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Hiring a project management specialist in Chesapeake, VA

Employers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area pay project management specialists a median of $104,920, with the middle half of the market between $78,930 and $132,370. Chesapeake residents working in business and financial operations occupations report a median of $78,129, which is 26% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a project management specialist earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$78,930
Median$104,920
75th percentile$132,370

Half of project management specialists in this area earn between $78,930 and $132,370. A band set below $78,930 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Chesapeake residents earn

$78,129

Median earnings of Chesapeake residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 8,815 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 26% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Chesapeake rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Assign duties or responsibilities to project personnel.
  • Communicate with key stakeholders to determine project requirements and objectives.
  • Confer with project personnel to identify and resolve problems.
  • Create project status presentations for delivery to customers or project personnel.
  • Develop or update project plans including information such as objectives, technologies, schedules, funding, and staffing.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 13-1082.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Word, Project management software, Adobe Acrobat.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Chesapeake?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 36.4% of Chesapeake adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Chesapeake commute runs 25.5 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.5% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Chesapeake city, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 625 and turns over 10.7% a quarter, with 105 hires against 74 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,053 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about project management specialists. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $20,984 to $31,476 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a project management specialist somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other business and financial operations roles in Chesapeake

Related

Chesapeake is the 2th largest of 4 Virginia cities in this dataset.