Project Management Specialists: salary, outlook & degrees
Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis. Lead and guide the work of technical staff. May serve as a point of contact for the client or customer.
Middle half $78,440–$133,100. 1,066,670 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
81% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $85,541.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 76,500 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Business Management And Administration | 6% | Business Administration |
| Psychology | 5% | Psychology |
| Communications | 4% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| General Business | 4% | Business |
| Marketing And Marketing Research | 4% | Marketing · Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations |
| Mechanical Engineering | 4% | Mechanical Engineering |
| Biology | 3% | Biology |
| Architecture | 3% | Architecture · Architectural Sciences and Technology |
| Finance | 3% | Finance · Insurance |
| Economics | 3% | Economics |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| Washington | $124,160 |
| New Jersey | $122,980 |
| Delaware | $122,190 |
| New York | $121,040 |
| California | $120,910 |
| Virginia | $120,840 |
| Massachusetts | $114,190 |
| Colorado | $110,050 |
| New Mexico | $106,970 |
| Oregon | $105,480 |
| Connecticut | $105,240 |
| District of Columbia | $104,900 |
| Rhode Island | $104,680 |
| Maryland | $104,040 |
| Illinois | $103,470 |
| Georgia | $102,140 |
| Maine | $101,830 |
| Michigan | $100,970 |
| Alabama | $100,820 |
| North Carolina | $100,820 |
| Pennsylvania | $100,150 |
| Kansas | $100,010 |
| Nevada | $99,940 |
| Alaska | $99,580 |
| Arizona | $99,050 |
| Texas | $98,440 |
| Florida | $98,070 |
| Minnesota | $97,860 |
| Wisconsin | $97,580 |
| Utah | $96,720 |
| Iowa | $96,540 |
| North Dakota | $96,160 |
| Ohio | $95,770 |
| Idaho | $95,630 |
| South Carolina | $95,040 |
| Indiana | $95,020 |
| Missouri | $94,660 |
| Wyoming | $94,080 |
| West Virginia | $91,780 |
| New Hampshire | $90,890 |
| Montana | $87,890 |
| Oklahoma | $86,240 |
| Tennessee | $85,890 |
| Louisiana | $84,850 |
| South Dakota | $82,250 |
| Kentucky | $81,700 |
| Vermont | $80,800 |
| Nebraska | $80,150 |
| Mississippi | $78,870 |
| Hawaii | $78,000 |
| Arkansas | $77,170 |
| VI | $75,240 |
| GU | $67,370 |
| PR | $65,800 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$98,720
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$96,390
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$97,780
- Jacksonville$99,270
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers$96,600
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$103,870
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$96,510
- Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent$98,670
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$127,030
- Richmond$102,170
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$104,920
- Charlottesville$97,680
- Roanoke$91,170
- Lynchburg$94,690
- Kingsport-Bristol$87,290
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford$85,070
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$108,310
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$135,040
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$117,460
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$135,120
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$124,350
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$100,770
- Fresno$101,030
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$104,990
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
Knowledge used
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Administrative
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
Work styles
- Dependability
- Leadership Orientation
- Attention to Detail
- Cooperation
- Perseverance
People in this job tend to have Enterprising (leading), Conventional (organizing) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Project Management Specialists: questions
How much do project Management Specialists make?
Project Management Specialists earn a U.S. median $102,320 a year; the middle half earn $78,440 to $133,100 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $83,097 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is project Management Specialists a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 6.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a project Management Specialist?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is business Management And Administration (6%).
How much do project Management Specialists make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $98,070 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $102,320 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 13-1082. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Project Management Specialists: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/project-management-specialists.