Project Manager Salary: Your 2025 Guide

Project managers tend to earn higher than average salaries. Beyond the money itself, this career path tends to feature a good deal of opportunity, versatility, and advancement. In this article, we'll discuss how much project managers typically earn and the factors that can affect salary.

Afterward, if you're interested in building your project management skills, consider enrolling in the Microsoft Project Management Professional Certificate. In this program, you'll gain knowledge of project management terminology, methodologies, and best practices and learn to apply them effectively in real-world scenarios.

How much do project managers make?

Project management specialists earn a median average US salary of $98,580, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) [1]. The average US base salary for a project manager is $90,144, according to Glassdoor [2]. Some companies also offer project managers additional compensation, such as bonuses and stock.

Learn more: How to Become a Project Manager

Factors that impact a project manager's salary

Your salary as a project manager 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 [3]. Reported salaries go up along with degree level.

Earning a higher degree can lead to higher salaries and 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 often look for, opening up the possibility of moving into executive management in the future.

Average project manager salary by education level:

• Bachelor's degree: $99,138

• Master’s degree: $109,564

Certification

Earning a project management certification or certificate can help validate your skills and experience to employers, which 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 that of those without [4]. 

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 professional 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 $77,627 in the US, while professionals with more than four to six years of experience can earn $85,381 [2].

Area of specialization

Beyond general project manager roles, there are often opportunities to oversee the project managemenat needs of a company's more technical areas, such as an IT project manager. In that case, you will often need to know the fundamentals of project management along with specialized technical knowledge. As a result, these salaries can be higher.

• Marketing project manager: $74,427

• IT project manager: $124,008

• Technical project manager: $125,425

• Construction project manager: $101,506

• Health care project manager: $125,567

All US salaries are from Glassdoor as of January 2025.

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 [5].

Average US base salaries by high-paying industry:

• Consulting $132,500

• Resources, energy, utilities: $101,254

• Pharmaceuticals: $130,000

• IT: $120,000

• Government: $115,000

• Health care: $108,319

• Construction: $107,659

Location

Where you live can impact your income. Data from the 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 consider the cost of living. The areas that correspond to the highest pay—often major cities—tend to have higher living expenses.

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 [5].

Who's hiring project managers?

Glassdoor reports that the top-rated companies with over 10,000 employees that are hiring project managers include IBM, JPMorgan Chase & Co., NVIDIA, and Deloitte.

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 [5].

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

Build project management skills on Coursera

To launch a career in project management and increase your earning potential, start building a foundation of job-ready skills. Consider enrolling in the Microsoft Project Management Professional Certificate, where you'll gain a strong foundation of project management theories, methodologies, and technical skills, including Microsoft Excel.