IT Project Manager Salary: Your 2026 Guide

Key takeaways

Your experience, education, location, and employer can affect your salary as an IT project manager.

• According to Glassdoor, the median total pay for an IT project manager is $130,000 annually [1].

• Three of the highest-paying states for IT project managers are California, Washington, and Virginia.

• You can earn certifications, such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) from PMI, to improve your project manager skill set, credibility, and salary.

Learn about IT project manager salaries, including the factors affecting them, the skills employers look for, and certifications that can help. If you’re ready to begin a career in IT project management, enroll in the IBM IT Project Manager Professional Certificate, where in as little as four months, you can learn about project risk management, Agile methodology, stakeholder analysis, and more.

What do project managers do in IT?

IT project managers plan, manage, oversee, and execute IT projects such as developing software, creating networks, and developing mobile apps. In this role, your responsibilities include developing a plan for completing the project, managing scope, measuring and monitoring progress, working with team members, tracking key performance indicators, and managing risk in every stage of the process. You would be the point person for the project, responsible for advocating for the team and developing solutions for the client.

How much do project managers make in IT?

One way to determine the average salary of an IT project manager is to survey websites with aggregate salary information. According to six salary sources as of October 2025, an IT project manager's average salary roughly ranges between $97,740 and $130,000:

*Glassdoor salary information represents the median total pay as of October 2025. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

The exact amount you will earn as an IT project manager depends on a number of factors, such as years of experience, geographic location, employer, and education credentials.

Factors that affect IT project manager salary

While experience is a major factor that impacts how much salary you can earn as an IT project manager, other factors can have an impact as well. These can include where you’re applying for work, the company you’re applying to, and what education level and certifications you’ve earned. Take a closer look at each of these considerations.

How much do IT project managers make by experience level?

In general, the more experience you gain in IT project management, the more money you’re likely to earn. This may happen as a result of taking on more responsibilities or gaining experience in important skills. In many cases, the skills required to become an IT project manager will overlap with other IT roles. You may be able to move from a position like a network administrator into a project management position.

According to recent salary data gathered by Payscale, an IT project manager's entry-level salary averages $68,493 [4]. Mid-career IT project management salary averages $100,980, while senior-level salaries average $112,807 [4].

IT project manager average salaries according to Glassdoor [1]:

All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of October 2025. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Geographical location 

An IT project manager's salary can vary from state to state or even city to city. Zippia, for example, lists the average IT project manager salary in the US as $106,981 [2]. But, that average includes an average for each individual state, ranging from the highest-paid state—California, at $127,272— to the lowest—Alaska, at $69,762 [2].

High-paying states

These are some high-paying states for IT project managers, according to Zippia, as of October 2025 [2]:

• California: $127,272

• Washington: $110,129

• Virginia: $104,147

• New York: $103,264

• Delaware: $102,428

• District of Columbia: $102,094

• Maryland: $102,022

Highest-paying cities

These are some high-paying cities for IT project managers as of October 2025, according to Zippia [2]:

• Menlo Park, CA: $134,449

• Seattle, WA: $110,737

• Arlington, VA: $104,450

• New York, NY: $103,660

• Washington, DC: $102,143

• Edison, NJ: $100,111

Employers

Pay will always vary from employer to employer. Estimated salaries offered by Glassdoor as of October 2025 for IT project managers at a variety of companies include [1]:

• Dropbox: $174K–$262K

• Meta: $194K–$313K

• Pinterest: $162K–$258K

• Airbnb: $240K–$375K

• NVIDIA: $174K–$254K

• Genentech: $169K–$244K

• Amazon Web Services: $165K–$256K

All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of October 2025. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Certification and skills for IT project managers

Developing your skills as an IT project manager may help you qualify for more specialized roles or make you a more attractive candidate for a high-paying company. According to Payscale, having certain skills, such as Amazon Web Services or security risk management, can increase the average salary you can expect [4]. Ten valuable skills to consider, according to Zippia, include [6]:

• Project management

• Infrastructure

• Scrum

• Software development

• Project scope

• Risk management

• Technical support

• Excellent organization

• Managing cross-functional teams

• Jira

Additionally, certain certifications can make you stand out to employers. Explore five certifications that Zippia lists as the top ones for IT project management and the organizations that provide them [7]:

• Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI

• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Scrum Alliance

• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) 4 Foundation, PeopleCert

• Master Project Manager (MPM), AAPM

IT project management opportunities: Job outlook

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for project management overall is estimated to grow at a rate of 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, which is above the average rate across industries [3]. However, the BLS notes that demand is higher for computer systems design and IT projects related to expanded telework.

Although the BLS doesn’t distinguish between IT and other types of project managers in its projections, it does have a category for information systems managers. Information system managers and IT project managers are not the same thing, but they do have overlapping responsibilities. The BLS estimates a growth rate of 15 percent for IT systems managers from 2024 to 2034 [8], more than double the rate of growth for project management overall.

How much do IT program managers make? 

In a similar career as an IT program manager, you can expect to earn an average of $118,000 annually, according to Glassdoor [9]. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation. As a program manager, you will oversee an entire program, which could include multiple projects managed by individual project managers. 

Read more: Program Manager vs. Project Manager: What's the Difference?

Stay current with trends and job opportunities in project management

Join Career Chat on LinkedIn to keep up with trends and job opportunities in project management. Check out these other free resources, too:

Watch on YouTube: Project Management 101: Basics and Terminology

Enhance your skills: Meet the Engineer Strengthening His Leadership Skills

Learn the terminology: Project Management Terms and Definitions

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