2023 Average Product Manager Salary And Career Guide
Wondering what a good product manager salary is in 2023?
Here's the advice you’re looking for. Planning any career path can be daunting, and within product management there are so many options for positions, responsibilities, and industries, that it can be overwhelming figuring out where to start.
This handy guide has tips for those just starting out, those in mid-level positions trying to boost their role, and those looking to improve and build on their skills. The product manager salary information in this guide will help you make an informed decision about the next step in your career.
If you’re still early on in your career, you’re not alone. Within the current product management workforce, 33% of product managers have between 0 and 4 years of experience, and 26% have between 5 and 9 years.
Our guide below has information on the product manager role, several related positions, product manager salary information, and factors affecting salary.
What is a Product Manager?
Product managers are responsible for the conception, creation, and launch of new products. Their duties might include providing product strategy, managing a development roadmap, specifying technical and functional requirements, launching the product, creating the marketing strategy, and initiating ongoing updates such as new features.
There is a lot of variety in a product manager’s daily routine, but the one common thread is a focus on creating and launching products. They typically work with engineering teams, marketing professionals, and project managers.
Related Product Management Titles
There are several related product manager job titles that are worth mentioning and which are also covered in our salary guide below. Most denote different levels of seniority or different industries.
Director Of Product Management
This is one of the most senior positions that you can reach as a product manager. Responsibilities include creating the overall product strategy, writing business cases and case studies, design and implementation, and overseeing production and launch.
Senior Product Manager
Senior product managers often report to the director of product management and often take on responsibilities delegated to them by the director. They are more involved in the day-to-day of product management, as well as the creation and production processes, and defining and refining requirements.
Product Owner
Product owners tend to focus on maximizing efficiencies and the value of products to the consumer. In the software industry, product owners work directly with product development teams. Product owners guide the product team and keep production on track.
Junior/Associate Product Manager
Associate product managers and junior product managers are new to the role and are generally still learning "the ropes" of product management. In some orgs, junior PMs are differentiated by having more formal experience in a similar business environment (not necessarily product management) and associates are generally new graduates. They usually work under more senior PMs and are responsible for the execution of tasks rather than strategic vision.
Technical Product Manager
Job descriptions for technical product managers are almost identical to that of other product managers, but their roles are specific to technical industries such as engineering, IT, or software.
Product Marketing Manager
Product marketing managers work closely with product managers but their roles are distinct. The former primarily creates strategies for marketing the products created by the product manager and their team. This might include training sales staff, creating a marketing strategy, and producing marketing materials.
New Product Development Manager
This role is more involved in coming up with ideas for products. This may involve research, design, and requirement definition. New product development managers may assist in production, though not to the extent of product managers.
Chief Product Officer (CPO)
A CPO is the most senior position that a product manager can achieve. While not every organization will employ a chief product officer, within those that do, the CPO is the head strategist and oversees all products and product operations in an organization, including everything from product ideation to product design, product development, and product launch.
Average Product Manager Salary
Okay, here are the numbers. The average product manager yearly salary is US$127,192, according to Glassdoor, as the American national average. In Canada, that number is CA$103,769 and while UK PMs can expect to earn around £63,598.
But this doesn’t tell the full story. When we break down the average product manager salary ranges by job title, there is significant variation. Averages depend on the factors above as well as others such as company size, revenue, and more.
Director of product management salary or product director salary
- USA: US$162,020
- Canada: CA$138,160
- UK: £107,377
Senior product manager salary
- USA: US$145,684
- Canada: CA$117,330
- UK: £70,882
Product owner salary
- USA: US$107,285
- Canada: CA$91,479
- UK: £56,363
Digital product manager salary
- USA: US$112,203
- Canada: CA$92,021
- UK: £54,352
Associate product manager salary
Technical product manager salary
- USA: US$143,045
- Canada: CA$107,115
- UK: £63,826
Product marketing manager salary
- USA: US$116,986
- Canada: CA$84,738
- UK: £50,563
New product development manager salary
Overall, more senior positions have a higher salary in both the United States and Canada.
Most positions have a large discrepancy between Canadian and American salaries, especially when taking into account the currency exchange rate between USD and CAD. The American salaries are an average of 35.2% higher than the Canadian salaries.
Product Manager Career Path
There's a lot of variability to the product manager career path. A variety of industries and sectors require product managers, including software, manufacturing, retail, tech, and more. It’s also common to start out in one industry and move throughout your career, as interests and industries change. Seniority, as well as whether the PM chooses to specialize (for example, as a technical product manager) will affect the title, salary, and day-to-day roles of the individual.
Results From Our Survey
From 2020 to 2022, we ran a survey on The Product Manager asking readers about their salaries, years of experience, location, how satisfied they are with their salary, and more. We received 137 responses from product managers in 17 different countries.
Here’s the average salary breakdown by job title:
- Product Manager (Junior): US$79,601
- Product Manager (Mid-Level): US$104,58
- Product Manager (Senior): US$125,554
- Product Management Director: US$151,484
- VP, Product Management: US$175,000
Other than the senior product manager salary, these salaries are higher than the averages in the previous section.
It’s worth noting that only one respondent had the title of VP, Product Management. There were 4 other job titles mentioned once each, which are not included in the averages above.
Here are the responses by location:
- United States: US$120,509
- United Kingdom: US$81,723
- India: US$112,521
- Australia: US$93,659
There were also a few respondents from the following countries, which had at least two respondents. The average salaries are included here.
- Brazil: US$39,870
- Canada: US$100,717
- France: US$56,094
- Germany: US$76,814
- Singapore: US$58,844
- Spain: US$50,275
- Sweden: US$64,674
We also received one response each from respondents in Austria, The Czech Republic, Israel, Malaysia, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.
How We Calculated the Numbers
Averages by experience, education level, and location (see below) were pulled from this report.
Product manager salary information by specific job title was sourced from Indeed. All dollar amounts are listed in USD unless stated otherwise. Survey responses that reported salaries in a currency other than USD were converted to USD, and any currencies that were not specified were assumed to be USD.
What Can Affect Product Manager Salaries?
So, how much do product managers make? The answer is, it depends—which may not be the answer that you were necessarily looking for, but just providing a number with no context or disclaimers wouldn’t give you any actionable information. Here is a brief explanation of the factors that can affect product management salaries.
Experience
As with any job, experience affects your salary. You might be working as a product manager in software, IT, or manufacturing, and whether you choose one industry or path and follow it, or jump around between industries or product types, your experience changes throughout your career. In general, entry-level positions that require less than 2 years of experience on average earn US$74,000, 6-10 years earn US$117,000, and 15+ years earn US$154,000.
Keep in mind that these numbers speak to average base salary, and do not take bonuses or other forms of compensation into account. This is important, since it is reported that about 44% of Product Managers receive a bonus of at least US$3,000 annually as part of their average total compensation, which is not accounted for above.
In certain industries and companies, it is also common to offer employees, including product managers, compensation in the form of company stock options. Be sure to take this into account when conducting research into a potential new job or negotiating a salary.
Education
Product managers tend to be well-educated, as they need training and education in product management and business. This might include an MBA, or some other type of business degree, as well as technical training or supplementary courses in product management.
Around 42% of product managers have a master’s degree, while 45% have a bachelor’s degree. Those with a bachelor’s degree make an average of US$116,500, and those with a master’s or some master’s make an average of US$127,800.
Location
Salary also varies in different regions of the U.S. Places where product managers are more in-demand tend to offer more money than other areas. For example, product managers are highly sought after in Silicon Valley, where the pace of creating and launching new products is still growing. Product managers are likely to earn more there than anywhere else in the US.
Here are the median salaries by region in the United States:
- West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle): US$120,000
- East Coast (New York, Boston): US$110,000
- South (Atlanta): US$103,000
- Midwest (Chicago, Denver): US$114,000
Compensation for product managers also varies by country. Keep in mind that the amount fluctuates based on many factors, including the average cost of living in that city or region.
- Toronto, Canada: CA$94,896
- Berlin, Germany: €62,000
- Sydney, Australia: A$120,000
- London, UK: £62,478
- Zurich, Switzerland: CHF 110,000
Certification
Whether or not a product manager has relevant certifications will have an impact on their salary. On average, 68% of product managers have between 1 and 3 certifications. This makes product managers more hireable, as well as earns them more money. Product management certifications provide tangible proof to employers that they are capable of their responsibilities, so certified product managers tend to make more.
Related: How To Hire A Stellar Product Manager With This Interview Roadmap
Conclusion: How Much Does A Product Manager Make?
Use this guide when making your next product manager career move, whether it’s asking for a raise, moving up within your organization, or moving to a new position in product management entirely. The product manager salary information is also a great resource for analyzing your own salary and position and determining whether you’re being paid what you’re worth.
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Related Read: Product Manager In Digital Transformation: How To Make It Work
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