Hiring a project management specialist in Salt Lake City, UT

Do Salt Lake City residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area pay?

Salt Lake City residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $70,347 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $76,620 as the median of the 26 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 8%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole business and financial operations group, not this one role. In the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area the group covers 26 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from meeting, convention, and event planners at $49,970 to project management specialists at $98,000 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 26 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Salt Lake City and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

Is the talent actually in Salt Lake City?

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. O*NET OnLine, SOC 13-1082.

That matters here, because 50.9% of Salt Lake City 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, residents of Salt Lake City aged 25 and over.

The average Salt Lake City commute runs 19.6 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.5% of Salt Lake City workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Salt Lake City.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Salt Lake County, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 6,826 and turns over 9.0% a quarter, with 1,079 hires against 644 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,697 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 $98,000 median in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $19,600 to $29,400 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.

Questions employers ask about hiring a project management specialist in Salt Lake City

What does it cost to hire a project management specialist in Salt Lake City?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $98,000 median wage in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $19,600 to $29,400 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a project management specialist in Salt Lake City look like?

Employers in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area pay project management specialists a median of $98,000, with the middle half of the market between $77,620 and $128,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $77,620 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Do Salt Lake City residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area pay?

Salt Lake City residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $70,347 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $76,620 as the median of the 26 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 8%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.

Is the talent for this role already in Salt Lake City?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 50.9% of Salt Lake City adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role.

Related

• Hiring Project Management Specialists: the role, the pay, the process
• Recruiting services in Salt Lake City
• Every Utah city we cover

Salt Lake City is the largest of 1 Utah cities in this dataset.