Geographic doc15 states ranked
PM salary by state
California pays the most ( $175K average base) but Texas wins on purchasing power after cost of living and state income tax. Remote PM roles continue to compress the gap.
Top 5 raw salary
- 1. California$175K
- 2. Washington$168K
- 3. New York$162K
- 4. Massachusetts$155K
- 5. New Jersey$148K
Top 5 COL-adjusted
- 1. Washington$146K equiv
- 2. Texas$142K equiv
- 3. Illinois$138K equiv
- 4. Georgia$138K equiv
- 5. Colorado$135K equiv
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Full state table
| State | Avg base | COL index | Adjusted purchasing power | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $175K | 142 | $123K | Bay Area drives the average. LA and San Diego lower. |
| Washington | $168K | 115 | $146K | Seattle metro tech concentration. No state income tax. |
| New York | $162K | 136 | $119K | NYC finance and tech. Upstate much lower. |
| Massachusetts | $155K | 131 | $118K | Boston tech hub plus biotech. |
| New Jersey | $148K | 120 | $123K | NYC spillover plus pharma. |
| Colorado | $142K | 105 | $135K | Denver and Boulder tech scene growing fast. |
| Virginia | $138K | 103 | $134K | DC metro, defense tech, cloud HQs. |
| Illinois | $135K | 98 | $138K | Chicago. Enterprise SaaS density. |
| Texas | $132K | 93 | $142K | Austin tech boom plus Dallas enterprise. No income tax. |
| Georgia | $128K | 93 | $138K | Atlanta fintech and logistics tech. |
| Oregon | $138K | 112 | $123K | Portland. Smaller but established tech. |
| Minnesota | $130K | 98 | $133K | Twin Cities. Retail and healthcare tech. |
| Pennsylvania | $128K | 98 | $131K | Philly plus Pittsburgh. Mixed tech presence. |
| North Carolina | $125K | 95 | $132K | Research Triangle. Growing AI and analytics. |
| Michigan | $118K | 91 | $130K | Auto tech plus fintech in Detroit. |
COL index 100 = US average. Adjusted purchasing power = avg base normalised to a national-average COL.
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