SalaryExplorer

SOC 13-1082 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Project Management Specialists — Kingsport

Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA · 9 metro areas compared

$87,290 /year
$41.97per hour
550jobs in area
−14.7%vs US median

Median pay for this occupation in Kingsport, TN is $87,290 a year, trailing the national median of $102,320 by 14.7%.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $102,32010TH$51,75025TH$66,500MEDIAN$87,29075TH$104,59090TH$130,010

How pay has moved

$92,170$62,89020212022202320242025$87,290
$72,620 in 2021 to $87,290 in 2025, +20.2% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+5.6%
Openings per year
78,200
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

Median pay for this occupation in Kingsport, TN is $87,290 a year, trailing the national median of $102,320 by 14.7%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $66,500 and $104,590. The lowest tenth earn under $51,750, while the highest tenth earn more than $130,010.

The area has 550 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.68 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Within the state, Knoxville records the highest median at $91,690. Of the 347 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 44th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$51,750−49.4%
25th$66,500−35.0%
Median (50th)$87,290−14.7%
75th$104,590+2.2%
90th$130,010+27.1%
Mean$91,660−10.4%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Tennessee

Median annual wage for Project Management Specialists, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Knoxville$91,6903,650
2Chattanooga$87,2401,750
3Nashville$85,9907,950
4Memphis$85,1302,960
5Morristown$82,720180
6Jackson$81,450330
7Cleveland$80,720130
8Clarksville$79,660420
9Johnson City$78,100300

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Kingsport run 13.6% below the national average, so the median of $87,290 goes as far as $101,030 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 1.3% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$87,290as reported by BLS

Local price level

86.4US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$101,030US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $87,290 a year, 14.7% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $51,750 to $130,010 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 550 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Knoxville, at $91,690.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Project Management Specialists in Kingsport, TN?

The median annual wage is $87,290, or $41.97 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $102,320, so pay in Kingsport, TN is 14.7% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Kingsport, TN earns more than $130,010 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $51,750 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Knoxville, at $91,690 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 550 jobs in this occupation in Kingsport, TN. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.