How much do project managers make?

Project Manager salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Project Management Specialists (SOC 13-1082) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Project managers in the US earned a median of $102,320 a year ($49.19 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $78,440 to $133,100.

Median annual pay: $102,320; Mean $110,740
Median hourly pay: $49.19; Mean $53.24
Typical range (10th–90th): $61.6K–$168K; $61,580 to $167,970
US jobs: 1,066,670; +6.7% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a project manager: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Delaware

Project Manager pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$61,580
25th percentile$78,440
Median$102,320
75th percentile$133,100
90th percentile$167,970

Half of all project managers earned more than $102,320 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $61,580; the top 10% made over $167,970. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $78,440 to $133,100.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$61,580	$29.61	$5,132
25th	$78,440	$37.71	$6,537
Median (50th)	$102,320	$49.19	$8,527
75th	$133,100	$63.99	$11,092
90th	$167,970	$80.76	$13,998
Mean (average)	$110,740	$53.24	$9,228

Project Manager salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for project managers by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. Washington $124,160
2. New Jersey $122,980
3. Delaware $122,190
4. New York $121,040
5. California $120,910

Lowest-paying states

51. Arkansas $77,170
50. Hawaii $78,000
49. Mississippi $78,870
48. Nebraska $80,150
47. Vermont $80,800

Best after cost of living: Delaware. Its median of $122,190 is worth about $122,425 at national-average prices, more than in Washington once prices are counted.


Alabama	$100,820	19	$113,507	5	$48.47	3,190	1.51
Alaska	$99,580	24	$97,285	38	$47.88	1,950	5.99
Arizona	$99,050	25	$98,384	35	$47.62	22,920	7.08
Arkansas	$77,170	51	$88,765	48	$37.10	5,510	4.23
California	$120,910	5	$109,203	10	$58.13	114,380	6.28
Colorado	$110,050	8	$106,791	14	$52.91	32,390	11.27
Connecticut	$105,240	11	$101,573	27	$50.60	8,410	4.96
Delaware	$122,190	3	$122,425	1	$58.75	1,770	3.64
District of Columbia	$104,900	12	$95,450	40	$50.43	5,170	7.37
Florida	$98,070	27	$94,832	41	$47.15	76,370	7.69
Georgia	$102,140	16	$106,072	15	$49.11	28,900	5.91
Hawaii	$78,000	50	$70,941	51	$37.50	1,560	2.48
Idaho	$95,630	34	$100,142	31	$45.98	5,750	6.71
Illinois	$103,470	15	$103,513	20	$49.75	27,180	4.46
Indiana	$95,020	36	$101,812	26	$45.68	11,970	3.74
Iowa	$96,540	31	$110,002	9	$46.41	6,720	4.31
Kansas	$100,010	22	$111,038	8	$48.08	6,030	4.20
Kentucky	$81,700	46	$90,618	46	$39.28	10,250	5.12
Louisiana	$84,850	44	$96,194	39	$40.79	8,050	4.16
Maine	$101,830	17	$104,925	17	$48.96	2,620	4.10
Maryland	$104,040	14	$99,124	34	$50.02	30,530	11.05
Massachusetts	$114,190	7	$107,974	12	$54.90	21,960	6.04
Michigan	$100,970	18	$104,940	16	$48.55	25,330	5.75
Minnesota	$97,860	28	$99,228	33	$47.05	18,850	6.39
Mississippi	$78,870	49	$90,704	45	$37.92	4,320	3.72
Missouri	$94,660	37	$104,232	18	$45.51	21,460	7.31
Montana	$87,890	41	$92,863	43	$42.25	2,940	5.74
Nebraska	$80,150	48	$88,954	47	$38.54	3,190	3.11
Nevada	$99,940	23	$99,961	32	$48.05	8,290	5.34
New Hampshire	$90,890	40	$87,256	49	$43.70	3,840	5.62
New Jersey	$122,980	2	$113,028	6	$59.12	28,300	6.60
New Mexico	$106,970	9	$116,004	4	$51.43	4,330	4.97
New York	$121,040	4	$112,156	7	$58.19	68,020	7.02
North Carolina	$100,820	20	$106,885	13	$48.47	36,200	7.33
North Dakota	$96,160	32	$108,095	11	$46.23	2,020	4.71
Ohio	$95,770	33	$103,229	21	$46.04	34,260	6.17
Oklahoma	$86,240	42	$98,175	36	$41.46	11,220	6.57
Oregon	$105,480	10	$102,050	25	$50.71	19,380	9.85
Pennsylvania	$100,150	21	$102,642	22	$48.15	36,150	5.96
Rhode Island	$104,680	13	$102,346	24	$50.33	3,880	7.74
South Carolina	$95,040	35	$101,377	30	$45.69	17,040	7.39
South Dakota	$82,250	45	$92,848	44	$39.54	1,310	2.87
Tennessee	$85,890	43	$93,491	42	$41.30	20,780	6.34
Texas	$98,440	26	$101,425	29	$47.33	138,960	9.88
Utah	$96,720	30	$97,831	37	$46.50	16,450	9.48
Vermont	$80,800	47	$82,484	50	$38.85	1,190	3.91
Virginia	$120,840	6	$119,520	2	$58.10	43,860	10.67
Washington	$124,160	1	$116,023	3	$59.69	36,240	10.21
West Virginia	$91,780	39	$102,551	23	$44.13	2,520	3.60
Wisconsin	$97,580	29	$103,704	19	$46.91	21,610	7.35
Wyoming	$94,080	38	$101,499	28	$45.23	1,180	4.19

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for project managers

385 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Dothan, AL	$135,260	$161,345	60
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$135,120	$122,366	10,300
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$135,040	$116,803	20,770
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$130,380	$117,319	26,910
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$127,030	$116,665	38,230
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$126,660	$112,524	68,910
Kennewick-Richland, WA	$125,940	$125,841	1,260
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$124,350	$116,574	6,860
Peoria, IL	$123,730	$135,623	730
Boulder, CO	$122,040	$116,005	2,920

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	68,910	$126,660	$112,524
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	43,120	$98,900	$95,936
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	38,540	$108,310	$95,372
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	38,230	$127,030	$116,665
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	35,550	$99,510	$100,893
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	26,910	$130,380	$117,319
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	21,060	$103,400	$103,340
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	21,040	$105,320	$101,665
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	20,770	$135,040	$116,803
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	20,710	$116,740	$110,359

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves project manager pay: employers and settings

The industry you manage projects in matters a lot. In our data, computer systems design firms pay a median of $125,100 and corporate headquarters (management of companies and enterprises) $124,180. Engineering and architecture firms, the largest employer, pay $107,050; consulting firms $103,430; nonresidential building construction $103,240; and building equipment contractors $100,350. IT and enterprise projects tend to pay more than trade and construction work.

Location is the next big lever. Washington leads with a median of $124,160, followed by New Jersey at $122,980, Delaware at $122,190, New York at $121,040, and California at $120,910. The lowest are Mississippi at $78,870, Hawaii at $78,000, and Arkansas at $77,170. After adjusting for living costs, Delaware comes out on top at $122,425.

Employer type also shows up: private employers pay a median of $102,790; local government pays $97,460 and state government $83,620. The few federal positions in the data have a median of $143,920.

Overall pay runs from $61,580, the 10th percentile, to $167,970, the 90th. Those percentiles describe the spread of pay across all project managers, not steps in a single career; industry, location and employer explain part of the gap. The data here does not measure the effect of certifications such as the PMP on pay.

Where project managers work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	9.4%	$107,050
Computer Systems Design and Related Services	7.4%	$125,100
Nonresidential Building Construction	6.8%	$103,240
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	6.3%	$103,430
Building Equipment Contractors	5.1%	$100,350
Management of Companies and Enterprises	4.7%	$124,180

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	1,007,490	$102,790
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	400	$143,920
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	28,380	$83,620
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	30,400	$97,460

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Project Manager pay over time

Median annual pay, 2021–2025

$102K $94.5K

2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $94,500 in 2021 to $102,320 in 2025, up 8% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2021 median is worth $112,849 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 9% over the period.

The series starts in 2021 because BLS changed how it defines or publishes this occupation before then, so earlier figures are not comparable.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What project managers do

A project manager owns the plan for a piece of work that has a start, an end and a budget: a new office building, a software rollout, a factory line upgrade, a fiber network build or a change to how a company bills its customers. They agree the scope with the client or sponsor, break the work into tasks, set the schedule, line up people and suppliers, and then track progress until the job is handed over and closed out.

The official government title is project management specialist. They are spread across many industries. The largest employers are engineering and architecture firms, IT consultancies, building contractors and management consulting companies, and some work in the head offices of bigger companies. The work is mostly desk-based: status meetings, schedules, budget spreadsheets, risk logs and a steady stream of email and calls. Construction and field-heavy projects add site visits, and client-facing roles can mean travel. Project managers rarely do the technical work themselves; their job is to keep engineers, developers, trades or analysts moving in the same direction and to raise problems before they become late or expensive.

A typical day

Meet the client or sponsor to pin down what the project must deliver, by when and for how much
Build and update the schedule, task list and budget in project management software
Hand out work to team members and check in on blocked or late tasks
Chase vendors, subcontractors and other departments for quotes, materials and sign-offs
Keep a running list of risks and issues and decide who fixes each one
Write weekly status reports and present progress to managers or the customer
Process change requests, then close the project out with final documents and lessons learned

Also called: project management, fiber project manager, implementation project manager, project management consultant.

How to become a project manager

Full guide

Most project managers have a bachelor's degree, often in business, engineering or computer science, and work their way up from a related role over a few years. No license is required; the PMP certification needs 3 years of project-leading experience with a bachelor's degree, plus 35 hours of training and a 180-question exam.

Typical time: 5-7 years; Fastest: About 4 years
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree, usually in business, project management or a technical field tied to the industry
License: Not licensed (certification optional)
Typical training cost: $37.5K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a project manager: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 5-7 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $37.5K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $102,320; $51,340 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 37–37%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($51,340 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (5-7 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for project managers

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +6.7%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 1,094,300; 1,167,400 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 76,500; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 1.2%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects project management specialist jobs to grow 6.7% from 2025 to 2035, from 1,094,300 to 1,167,400. That is nearly twice the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 76,500 openings are expected each year, most of them from people retiring or moving into other roles rather than from new positions.

BLS ties the growth to companies trying to get more done on time and on budget, and to the rising number and complexity of IT projects. Because the field is large and spread across many industries, openings appear in most parts of the economy.

Related careers and their pay

Business Analyst$101,860
Operations Manager$105,770
Construction Manager$114,990
Software Engineer$135,980
Computer Occupations, All Other$116,580

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Project Manager salary FAQ

How much do project managers make an hour?

The median hourly wage for project managers was $49.19 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $29.61 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $80.76. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays project managers the most?

Washington has the highest median pay for project managers, $124,160 a year, followed by New Jersey ($122,980) and Delaware ($122,190). After adjusting for each state's price level, Delaware comes out ahead at about $122,425 in national-average dollars.

Do project managers make $200,000 a year?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of project managers earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $102,320, and the top 10% earn more than $167,970. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a project manager and a program manager?

A project manager runs one defined piece of work with its own scope, schedule and budget. A program manager oversees a group of related projects and makes sure they add up to a larger business goal, so the role sits higher and deals more with priorities, funding and dependencies between teams. Many program managers started as project managers. PMI offers a separate credential, the PgMP, for program managers.

Do project managers need to be technical?

Not always, but it helps. BLS notes that some employers prefer a degree in the field the projects belong to, such as engineering or computer science. In construction, IT and engineering firms, understanding the work makes it easier to judge estimates, spot risks and talk with specialists. In marketing, operations or nonprofit projects, organizing skills and business knowledge usually matter more than technical depth.

Is project management a stressful job?

It can be. Project managers are accountable for deadlines and budgets they do not fully control, since the actual work is done by other people and outside vendors. Most work full time, and BLS notes that some work more than 40 hours a week, and teams spread across time zones can mean early or late calls. Clear scope and good relationships with the team reduce much of the pressure.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 13-1082
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (13-1082.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Project Management Specialists, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Handbook, Project Management Institute · checked October 28, 2026
Project Management Professional (PMP) Examination Content Outline, July 2026, Project Management Institute · checked October 28, 2026
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Examination Content Outline, Project Management Institute · checked October 28, 2026
PMI Certification Handbook (updated June 2026), Project Management Institute · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026

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