Project Management Specialists salary in New Orleans, Louisiana

The 1,910 Project Management Specialists employed in the New Orleans metro earned a median annual wage of $82,400 in 2024. That matches the Louisiana state median exactly, so the metro sits right at the state average rather than above or below it. Both figures trail the national median of $100,946 by about 18%.

The gap between New Orleans and the US figure is worth pausing on. A project manager at the national median earns roughly $18,500 more per year than one at the New Orleans median. That difference compounds across a career, and it reflects how much the kinds of industries that hire project managers here differ from the national mix. Energy, construction, and government contracting dominate locally. Those sectors pay differently than the finance and tech employers that drive wages in higher-paying metros.

The spread within New Orleans tells a more varied story. The bottom 10% of earners in this role brought in $48,600 last year. The top 10% reached $133,960. That gap of roughly $85,000 from floor to ceiling is substantial. It points to real differences in seniority, the size of the projects someone manages, and whether the work falls in the private or public sector. Someone stepping into a first project coordinator role and someone overseeing a multi-year infrastructure contract are both counted in these numbers.

The mean wage of $89,580 sits about $7,200 above the median. A smaller group of higher-earning specialists pulls that average up. For most people in this occupation locally, the $82,400 median is the more realistic reference point.