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 data, the median total pay for an IT project manager is $129,000 annually [1].

• Three of the highest-paying states for IT project managers are California, Washington, and Virginia [2].

• You can earn certifications, such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (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 IT project managers do?

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 IT project managers make?

One way to determine the average salary of an IT project manager is to survey websites with salary information. According to Glassdoor, the median total pay for an IT project manager is $129,000 annually [1]. According to Zippia, an IT project manager's average salary is $106,981 [3].

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 salaries

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.

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 a network administrator into a project management position.

The following are average IT project manager salaries for different experience levels, according to Glassdoor [1]:

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 [3]. However, in California, the average salary is approximately $127,272, and in Alaska, the average salary is $69,762 [2].

High-paying states

These are some high-paying states for IT project managers, according to Zippia data from August 2026 [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 of the high-paying cities for IT project managers, according to Zippia [2]:

• Menlo Park, California: $134,449

• Seattle, Washington: $110,737

• Arlington, Virginia: $104,450

• New York, New York: $103,660

• Washington, D.C.: $102,143

• Edison, New Jersey: $100,111

Employer

Pay will always vary from employer to employer. The estimated salaries offered by Glassdoor for IT project managers at a variety of companies are [1]:

• Cisco: $146,000

• IBM: $142,000

• PayPal: $162,000

• AT&T: $134,000

• GE: $139,000

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. Seven valuable skills to consider, according to Zippia, include [4]:

• Project management

• Infrastructure

• Scrum

• Software development

• Project scope

• Risk management

• Technical support

Certifications

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 [5]:

• PMI: Project Management Professional (PMP)

• Scrum Alliance: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

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

• AAPM: Master Project Manager (MPM)

IT project management opportunities: Job outlook

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for project management specialists is estimated to grow at a rate of 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, which is above the average rate across industries [6].

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 systems 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 [7].

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

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Watch on YouTube: Project Management 101: Basics and Terminology

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Learn the terminology: Project Management Terms and Definitions

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