IT Project Manager Salary: Your 2024 Guide

As an information technology (IT) project manager, you plan and oversee projects related to IT, such as planning a network or creating a website. IT project management jobs are typically high-paying, but several factors will influence exactly how much money you make. In this article, you’ll discover how experience, location, company, and skills affect average salaries. 

What is an IT project manager?

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 does an IT project manager earn?

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 September 2023, IT project manager salary roughly ranges between $90,000 and $120,000.

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. Let’s take a closer look at each of these considerations.

Experience

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 network administrator into a project management position.

According to the most recent salary data gathered by Zippia, Payscale, and Glassdoor, an IT project manager entry-level salary ranges from around $65,000 to $91,000. Mid-career IT project management salary ranges from $93,000 to $109,000, while senior-level salaries range from $114,000 to $132,000 [1, 3, 5].

IT project manager base salaries according to Glassdoor:

Geographical location 

An IT project manager 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. But, that average includes an average for each individual state, ranging from the highest-paid state—California, at $127,272— to the lowest—Hawaii, at $80,807 [1].

High-paying states

These are some high-paying states for IT project managers, according to Zippia, as of June 2023:

• California: $127,272

• Washington: $110,129

• Virginia: $104,147

• Delaware: $102,428

• Nevada: $101,678

• Pennsylvania: $97,329

• New Hampshire: $99,338

Highest-paying cities

These are some high-paying cities for IT project managers, according to Zippia, as of June 2023:

• 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. Here are several estimated salaries for IT project managers at a variety of companies offered by Glassdoor as of September 2023 [1]:

• Cisco Systems: $172,879

• Chevron: $159,925   

• General Electric (GE): $159,312  

• Dell Technologies: $150,965  

• Liberty Mutual Insurance: $145,918  

• Verizon: $139,085

• Boeing: $138,036

• Bank of America: $137,504

• IBM: $137,281

• Accenture: $132,458

Certification and skills

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 [3]. Here are 10 valuable skills to consider according to Zippia [8]:

• Project management

• Infrastructure

• Scrum

• Software development

• Project scope

• Risk management

• Technical support

• Excellent organization

• Managing cross-functional teams

• Jira

Additionally, there are certain certifications that can make you stand out to employers. Here’s a list of five certifications that Zippia lists as the top ones for IT project management and the organizations that provide them [9]:

• Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI

• Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum Alliance

• IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL), Zavata

• Master Project Manager (MPM), AAPM

• ITIL Foundation, HDI

Job outlook

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for project management overall was estimated to grow at a rate of 6 percent from 2022 to 2032, which is an average rate across industries [2]. However, the BLS notes that demand is higher for computer systems and IT projects.

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 estimated a growth rate of 15 percent for IT managers from 2022 to 2032 [7], more than double the rate of growth for project management overall.

Getting started in IT project management with Coursera

If IT project management is a career that excites you, consider earning your IBM IT Project Manager Professional Certificate on Coursera. Get job-ready for an entry-level IT project management position by building skills in Agile project management, adaptive planning, iterative development, continuous improvement, and stakeholder management.

Upon completion, get access to resume review, interview prep, and career support resources, along with free access to IBM's People and Soft Skills Specialization.