Mid-career commercial HVAC project manager base pay runs from about $102,500 in Jacksonville to about $152,500 in San Francisco and San Jose, with New York at roughly $146,500 and Houston at roughly $110,500. These are the metro-adjusted medians published in Gulfstream's salary guides, anchored to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for SOC 11-9021, Construction Managers.
By Eric Dickerson, Founder, Gulfstream Strategic Placements. Last updated: September 6, 2026.
| Metro | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $134,500 | $152,500 | $170,000 |
| San Jose, CA | $134,500 | $152,500 | $170,000 |
| New York, NY | $129,500 | $146,500 | $163,500 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $124,500 | $141,000 | $157,500 |
| Boston, MA | $121,500 | $137,500 | $153,500 |
| Seattle, WA | $121,500 | $137,500 | $153,500 |
| Washington, DC | $119,500 | $135,500 | $151,000 |
| Northern Virginia, VA | $117,500 | $133,000 | $148,500 |
| Portland, OR | $109,500 | $124,000 | $138,500 |
| Denver, CO | $107,500 | $122,000 | $136,000 |
| Chicago, IL | $104,500 | $118,500 | $132,000 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $104,500 | $118,500 | $132,000 |
| Baltimore, MD | $104,500 | $118,500 | $132,000 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $104,500 | $118,500 | $132,000 |
| Austin, TX | $104,500 | $118,500 | $132,000 |
| Miami, FL | $99,500 | $113,000 | $126,000 |
| Dallas, TX | $98,500 | $111,500 | $124,500 |
| Raleigh, NC | $98,500 | $111,500 | $124,500 |
| Houston, TX | $97,500 | $110,500 | $123,500 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $97,500 | $110,500 | $123,500 |
| Detroit, MI | $97,500 | $110,500 | $123,500 |
| Charlotte, NC | $97,500 | $110,500 | $123,500 |
| Nashville, TN | $97,500 | $110,500 | $123,500 |
| Atlanta, GA | $96,500 | $109,500 | $122,000 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $94,500 | $107,000 | $119,500 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $94,500 | $107,000 | $119,500 |
| Columbus, OH | $94,500 | $107,000 | $119,500 |
| Kansas City, MO | $94,500 | $107,000 | $119,500 |
| San Antonio, TX | $93,500 | $106,000 | $118,500 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $93,500 | $106,000 | $118,500 |
| St. Louis, MO | $93,500 | $106,000 | $118,500 |
| Tampa, FL | $92,500 | $105,000 | $117,000 |
| Cleveland, OH | $92,500 | $105,000 | $117,000 |
| Orlando, FL | $91,500 | $104,000 | $116,000 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $90,500 | $102,500 | $114,500 |
These are base salary bands for mid-career PMs, not total cash. Bonus is separate. Our comp benchmark data uses a 15 percent bonus target for mechanical PM roles, and a vehicle allowance or a truck is common on top.
Gulfstream's salary guides anchor to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics national median for SOC 11-9021, Construction Managers, then apply a metro wage index built from BLS state and metro wage data and cost-of-living indices. Every figure above is that published dataset — nothing here is estimated by hand.
The same dataset puts senior HVAC PMs (roughly 15-plus years, larger project value) near $202,000 in San Francisco and San Jose, about $194,500 in New York, and about $146,500 in Houston.
Union structure, project mix, and commute geography move real offers. In union markets, the wage sheets behind your field labor are published in our Union Wage Index, and a metro with a high total package changes the cost of the whole job — not the PM's salary directly, but the pressure on it.
What pushes a specific offer above the band. Mission-critical and semiconductor experience. Design-assist and central plant depth. A track record on projects above $40M. Willingness to relocate into a tight market.
What pushes it below. Single-sector experience, no self-perform coordination, or PM titles that were really assistant PM scope.
What is not in this table. Cost of living. A $122,000 Denver offer and a $146,500 New York offer are closer in real terms than the numbers look.
We do not publish a verified count of live offers per metro behind each band. These are the salary-guide bands and BLS anchors, not a survey of our own signed offers by city.
In our salary guides, San Francisco and San Jose, at about $152,500 mid-career base.
No. Base only; our comp benchmark data uses a 15 percent bonus target for mechanical PMs.
Gulfstream's salary guides, anchored to BLS OEWS SOC 11-9021 and metro-adjusted.
About $202,000 in San Francisco and San Jose, about $146,500 in Houston.
No. Union wage sheets cover field labor; those rates are published separately in our Union Wage Index.
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