Product Manager Salary by State
PM base salaries range from $90,000 in Mississippi to $175,000 in California. But raw salary does not tell the full story - cost of living, state income tax, and remote work policies dramatically change which states offer the best deal for product managers.
Top 5 by Raw Salary
Top 5 by COL-Adjusted Salary
All 50 States - PM Base Salary
| State | Avg Base | COL Index | Adjusted | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $175,000 | 1.28 | $136,700 | Mixed |
| Washington | $168,000 | 1.18 | $142,400 | Mixed |
| New York | $160,000 | 1.25 | $128,000 | Mixed |
| Massachusetts | $152,000 | 1.18 | $128,800 | Mixed |
| Colorado | $148,000 | 1.05 | $140,900 | Friendly |
| Texas | $138,000 | 0.92 | $150,000 | Friendly |
| Virginia | $142,000 | 1.05 | $135,200 | Mixed |
| Illinois | $135,000 | 0.98 | $137,800 | Mixed |
| Georgia | $132,000 | 0.93 | $141,900 | Friendly |
| North Carolina | $130,000 | 0.90 | $144,400 | Friendly |
| Oregon | $140,000 | 1.10 | $127,300 | Mixed |
| Pennsylvania | $130,000 | 0.98 | $132,700 | Mixed |
| Minnesota | $128,000 | 0.96 | $133,300 | Mixed |
| Utah | $130,000 | 0.95 | $136,800 | Friendly |
| New Jersey | $145,000 | 1.15 | $126,100 | Mixed |
| Maryland | $138,000 | 1.08 | $127,800 | Mixed |
| Connecticut | $140,000 | 1.12 | $125,000 | Mixed |
| Arizona | $125,000 | 0.93 | $134,400 | Friendly |
| Tennessee | $118,000 | 0.88 | $134,100 | Friendly |
| Michigan | $120,000 | 0.89 | $134,800 | Mixed |
| Florida | $122,000 | 0.97 | $125,800 | Friendly |
| Indiana | $112,000 | 0.85 | $131,800 | Mixed |
| Ohio | $115,000 | 0.87 | $132,200 | Mixed |
| Missouri | $112,000 | 0.86 | $130,200 | Mixed |
| Wisconsin | $115,000 | 0.89 | $129,200 | Mixed |
| Nevada | $118,000 | 0.97 | $121,600 | Friendly |
| Iowa | $105,000 | 0.82 | $128,000 | Mixed |
| Kansas | $105,000 | 0.83 | $126,500 | Mixed |
| Oklahoma | $102,000 | 0.82 | $124,400 | Mixed |
| South Carolina | $108,000 | 0.88 | $122,700 | Friendly |
| Nebraska | $105,000 | 0.85 | $123,500 | Mixed |
| Alabama | $95,000 | 0.82 | $115,900 | Mixed |
| Louisiana | $98,000 | 0.84 | $116,700 | Mixed |
| Kentucky | $100,000 | 0.83 | $120,500 | Mixed |
| Arkansas | $95,000 | 0.80 | $118,800 | Mixed |
| New Hampshire | $132,000 | 1.05 | $125,700 | Mixed |
| Maine | $110,000 | 0.95 | $115,800 | Mixed |
| Delaware | $128,000 | 1.02 | $125,500 | Mixed |
| Hawaii | $125,000 | 1.35 | $92,600 | Remote only |
| Rhode Island | $120,000 | 1.02 | $117,600 | Mixed |
| Montana | $102,000 | 0.88 | $115,900 | Remote |
| Idaho | $108,000 | 0.90 | $120,000 | Mixed |
| Vermont | $110,000 | 1.02 | $107,800 | Mixed |
| West Virginia | $92,000 | 0.78 | $117,900 | Remote |
| Wyoming | $98,000 | 0.88 | $111,400 | Remote |
| South Dakota | $100,000 | 0.84 | $119,000 | Remote |
| North Dakota | $98,000 | 0.85 | $115,300 | Mixed |
| Alaska | $108,000 | 1.15 | $93,900 | Remote |
| Mississippi | $90,000 | 0.78 | $115,400 | Remote |
| New Mexico | $105,000 | 0.88 | $119,300 | Mixed |
COL index: 1.00 = national average. Values above 1.00 indicate higher cost of living. Adjusted salary = Base / COL Index. Source: BLS, Glassdoor, Levels.fyi. Last verified April 2026.
Regional Market Analysis
West Coast (CA, WA, OR): The highest raw salaries in the country, driven by the density of FAANG headquarters, established startups, and venture-backed companies. San Francisco and Seattle are the two most competitive PM job markets, with base salaries $20,000-$45,000 above the national average. Oregon offers a tax-advantaged alternative with no sales tax, though Portland's PM market is smaller. The cost of living in the Bay Area is the highest in the country, which offsets much of the salary premium when measured in purchasing power.
Northeast (NY, MA, NJ, CT): New York City is the second-largest PM job market in the US, with particular strength in fintech, media, and advertising. Boston has a thriving PM scene anchored by HubSpot, Toast, and the MIT/Harvard startup ecosystem. Base salaries are $10,000-$30,000 above the national average but come with high cost of living and state income taxes (New York City has an additional city income tax). The concentration of PM leadership roles in NYC makes it an excellent market for senior-level PMs seeking Director and VP positions.
Southeast (GA, NC, TN, FL): The fastest-growing PM market in the country. Atlanta has emerged as a major tech hub with Mailchimp, NCR, and Cox Automotive. Raleigh-Durham benefits from Red Hat, Cisco, and a strong university pipeline. Nashville is growing rapidly with Amazon's operations hub. Florida's lack of state income tax makes Miami and Tampa increasingly attractive for remote PMs. Base salaries are $15,000-$35,000 below California, but cost of living is 20-35% lower, and state tax savings add another 5-8% to effective compensation.
Mountain West (CO, UT, AZ): Denver, Boulder, and Salt Lake City offer an exceptional balance of salary and lifestyle. Colorado in particular has become a PM hotspot with strong companies like Workday and a vibrant startup scene. Utah's "Silicon Slopes" corridor (Qualtrics, Pluralsight, Domo) has created a self-sustaining PM talent market. Base salaries are 5-10% below coastal markets, but cost of living is 15-25% lower, making these among the best value markets for PM compensation.
Midwest (IL, MN, MI, OH): Chicago is the Midwest's dominant PM market with a diverse mix of enterprise (McDonald's Tech), fintech, and mid-market SaaS companies. Minneapolis has Target and Best Buy's product organisations. These markets pay $20,000-$40,000 below coastal markets but offer significantly lower cost of living. The Midwest is strongest for enterprise PM roles and weaker for consumer product and startup PM positions.
Remote Work and State-Based Salary
The rise of remote work has fundamentally changed the state-by-state salary picture for product managers. Before 2020, your PM salary was almost entirely determined by where your office was located. Today, it depends on a combination of where the company is headquartered, where you live, and the company's specific remote compensation policy.
Companies fall into three broad categories. Location-agnostic companies like GitLab, Coinbase, and Stripe pay the same salary regardless of where you live. If you earn $170,000 base and live in Tennessee, you keep the full amount with no state income tax - a significantly better deal than earning the same in California and losing 13.3% to state taxes. Location-adjusted companies like Google and Meta tier their salaries into 3-5 bands based on metro area, with adjustments of 5-25% from the top band. Hybrid companies like Amazon and Microsoft generally pay based on the office you are assigned to, regardless of how many days you work remotely.
The optimal strategy for maximising PM compensation is to target location-agnostic companies while living in a no-income-tax state (Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Washington, Nevada) with moderate cost of living. A PM earning $170,000 base at Coinbase while living in Austin, Texas effectively earns 8-13% more in take-home pay than the same salary in San Francisco or New York, plus benefits from significantly lower housing costs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which state pays product managers the most?
California pays the highest raw product manager salaries with an average base of $175,000, driven by the concentration of FAANG and major tech companies in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Washington state is second at $168,000 average base, largely due to Seattle-based companies like Amazon and Microsoft. New York rounds out the top three at $160,000. However, when adjusted for cost of living, states like Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina offer better purchasing power.
Do remote product managers earn less than on-site PMs?
Remote PMs earn approximately 5-15% less in base salary than their on-site counterparts at the same company, depending on the employer's location adjustment policy. Companies like Google and Meta adjust pay based on where you live, with tier-based systems that reduce base salary by 5-25% for lower cost-of-living areas. However, some companies like GitLab, Coinbase, and Stripe pay location-agnostic salaries, meaning remote PMs earn the same regardless of where they work. After accounting for cost of living differences, remote PMs often have higher purchasing power.
What is the cost-of-living adjusted PM salary in Texas?
Texas product managers earn an average base salary of $138,000 with a cost-of-living index of approximately 0.92 (8% below national average). This gives an adjusted salary equivalent to roughly $150,000 in purchasing power compared to the national average. Austin specifically has higher salaries averaging $145,000 base but also higher COL (0.97) within Texas. Texas also has no state income tax, which adds another 5-8% to effective take-home pay compared to California or New York.
Which states have the most product manager jobs?
California leads with the most PM job openings, followed by Washington, New York, Texas, and Massachusetts. The top PM job markets by city are San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Austin, and Boston. However, the fastest-growing PM job markets are in Austin, Miami, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham, where tech company expansions and remote-friendly policies are driving rapid growth. States with emerging tech hubs like Colorado, Georgia (Atlanta), and North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham) are seeing double-digit annual growth in PM postings.
How much do product managers make in New York?
Product managers in New York earn an average base salary of $160,000 with total compensation ranging from $200,000 to $380,000 depending on level and company. NYC has a high concentration of fintech (Stripe, Square, Brex), media (Spotify, The New York Times), and advertising (Google NYC, Meta NYC) PM roles. The cost of living is approximately 1.25x the national average, which reduces the adjusted salary. However, New York offers exceptional salary growth potential because many companies have their product leadership based in NYC, creating more Director and VP-level opportunities.