41 |
| 16 | California | $131,118 | $63.04 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $120,179 | $57.78 |
| 18 | South Dakota | $112,118 | $53.90 |
| 19 | West Virginia | $117,400 | $56.44 |
| 20 | Michigan | $117,620 | $56.55 |
| 21 | New Jersey | $123,110 | $59.19 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $116,179 | $55.86 |
| 23 | Idaho | $111,631 | $53.67 |
| 24 | Ohio | $112,428 | $54.05 |
| 25 | Texas | $114,014 | $54.81 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | $114,978 | $55.28 |
| 27 | Tennessee | $113,590 | $54.61 |
| 28 | Arkansas | $109,298 | $52.55 |
| 29 | Indiana | $112,786 | $54.22 |
| 30 | New Mexico | $108,979 | $52.39 |
| 31 | Nevada | $108,630 | $52.23 |
| 32 | Alabama | $110,821 | $53.28 |
| 33 | Arizona | $110,683 | $53.21 |
| 34 | Nebraska | $106,226 | $51.07 |
| 35 | Louisiana | $112,068 | $53.88 |
| 36 | Kentucky | $110,218 | $52.99 |
| 37 | Oklahoma | $105,062 | $50.51 |
| 38 | Missouri | $110,638 | $53.19 |
| 39 | Maine | $108,555 | $52.19 |
| 40 | Florida | $109,070 | $52.44 |
| 41 | Mississippi | $107,530 | $51.70 |
| 42 | Vermont | $108,555 | $52.19 |
| 43 | Georgia | $104,530 | $50.25 |
| 44 | Utah | $98,198 | $47.21 |
| 45 | Illinois | $102,357 | $49.21 |
| 46 | Colorado | $102,344 | $49.20 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $105,042 | $50.50 |
| 48 | Minnesota | $101,415 | $48.76 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $93,769 | $45.08 |
| 50 | North Dakota | $99,197 | $47.69 |
| 51 | South Carolina | $99,249 | $47.72 |
Highest paying cities for lead program managers
The highest-paying cities for lead program managers are Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, and McLean, VA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington, DC | $142,181 | $68.36 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $137,482 | $66.10 |
| 3 | McLean, VA | $134,435 | $64.63 |
| 4 | Rochester, NY | $134,402 | $64.62 |
| 5 | Olympia, WA | $131,506 | $63.22 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $126,338 | $60.74 |
| 7 | Beaverton, OR | $123,628 | $59.44 |
| 8 | Clifton, NJ | $123,512 | $59.38 |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | $121,794 | $58.55 |
| 10 | Rochester Hills, MI | $118,116 | $56.79 |
| 11 | Raleigh, NC | $116,984 | $56.24 |
| 12 | Austin, TX | $114,408 | $55.00 |
| 13 | Cleveland, OH | $114,078 | $54.85 |
| 14 | Indianapolis, IN | $112,544 | $54.11 |
| 15 | OFallon, MO | $111,478 | $53.60 |
| 16 | Phoenix, AZ | $110,806 | $53.27 |
| 17 | Tampa, FL | $109,868 | $52.82 |
| 18 | Cheyenne, WY | $105,451 | $50.70 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $104,486 | $50.23 |
| 20 | Chicago, IL | $102,715 | $49.38 |
Lead program manager salary details
A lead program manager's salary ranges from $89,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $158,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead program manager's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $158,000 | $13,167 | $76 |
| 75th Percentile | $138,000 | $11,500 | $66 |
| Average | $119,480 | $9,957 | $57 |
| 25th Percentile | $102,000 | $8,500 | $49 |
| 10th Percentile | $89,000 | $7,417 | $43 |
Highest paying lead program manager jobs
The highest paying types of lead program managers are director program management, engineering program manager, and deputy program manager.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club Manager | $44,990 | $3,749 | $21.63 | 87,247 |
| Manager, Project Management | $102,925 | $8,577 | $49.48 | 263,655 |
| Consultant/Project Manager | $100,754 | $8,396 | $48.44 | 213,963 |
| Delivery Manager | $113,280 | $9,440 | $54.46 | 172,434 |
| Program Management Consultant | $101,157 | $8,430 | $48.63 | 177,578 |
| Pool Manager | $35,205 | $2,934 | $16.93 | 87,939 |
Top companies hiring lead program managers now:
Which companies pay lead program managers the most?
Lead program manager salaries at Airbnb and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead program manager salary at companies like Google and Citi are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airbnb | $150,715 | $72.46 |
| 2 | Meta | $145,203 | $69.81 |
| 3 | $142,851 | $68.68 | |
| 4 | Citi | $142,405 | $68.46 |
| 5 | Bunge | $140,746 | $67.67 |
| 6 | eBay | $139,383 | $67.01 |
| 7 | Nasdaq | $138,869 | $66.76 |
| 8 | Amd | $137,537 | $66.12 |
| 9 | Bloomberg | $137,536 | $66.12 |
| 10 | Accenture | $136,499 | $65.62 |
| 11 | Royal Bank of Canada | $136,022 | $65.40 |
| 12 | Rivian | $135,498 | $65.14 |
| 13 | Amazon | $134,026 | $64.44 |
| 14 | Torch Technologies | $132,567 | $63.73 |
| 15 | NuVasive | $132,159 | $63.54 |
| 16 | Toyota Financial Svc | $132,134 | $63.53 |
| 17 | Stanford University | $131,892 | $63.41 |
| 18 | Nike | $131,171 | $63.06 |
| 19 | General Electric | $130,975 | $62.97 |
| 20 | Deloitte | $127,633 | $61.36 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Program Manager salary by industry
The average lead program manager salary varies across industries:
- The average lead program manager salary in the technology industry is $125,537, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead program manager salary in the finance industry is $122,343.
- Lead program managers in the government industry earn an average salary of $118,388, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead program managers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $125,537 | $60.35 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $122,343 | $58.82 |
| 3 | Professional | $120,268 | $57.82 |
| 4 | Energy | $119,237 | $57.33 |
| 5 | Transportation | $118,577 | $57.01 |
| 6 | Government | $118,388 | $56.92 |
High paying lead program manager jobs
Lead program manager salary trends
The average lead program manager salary has risen by $14,709 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead program manager earned $104,771 annually, but today, they earn $119,480 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for lead program managers over the last decade.
Compare lead program manager salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead program manager salary over time
Compare lead program manager salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Lead program manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $119,000 | $57.44 | +4.1% |
| 2024 | $115,000 | $55.10 | +1.3% |
| 2023 | $113,000 | $54.39 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $111,000 | $53.44 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | $110,000 | $53.12 | +0.1% |
Recently added lead program manager salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact Sciences | Lead Program Manager, Clinical Labs | Madison, WI | 06/30/2025 | $109,000 |
| Get It-Executive | Lead Project/Program Manager-Remote | Chantilly, VA | 06/29/2025 | $75,000 |
| American Water | Lead Program Manager, Operations Training | Camden, NJ | 06/28/2025 | $100,000 |
| Memorial Hermann Health System | Lead Program Manager I | New York, NY | 06/28/2025 | $140,000 |
| Western Governors University | Lead Academic Program Manager-MBA | Salt Lake City, UT | 06/27/2025 | $119,400 |
| L3Harris | Lead Program Manager | Rochester, NY | 06/25/2025 | $108,500 |
| Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority | Water Resources Team Lead Program Manager | Atlanta, GA | 06/25/2025 | $96,000 |
| Microsoft Corporation | Agentic Go-To-Market Program Lead-Manager | Redmond, WA | 06/24/2025 | $165,600 |
| Northrop Grumman | Advanced Programs Payload Hardware IPT Lead-Program Manager | Roy, UT | 06/24/2025 | $135,100 |
| Strive International | Future Leader Program Manager-Young Adult Population | Birmingham, AL | 06/21/2025 | $59,500 |
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