Project Manager Salary in Lowell, MA: Median $116,324 in 2026
Lowell (MA) · COL index 118 · Unemployment 4.4% · Metro pop 115,000 · Rank #54 of 283 for Project Manager salary
A Project Manager in Lowell earns an estimated median of $116,324 per year. That figure starts from the Massachusetts state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($106,146) and scales it by Lowell's composite cost-of-living index of 118 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $80,614; the 90th percentile reaches $184,110. After federal, Massachusetts state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Project Manager takes home approximately $84,789/year — about $7,066/month or $3,261 every other week.
Compared to the national Project Manager median of $98,580, Lowell pays +18.0%. Relative to the Lowell median household income of $58,200, a Project Managersalary runs +99.9%. Local unemployment is 4.4%[3], with an estimated 41 annual Project Manager openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (787,500).
Project Manager Snapshot — Lowell (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Lowell | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Manager median salary | $116,324 | $98,580 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $80,614 | $73,560 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $184,110 | $168,000 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $84,789 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $425,000 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,650/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,525/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $58,200 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 118.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | — | [3] |
How Project Manager Salaries Work in Lowell
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Massachusetts state-level OEWS median ($106,146) and scaling by Lowell's composite cost-of-living index (118)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and Massachusetts state income tax at a 4.8% effective rate ($5,596/yr on the $116,324 median)[10].
Lowell also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. Near-national unemployment means a balanced market — employers and candidates negotiate from roughly equal positions. Median household income in the metro is $58,200, which frames what "a good Project Manager salary" means locally: a $$116,324 wage pays about 200% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Lowell
Estimated annual expense shares on a $84,789 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Lowell's COL index of 118. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Lowell's COL index of 118[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,650/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Lowell
Renting
Buying
At $7,066/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $2,120/mo. Lowell's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,650/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,525/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Project Manager salary. For homebuyers, the 3.7× price-to-income ratio is comfortable — a median {p.title} salary supports the median home in {city.name} well inside standard lender DTI caps.
How Lowell Stacks Up for Project Managers
Against 283 major US cities: Lowell ranks #54 for nominal Project Manager salary, #187 for rent affordability, and #235 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Lowell's nominal wage premium. Project Managers here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Project Manager Salary Comparison
Lowell's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs MA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell, MA ★ | $116,324 | 118 | $1,650 | — |
| Boston, MA | $159,700 | 162 | $2,750 | +37.3% |
| Worcester, MA | $114,353 | 116 | $1,650 | -1.7% |
| Springfield, MA | $96,608 | 98 | $1,150 | -16.9% |
| Cambridge, MA | $175,472 | 178 | $3,100 | +50.8% |
| Burlington, VT | $116,324 | 118 | $1,938 | +0.0% |
Project Manager Job Market in Lowell
Lowell has an estimated 41 annual Project Manageropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 787,500 national Project Managers[1]. The 4.4% unemployment rate[3] is near the national average, with steady turnover across most sectors.
About the profession: Project managers plan, execute, and close projects across industries, ensuring delivery on time, within scope, and within budget. PMP certification is widely valued. Typical entry requirement: bachelor's degree. Projected growth through 2034: 7%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Lowell
Early-career Project Managers in Lowell start around $80,614, reach the city median ($116,324) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($184,110) at senior / specialized levels.
Related business professions in Lowell
Calculators for Project Managers in Lowell
Other professions in Lowell
Frequently Asked Questions — Project Manager in Lowell
How much does a Project Manager make in Lowell, MA?
The estimated median salary for a Project Manager in Lowell is $116,324/year, scaled from the national median ($98,580) by Lowell's composite cost-of-living index of 118 (US = 100). After federal, Massachusetts state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $84,789/year or $7,066/month.
Can a Project Manager afford to live in Lowell?
On $7,066/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $2,120/month. Lowell's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,650/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,525/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 17.0%, making housing very affordable for a Project Manager at the local median. Home-buyers face 3.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 3.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Project Manager pay in Lowell?
On $116,324 gross, a Project Manager in Lowell pays approximately $17,040 in federal income tax (14.6% effective), $5,596 in Massachusetts state income tax (4.8% effective), and $8,899 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 27.1%. Some Massachusetts cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Lowell rank for Project Manager salaries vs other cities?
Lowell ranks #54 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Project Manager salary, #187 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #235 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Project Manager in Lowell?
On $84,789 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Lowell looks like: housing $19,800/yr (23.4%); food $11,274/yr; transportation $9,089/yr; healthcare $6,256/yr; utilities $4,621/yr; savings + discretionary $33,749/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Lowell's COL index of 118 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Project Manager job market like in Lowell?
Lowell's unemployment rate is 4.4% across the metro of 115,000. Estimated annual Project Manager openings: ~41 (extrapolated from 787,500 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The market is near national averages with steady turnover.
Do Lowell employers pay above or below the Massachusetts median for Project Managers?
Yes — Lowell's estimated Project Manager median of $116,324 is 18.0% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Lowell median is derived from the Massachusetts state-level BLS OEWS median ($106,146), scaled by Lowell's composite cost-of-living index of 118. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Project Managermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Massachusetts's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 118index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 107.7(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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