Implementation Manager Salary: Your 2025 Guide

An implementation manager helps a company’s implementation team add new systems, networks, and processes to ensure the success of its new tools. The implementation manager guides the team, understands a client’s needs, and helps ensure the project’s progress. 

Learn more about this role, which combines technology, project management, customer relations, and business analytics. This article will review the average implementation manager salary and how factors like education, experience, and location can impact how much you expect to earn. 

What is an implementation manager?

As an implementation manager, you blend customer service with business needs and technological know-how. You specialize in leading the rollout of new technical systems, processes, and networks within an organization. 

You’ll often focus on overseeing the implementation team so launches are successful. You’ll also develop action and work plans, implement technical systems and processes, work with other departments, and prioritize tasks and support. You may also handle client and employee issues and concerns and provide technical support.

How much does an implementation manager make?

Based on data from several career sites, the average implementation manager salary in the United States ranges from roughly $81,000 to $91,000 [1, 2, 3]. 

Keep in mind these are the average annual base salaries for implementation managers. Similarly to many other positions in the US, the salary you make in this role may vary based on several factors. 

Factors that impact implementation manager salary

Several factors can impact the average implementation manager's salary. Use the following information to analyze how education, certification, experience, location, and industry can impact your average salary as an implementation manager. 

Education

Most organizations look for implementation manager candidates with bachelor’s or advanced degrees. According to Zippia, 71 percent of implementation managers have a bachelor’s degree, 14 percent have a master’s degree, and roughly 10 percent hold an associate degree [4]. 

Discover how education level impacts the average implementation manager's salary [3]: 

• Associate degree: $78,387

• Bachelor’s degree: $93,682

• Master’s degree: $99,871

• Doctorate: $101,914

Certification 

In addition to getting a formal education, certifications may impact your implementation manager's salary. Review common implementation manager certifications and the average salary associated with each: 

• PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP): $118,000 [5]

• Six Sigma Green Belt: $86,000 [6]

• Certified Manager (CM): $65,000 [7]

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM): $74,000 [8]

• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM): $102,070 [9]

• CompTIA Project+: $81,000 [10]

Experience 

The longer you work in a role, the more experience and implementation manager skills you can gain, which may make you more effective in your position. In turn, it may also translate into a higher salary. Compare the average annual base salaries based on years of experience for an implementation manager [2]:

• 0–1 years: $72,842

• 1–3 years: $77,537

• 4–6 years: $81,515

• 7–9 years: $84,933

• 10–14 years: $93,966

• 15 or more years: $105,328

Location

Location can also affect pay for many roles, including an implementation manager. Whether it’s due to the cost of living, taxes, or demand for employees in that area, your implementation manager's salary may be higher or lower based on your location. For example, the nation's highest-paying city for implementation managers is San Francisco, California, at $116,756, while the average in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is $85,637, according to data from Zippia [3].

If you’re willing to relocate to a new city to maximize your implementation manager salary, consider the five highest-paying cities in the US for this role [3]:

• San Francisco, CA: $116,756

• Boston, Massachusetts: $102,987

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $102,182

• New York, New York: $99,531

• San Antonio, Texas: $99,177

Industry

Implementation management skills cross over multiple industries, giving you many options. Choosing the right industry may lead to a higher salary. Explore the highest-paying industries for implementation managers, according to Glassdoor’s total median pay [2].

• Telecommunications: $123,347

• Retail and wholesale $113,679

• Management and consulting $111,367

• Human resources and staffing: $107,094

• Financial services: $105,880 

Related job titles

Other career paths related to implementation management may be worth exploring. Discover several related implementation manager jobs, as well as their main responsibilities and average salaries: 

Application manager

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $131,340 [11]

Industry job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 17 percent [12]

Typical education: The most common credential for an application manager is a bachelor’s degree, typically in business or computer science. 

As an application manager, you’ll have a range of tech-focused responsibilities, including software deployment, application life cycle, device and infrastructure updates, and more. You may also have managerial responsibilities, such as performing a skills gap analysis to verify your applications team has the skills it needs to be successful. 

Data manager

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $72,548 [13]

Indusyt job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 9 percent [14]

Typical education: The most common credential for a data manager is a bachelor’s degree, typically in business or computer science. 

As a data manager, you’ll oversee large data sets and ensure they are accurate, secure, and accessible. You'll assist other data professionals in using this data to develop insights into the business and its customers. In this role, you also create data management plans and develop standards for storing and archiving data as needed. 

Delivery manager 

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $117,523 [15]

Industry job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 17 percent [12]

Typical education: The most common degree for a delivery manager is a bachelor’s degree, typically in business or computer science. 

In a delivery manager role—also known as an IT service manager or technology delivery manager—you’ll deliver a technical product or feature from conception through launch. You’ll work with project managers and other team members to help create a vision for the product or feature and steer the project through design, testing, debugging, and delivery. 

Deployment manager

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $108,826 [16]

Industry job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 7 percent [17]

Typical education: The most common credential for a deployment manager is a bachelor’s degree, typically in business or computer science. 

As a deployment manager, you’ll use your computing and project management skills to play an important role in an organization’s production process. You’ll coordinate the release of technical systems and monitor and manage the entire deployment process, ensuring a smooth launch. Beyond these technical responsibilities, you’ll also manage a small deployment team. 

Implementation analyst 

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $73,976 [18]

Industry job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 11 percent [19]

Typical education: The most common credential for an implementation analyst is a bachelor’s degree, commonly in business or computer science. 

As an implementation analyst, you’ll review a client’s priorities and needs before analyzing their implementation processes and technical systems. You’ll use the analysis and testing to expose and report security or network issues before a product goes live. You may also handle post-deployment support and training. 

Next steps

In short, the average implementation manager salary ranges from roughly $81,000 to $91,000. Factors such as where you live and work, your education level, your experience, and your industry may all affect your ultimate earnings. 

If implementation management sounds like a rewarding career, consider learning more by exploring project management, which is a large part of an implementation manager’s responsibilities. Get started with the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate on Coursera, where you’ll refine your management skills and get AI training from Google experts.