The cost to hire a construction project manager in 2026 starts with base pay of $130,970 to $157,210 at the median, depending on region, based on TBG’s 2026 Construction Salary Survey. A Superintendent I runs $126,900 to $156,900. That is before the search, the offer it takes to win, and the weeks the seat sits empty.
Base pay is the number everyone budgets. The other three are the ones that blow the budget.
Last updated: November 2026
What Goes Into the Cost to Hire a Construction Project Manager
Four costs, in order of size:
- Base pay. The salary you need to offer for the level and the region.
- The cost to win. The extra it takes to move a proven PM away from a company that wants to keep them.
- The empty seat. Schedule, margin, and owner trust while the job runs without its leader.
- The search itself. Ads, interview hours, travel, and any search fee.
Most hiring budgets cover only the first and the fourth. The second and third are where a slow or cheap hire gets expensive.
Base Pay: What a Construction PM Costs by Region in 2026
Here is median and 80th percentile base pay for a Project Manager, by region.
| Region | Median | 80th percentile | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | $157,210 | $183,040 | $25,830 |
| Northwest | $141,530 | $162,870 | $21,340 |
| Southwest | $133,810 | $149,230 | $15,420 |
| Midwest | $133,550 | $149,750 | $16,200 |
| Mid-Atlantic | $132,660 | $157,080 | $24,420 |
| Southeast | $130,970 | $148,850 | $17,880 |
Source: TBG 2026 Construction Salary Survey, Project Manager, base salary only. Gap is the 80th percentile minus the median.
For a full breakdown by level, see the construction project manager salary ranges.
Cost to Hire a Construction Superintendent
Superintendent I pay lands close to PM pay in most regions. The gap to the 80th percentile is about the same size.
| Region | Median | 80th percentile | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | $156,900 | $182,040 | $25,140 |
| Northwest | $140,490 | $158,700 | $18,210 |
| Midwest | $133,290 | $149,970 | $16,680 |
| Mid-Atlantic | $132,410 | $156,770 | $24,360 |
| Southeast | $127,010 | $142,290 | $15,280 |
| Southwest | $126,900 | $141,900 | $15,000 |
Source: TBG 2026 Construction Salary Survey, Superintendent I, base salary only. Gap is the 80th percentile minus the median.
A general superintendent is a different budget. The survey puts General Superintendent median base at $199,950 in the Midwest and $234,740 in the Northeast. See construction superintendent salary by level for the full ladder.
The Cost to Win: Why the Median Offer Loses
The proven PM or superintendent you want already has a job. Their employer knows what it costs to replace them.
That is the gap column in both tables. It runs $15,000 to $25,830 depending on role and region. It is what the current employer can add to keep them at the 80th percentile, and it is roughly what you need to beat to close.
We cover that fight in detail in construction counteroffers.
Here is what the market looks like on TBG’s own open searches as of November 4, 2026:
- Project Manager, Monroe, LA: $130,000 to $165,000
- Senior Project Manager, Tampa, FL: $125,000 to $140,000
- Commercial Superintendent, Phoenix, AZ: $100,000 to $150,000
- Federal Construction Superintendent, Jackson, MS: $110,000 to $145,000
Those ranges are posted base pay set by the hiring contractor. The open roles are on our construction jobs board.
Look at the top of each range. That is where the finalists land.
The Empty Seat: What Waiting Costs
No survey can tell you what an empty PM or superintendent seat costs your company. Your contract can.
Pull these from the job that needs the leader:
- Liquidated damages per day, if the contract has them
- Weekly general conditions you carry whether or not the work moves
- Fee at risk if the owner holds back or the next award goes elsewhere
- Who is covering the gap, and what they stopped doing to cover it
Multiply by the weeks the seat could sit open. That is the real number on the other side of a slow hire.
The delays are not hypothetical. In the AGC and NCCER 2026 Workforce Survey of 1,830 respondents, run in July and August 2026, 42% said shortages of their own or their subcontractors’ workers had delayed projects. That made worker shortages the most commonly cited cause of delay.
The same survey found 87% of firms with salaried openings said those roles were as hard or harder to fill than a year earlier.
And demand for field leaders is climbing. Superintendent openings at TBG rose 84% in the first ten months of 2026, according to our construction hiring trends data.
Plan the hire before the job needs the person. Our construction hiring timeline works backward from mobilization.
The Search Itself: Cost Per Hire
This is the smallest of the four costs, and the one most companies track.
SHRM’s 2025 recruiting benchmarking report, based on 2,371 HR professionals surveyed in early 2025, put the median cost per hire at $10,625 for executive roles and $1,200 for nonexecutive roles. Those figures cover all industries, not construction.
A construction PM or superintendent search usually costs more than the nonexecutive figure. The interviews run longer, the finalist pool is smaller, and the decision makers are on jobsites.
If you use a search firm, ask how its fee is calculated. If it is tied to first-year base, the pay tables above set that number too.
Then ask what the fee covers. Offer management through the start date, counteroffer preparation, and a replacement guarantee all reduce the bigger costs above.
What About the Cost of a Bad Hire?
You will see the line that a bad hire costs “30% of first-year earnings,” credited to the U.S. Department of Labor. We could not trace it to a Department of Labor source.
Here is what we can say from the tables. A wrong PM hire means paying base pay for the months it takes to find out, then paying the cost to win and the empty seat a second time.
That is why the screening matters more than the speed.
How to Lower the Cost to Hire a Construction Project Manager
1. Price the offer before the first interview. Use the 2026 Construction Salary Survey or the construction salary calculator to set the range for the level and region.
2. Budget for the 80th percentile on proven people. A median offer to an employed PM invites a counteroffer you will lose.
3. Start the search before the award, not after. Every week the seat sits open costs more than a week of base pay.
4. Shorten the gap from final interview to written offer. Days between them give the current employer time to react.
5. Screen for the job you have. A PM who ran $5 million tenant work is not the same hire as one who ran a $60 million hospital.
Working with construction executive recruiters who already know who is ready to move cuts the empty-seat weeks, which is usually the biggest cost on the list.
Cost to Hire FAQ
How much does it cost to hire a construction project manager in 2026?
Median base pay for a construction Project Manager runs $130,970 in the Southeast to $157,210 in the Northeast, based on TBG’s 2026 Construction Salary Survey. Add the cost of winning an employed candidate, the cost of the empty seat, and the search itself.
How much does it cost to hire a construction superintendent?
Median base pay for a Superintendent I runs $126,900 in the Southwest to $156,900 in the Northeast, based on TBG’s 2026 survey. General Superintendent median base runs $199,950 in the Midwest to $234,740 in the Northeast.
What is the average cost per hire?
SHRM’s 2025 recruiting benchmarking report put the median cost per hire at $10,625 for executive roles and $1,200 for nonexecutive roles, across all industries. It does not report construction separately.
How much more does it take to hire an employed PM away from a competitor?
Moving from median to 80th percentile base pay is $15,420 to $25,830 for a Project Manager, depending on region, based on TBG’s 2026 survey. That is roughly the counteroffer you need to beat.
What is the biggest hidden cost of hiring a construction leader?
The empty seat. In the AGC and NCCER 2026 Workforce Survey, 42% of respondents said worker shortages had delayed projects, the most commonly cited cause of delay. Your own liquidated damages and weekly general conditions tell you what each week costs.
The cheapest construction hire is the right leader in the seat before the job needs them. If you have a PM or superintendent seat to fill, open a confidential search or call 248.647.7766, and the first conversation covers market rate and timing, not resumes.
