Best US Cities for Project Managers
Top US cities for Project Managers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $135,800 | 1.45× | +$37,800 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $127,900 | 1.32× | +$29,900 |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $126,800 | 1.30× | +$28,800 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $123,900 | 1.35× | +$25,900 |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $119,500 | 1.18× | +$21,500 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $116,500 | 1.22× | +$18,500 |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $115,900 | 1.21× | +$17,900 |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $115,300 | 1.20× | +$17,300 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $114,200 | 1.18× | +$16,200 |
| 10 | Honolulu, HI | $114,200 | 1.30× | +$16,200 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $135,800 | $65/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $127,900 | $61/hr |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $126,800 | $61/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $123,900 | $60/hr |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $119,500 | $57/hr |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $116,500 | $56/hr |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $115,900 | $56/hr |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $115,300 | $55/hr |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $114,200 | $55/hr |
| 10 | Honolulu, HI | $114,200 | $55/hr |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $111,800 | $54/hr |
| 12 | Frisco, TX | $111,800 | $54/hr |
| 13 | Plano, TX | $111,200 | $53/hr |
| 14 | Miami, FL | $110,800 | $53/hr |
| 15 | Tampa, FL | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 16 | Salt Lake City, UT | $110,000 | $53/hr |
| 17 | Los Angeles, CA | $109,900 | $53/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $109,600 | $53/hr |
| 19 | Newark, NJ | $109,600 | $53/hr |
| 20 | Sacramento, CA | $109,600 | $53/hr |
| 21 | Anchorage, AK | $108,800 | $52/hr |
| 22 | Denver, CO | $108,400 | $52/hr |
| 23 | Dallas, TX | $108,200 | $52/hr |
| 24 | St. Petersburg, FL | $108,200 | $52/hr |
| 25 | Long Beach, CA | $107,700 | $52/hr |
| 26 | Anaheim, CA | $107,700 | $52/hr |
| 27 | Austin, TX | $106,700 | $51/hr |
| 28 | Minneapolis, MN | $106,200 | $51/hr |
| 29 | Chandler, AZ | $106,200 | $51/hr |
| 30 | Chula Vista, CA | $106,100 | $51/hr |
| 31 | Milwaukee, WI | $105,200 | $51/hr |
| 32 | Phoenix, AZ | $105,000 | $50/hr |
| 33 | Philadelphia, PA | $105,000 | $50/hr |
| 34 | Atlanta, GA | $105,000 | $50/hr |
| 35 | Reno, NV | $105,000 | $50/hr |
| 36 | Gilbert, AZ | $105,000 | $50/hr |
| 37 | Columbus, OH | $104,000 | $50/hr |
| 38 | Kansas City, MO | $104,000 | $50/hr |
| 39 | Wilmington, DE | $103,900 | $50/hr |
| 40 | Raleigh, NC | $103,900 | $50/hr |
| 41 | St. Paul, MN | $103,900 | $50/hr |
| 42 | Boise, ID | $103,900 | $50/hr |
| 43 | Nashville, TN | $103,400 | $50/hr |
| 44 | Riverside, CA | $103,400 | $50/hr |
| 45 | Madison, WI | $103,400 | $50/hr |
| 46 | Omaha, NE | $102,800 | $49/hr |
| 47 | Charlotte, NC | $102,200 | $49/hr |
| 48 | Pittsburgh, PA | $101,000 | $49/hr |
| 49 | Baltimore, MD | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 50 | Stockton, CA | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 51 | Aurora, CO | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 52 | Hialeah, FL | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 53 | Albuquerque, NM | $100,500 | $48/hr |
| 54 | Las Vegas, NV | $100,200 | $48/hr |
| 55 | Detroit, MI | $99,300 | $48/hr |
| 56 | Buffalo, NY | $99,300 | $48/hr |
| 57 | Henderson, NV | $99,100 | $48/hr |
| 58 | Charleston, SC | $99,100 | $48/hr |
| 59 | Cleveland, OH | $98,700 | $47/hr |
| 60 | Winston-Salem, NC | $98,700 | $47/hr |
| 61 | Orlando, FL | $98,500 | $47/hr |
| 62 | Virginia Beach, VA | $98,000 | $47/hr |
| 63 | Chesapeake, VA | $98,000 | $47/hr |
| 64 | North Las Vegas, NV | $98,000 | $47/hr |
| 65 | Fresno, CA | $98,000 | $47/hr |
| 66 | Worcester, MA | $98,000 | $47/hr |
| 67 | Lincoln, NE | $97,600 | $47/hr |
| 68 | Colorado Springs, CO | $97,500 | $47/hr |
| 69 | Bakersfield, CA | $97,500 | $47/hr |
| 70 | Norfolk, VA | $96,900 | $47/hr |
| 71 | Jacksonville, FL | $96,400 | $46/hr |
| 72 | Mesa, AZ | $96,400 | $46/hr |
| 73 | Fort Wayne, IN | $95,900 | $46/hr |
| 74 | Houston, TX | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 75 | Fort Worth, TX | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 77 | Glendale, AZ | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 78 | Garland, TX | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 79 | Spokane, WA | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $95,300 | $46/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $95,300 | $46/hr |
| 82 | New Orleans, LA | $94,800 | $46/hr |
| 83 | San Antonio, TX | $94,200 | $45/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $94,200 | $45/hr |
| 85 | Cincinnati, OH | $93,700 | $45/hr |
| 86 | Lexington, KY | $93,700 | $45/hr |
| 87 | Corpus Christi, TX | $93,700 | $45/hr |
| 88 | Greensboro, NC | $93,700 | $45/hr |
| 89 | Knoxville, TN | $93,700 | $45/hr |
| 90 | El Paso, TX | $93,100 | $45/hr |
| 91 | St. Louis, MO | $93,100 | $45/hr |
| 92 | Indianapolis, IN | $92,600 | $45/hr |
| 93 | Louisville, KY | $92,600 | $45/hr |
| 94 | Memphis, TN | $92,100 | $44/hr |
| 95 | Oklahoma City, OK | $92,100 | $44/hr |
| 96 | Birmingham, AL | $91,500 | $44/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $91,500 | $44/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $91,500 | $44/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $90,500 | $44/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $90,500 | $44/hr |
Does location actually decide Project Manager pay?
Project Manager work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $90,500 in Mobile to $135,800 in San Francisco — a spread of 50%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $135,800 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $99,800 a year after housing. In Mobile, $90,500 against $850 leaves about $80,300. The top still wins after rent, but by $19,500 rather than the $45,300 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). A Project Manager at a large employer in a metro where business work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.