California · 2025 pay · 20 people
How much does a special projects manager make in California?
$111,850typical pay for a special projects manager in 2025
$69,029 – $129,784what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay fell 4.2% from 2024.
✓ Official data from 4 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
Where special projects managers work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
- Town of Apple Valley3 people$115,587
- City of East Palo Alto2 people$24,499
- Kern County2 people$69,385
- City of Sacramento2 people$121,913
- City of Chula Vista2 people$132,553
- Fresno Irrigation District1 person$230,401
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency1 person$122,347
- Contra Costa Water District1 person$280,294
- City of Brawley1 person$74,112
- Ripon Consolidated Fire Protection District1 person$32,895
- Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board1 person$72,666
- San Diego County Superior Court1 person$129,725
- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California1 person$287,065
- City of Anaheim1 person$58,119
No employers match.
Related jobs and the next step up
Same line of work at a different rank, by typical pay (full-year employees where we can tell).
- Senior Special Projects Associate$42,680 (everyone)
- Manager Special Projects$109,140 (everyone)
- Special Projects Manager (this page)$111,850 (everyone)
Highest-paid special projects managers, 2025
Common questions
How much does a special projects manager make in California?
The typical special projects manager was paid $111,850 in 2025; most earned between $69,029 and $129,784. This counts all 20 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 0.0% of all pay for special projects managers in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Special Projects Manager, at any level (for example "Special Projects Manager"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this