Hiring a project management specialist in McKinney, TX
Employers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX area pay project management specialists a median of $98,900, with the middle half of the market between $76,740 and $131,250. McKinney residents working in business and financial operations occupations report a median of $90,718, which is 8% below what the metro pays for this role.
What does a project management specialist earn here?
Place of work
What employers pay
| 25th percentile | $76,740 |
| Median | $98,900 |
| 75th percentile | $131,250 |
Half of project management specialists in this area earn between $76,740 and $131,250. A band set below $76,740 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.
Place of residence
What McKinney residents earn
$90,718
Median earnings of McKinney residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 9,603 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 8% 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 two sit close together, so pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.
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 McKinney?
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 52.6% of McKinney adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.
The average McKinney commute runs 27.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 21.8% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.
How often do these jobs turn over?
In Collin County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 4,382 and turns over 10.8% a quarter, with 1,663 hires against 1,387 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,376 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 $19,780 to $29,670 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.
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Houston, TX
- Phoenix, AZ
- Philadelphia, PA
- San Antonio, TX
- San Diego, CA
- Dallas, TX
- Fort Worth, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Austin, TX
Other business and financial operations roles in McKinney
- Accountants and Auditors
- Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
- Budget Analysts
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
- Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists
- Compliance Officers
- Cost Estimators
- Credit Analysts
- Credit Counselors
Related
- Hiring Project Management Specialists: the role, the pay, the process
- Recruiting services in McKinney
- Every Texas city we cover
McKinney is the 15th largest of 17 Texas cities in this dataset.