Project Manager Salary: Your 2024 Guide (2024)

Let’s take a closer look at how much project managers typically make, as well as some of the factors that can influence your salary.

How much do project managers make?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a median US salary as of 2022 of $95,370 for project management professionals, with the bottom 10 percent earning a median of $52,500 and the top 10 percent $159,150 [1].

All salaries listed are for the US.

Factors that impact project manager salary

Your cash compensation in this field ultimately depends on a variety of factors. If you’re looking to maximize your paycheck, consider these components of the pay equation.

Education

As in many industries, higher education can often yield higher pay. According to Zippia, the majority of project managers—68 percent—have a bachelor’s degree and 14 percent hold a master's degree [2]. Reported salaries go up along with degree level. Here are average salaries:

• Four-year college degree: $99,138

• Master’s degree: $109,564

• Doctoral degree: $114,985

In addition to enhancing your earning potential, earning a higher degree might also make you more competitive in the job market. By earning a business-related degree, such as a Master of Business Administration, you can build the leadership skills companies are looking for and open up the possibility of moving into executive management in the future.

Certification

Earning a project management certification can help validate your skills and experience to employers. This can sometimes translate into a higher salary. Among the professionals in the US surveyed by Project Management Institute, the median salary for those holding a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification was $25,000 more than those without [3].

While the PMP is certainly a highly-respected credential, it’s not the only one. You can also get certified in project management methodologies, like Agile, Scrum, or PRINCE2, or earn an industry-specific credential, like the CompTIA Project+ for information technology (IT) project managers.

Read more: How to List Certifications on Your Resume: Guide + Examples

Years of experience

Generally speaking, the more job experience you have, the more you can expect to earn. According to Glassdoor, project managers with one to three years of experience earn an average base salary of $76,951 in the US, while professionals with more than 15 years of experience can earn $109,322.

Job title

You’ll find several roles in this career field. While your position might correspond to your seniority and level of experience, this is another way to look at typical salaries. According to the PMI Salary Survey, these alternate job titles pull in the following median annual salaries in the US:

• Project management specialist: $84,500

• Project management consultant: $120,000

• Program manager: $127,100

• Portfolio manager: $140,000

• Director of project management: $145,000

Here’s a similar breakdown of average annual US base salaries, based on Glassdoor data:

• Project coordinator: $57,581

• Assistant project manager: $71,891

• Senior project manager: $152,991

Industry

The industry you choose to work in can have a significant impact on your salary. While there are project managers working in a wide range of fields, these are among the highest paying (according to the PMI Salary Survey and Glassdoor):

Highest-paying industries

Other common industries

Location

In many industries, including project management, where you live can impact how much money you make. Data from job posting site ZipRecruiter indicates that project management jobs in the San Francisco Bay, Boston, and New York City areas tend to have the highest annual salaries.

When thinking about location, it’s important to take into consideration cost of living as well. The areas that correspond to the highest pay—often major cities—tend to come with higher living expenses.

As companies continue to digitize employee interaction and collaboration—a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic—there may be more opportunities for online positions that allow you to work from anywhere. Companies like Amazon, HubSpot, Oracle, Twilio, and UnitedHealth Group have already begun hiring remote project managers.

As companies continue to digitize employee interaction and collaboration—a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic—there may be more opportunity for online positions that allow you to work from anywhere.

Team and company size

The size of your organization (and the size of the team you manage) can also play a role in how much you earn each year. In general, the larger the team, the higher the median annual salary for project managers. According to PMI, those working in teams with fewer than five members reported a median salary of $105,000, while those with 20 or more brought in $130,000.

Project management methodology

While less significant than the other factors we’ve discussed, the project management methodology you work with could also impact your pay. For example, PMI Salary Survey participants who use Extreme Project Management techniques tended to earn more than those who used Agile, Lean, and Waterfall techniques.

It’s important to remember that methodologies and techniques often depend on the industry, company culture, and type of project.

Read more: 11 Key Project Management Skills

Start advancing your project management skills today

To launch a career in project management and increase your earning potential, start building a foundation of job-ready skills. Taking online courses can be a great way to gain those skills and discover career opportunities.

Here are Coursera's top-rated options:

The University of Virginia's crash course, Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management, takes you through project planning, execution, and monitoring. You can complete this course in about nine hours and begin applying your new skills to real-world projects.

To learn up-to-date skills, approaches, and tools of project management, sign up for SkillUp EdTech's Modern Project Management Specialization. This program takes about two months to complete. Inside, you'll build a portfolio that showcases your skills and practice for the CAPM certification exam.

To delve deeper into project management and earn a credential, consider the Google Professional Certificate in Project Management. The six courses included in this certificate cover such skills as project documentation, Scrum approaches, executing and closing a project, and more. This program can help you prepare for a certification or an entry-level project management role. Upon completion, you can apply directly with Google and some 130 other employers.