Skip to main content

Kansas City · Occupational wage benchmark

Project Management Specialists Salary in Kansas City

What Project Management Specialists actually earn in the Kansas City metro area — the published BLS median, what it is worth after local costs, and how it ranks against other major metros.

Direct answer
Project Management Specialists in the Kansas City metro area earn a median of $101,050 per year (-1.2% vs national, #25 of 49 major metros). Because the area price level is 92.5 against a U.S. average of 100, that salary carries roughly the purchasing power of $109,192 nationally. These are BLS occupational wage benchmarks across all workers — not MBA-graduate-specific outcomes.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) (May 2024 estimates (published April 2025)), Kansas City, MO-KS metro estimates for SOC 13-1082; cost-of-living adjustment from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MARPP) (2024). Occupational wage benchmarks across all workers, not MBA-specific outcomes.

Median annual wage
$101,050
Project Management Specialists in Kansas City
Adjusted for cost of living
$109,192
Kansas City price level 92.5 (U.S. = 100)
Rank among metros
#25 of 49
#9 after cost of living
Workers employed
8,380
in metro Kansas City

What Project Management Specialists earn in Kansas City, adjusted for what it costs to live there

A headline wage only means something next to local prices. Once local prices are accounted for, Kansas City moves up 16 places — the paycheck stretches further than the nominal figure suggests.

MetroMedian (nominal)Adjusted for cost of living
San Jose$135,120$122,366
San Francisco$135,040$116,803
Seattle$130,380$117,319
Washington DC$127,030$116,665
New York$126,660$112,524
Sacramento$124,350$116,574
San Diego$117,460$104,981
Denver$116,740$110,359
Boston$114,990$106,211
Portland$108,340$102,769
Los Angeles$108,310$95,372
Hartford$105,720$102,895
Detroit$105,350$105,037
Chicago$105,320$101,665
Charlotte$105,200$108,066
Virginia Beach$104,920$107,126
Providence$104,510$102,689
Philadelphia$104,160$101,566
Baltimore$103,720$99,266
Atlanta$103,400$103,340

Nominal medians: BLS OEWS, May 2024 estimates (published April 2025) — occupational wage benchmarks across all workers, not MBA-specific outcomes. Adjusted column: SalaryMBA estimate, computed as nominal ÷ (metro RPP ÷ 100) using BEA MARPP 2024 regional price parities.

The national pay range for Project Management Specialists

BLS publishes the full percentile distribution nationally. The spread within the occupation is usually far wider than the gap between metros.

Percentile (national)Annual wageReading
10th percentile$61,580Entry / early-career end
25th percentile$78,440
Median (50th)$102,320
75th percentile$133,100
90th percentile$167,970Senior / top-market end

Other MBA-relevant roles in Kansas City

How to read the Kansas City number

The $101,050 median means half of Project Management Specialists in the Kansas City area earn less and half earn more. It is measured across everyone in the occupation — every experience level, industry, and level of education. It is not the salary of a recent MBA graduate, and it is not a starting salary.

BLS counts roughly 8,380 people in this role in the Kansas City area. To compare against the state and national picture, see Project Management Specialists nationally or model your own economics with the MBA ROI calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How much do Project Management Specialists make in Kansas City?

Project Management Specialists in the Kansas City metro area earn a median of $101,050 per year, according to BLS OEWS May 2024 estimates (published April 2025). That is -1.2% vs national, ranking Kansas City #25 of 49 major metros we track for this role. This is an occupational wage benchmark across all workers in the metro, not an MBA-graduate-specific salary.

Is $101,050 a good salary in Kansas City?

It depends on local prices. The Kansas City area price level is 92.5 against a U.S. average of 100, so $101,050 there carries roughly the purchasing power of $109,192 nationally — about $8,142 more than the headline number implies. Once local prices are accounted for, Kansas City moves up 16 places — the paycheck stretches further than the nominal figure suggests.

Do Project Management Specialists in Kansas City need an MBA?

These BLS figures cover everyone in the occupation regardless of degree, so they cannot isolate what an MBA adds. Project Management Specialists is a role MBA graduates commonly target, and an MBA can affect where you land within the range through network, function, and seniority — but any precise MBA premium for this role in Kansas City would not be supported by this data.

Related searches

Every figure on SalaryMBA is source-labeled. See our methodology for how we source and gate data.