A person working as Project Manager in Saudi Arabia typically earns around 20,100 SAR. Salaries range from 10,800 SAR (lowest) to 30,300 SAR (highest).
This is the average salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Project Manager salaries in Saudi Arabia vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
Minimum Salary 10,800 SAR |
Median 18,000 SAR |
Maximum 30,300 SAR |
Salaries for the position Project Manager in Saudi Arabia range from 10,800 SAR (starting salary) to 30,300 SAR (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.
With a median salary of 18,000 SAR, half of the professionals who work as Project Manager in Saudi Arabia earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.
The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Project Manager in Saudi Arabia earn less than 15,000 SAR, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 20,300 SAR while 25% earn more.
To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Project Manager in Saudi Arabia compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 11,900 SAR to 16,000 SAR. About 20% of salaries are below the 11,900 SAR mark, while 10% fall within the range of 16,000 SAR to 17,900 SAR. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 17,900 SAR.
0 - 2 Years | 12,600 SAR | |
2 - 5 Years | +26% | 15,900 SAR |
5 - 10 Years | +32% | 21,000 SAR |
10 - 15 Years | +18% | 24,700 SAR |
15 - 20 Years | +11% | 27,300 SAR |
20+ Years | +6% | 29,100 SAR |
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Project Manager and this is what we found.
Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 12,600 SAR.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 15,900 SAR, 26% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 21,000 SAR, 32% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 24,700 SAR, 18% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 27,300 SAR, 11% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 29,100 SAR, 6% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
High School | 15,300 SAR | |
Certificate or Diploma | +13% | 17,300 SAR |
Bachelor's Degree | +32% | 22,700 SAR |
Master's Degree | +24% | 28,200 SAR |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down salaries by education level for the position Project Manager in order to make a comparison.
Employees at this education level have an average salary of 15,300 SAR.
At this level, the average salary becomes 17,300 SAR, 13% more than the previous level.
At this level, the average salary becomes 22,700 SAR, 32% more than the previous level.
At this level, the average salary becomes 28,200 SAR, 24% more than the previous level.
A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in Saudi Arabia costs anywhere from 83,800 SAR to 251,000 SAR and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.
You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.
Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch to a higher-paying job. The numbers seem to support the theory. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Project Manager in Saudi Arabia, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 9%.
Male | 20,800 SAR | |
Female | -8% | 19,100 SAR |
Individuals working as Project Manager in Saudi Arabia are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 13% every 16 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 17 months.
The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency
Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.
24% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 76% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 6% to 7% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 76% | |
No Bonus | 24% |
The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Project Manager in Saudi Arabia is 63 SAR. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Business Planning | -100% | |
Agile Coach | 17,800 SAR | -11% |
Assistant Business Development Manager | 22,200 SAR | +10% |
Assistant Merchandise Planner | 12,600 SAR | -37% |
Business Advisor | 19,700 SAR | -2% |
Business Analyst | 19,200 SAR | -4% |
Business Consultant | 18,600 SAR | -7% |
Business Continuity Associate | 11,500 SAR | -43% |
Business Developer | 12,600 SAR | -37% |
Business Development Analyst | 14,900 SAR | -26% |
Business Development Associate | 10,300 SAR | -49% |
Business Development Coordinator | 11,000 SAR | -45% |
Business Development Director | 28,700 SAR | +43% |
Business Development Engineer | 15,900 SAR | -21% |
Business Development Executive | 20,600 SAR | +3% |
Business Development Manager | 25,300 SAR | +26% |
Business Development Specialist | 19,600 SAR | -2% |
Business Manager | 22,400 SAR | +11% |
Business Operations Specialist | 18,100 SAR | -10% |
Business Process Writer | 11,600 SAR | -42% |
Business Systems Analyst | 19,800 SAR | -1% |
Capacity Planner | 14,500 SAR | -28% |
Capacity Planning Supervisor | 19,200 SAR | -4% |
Change Communications Analyst | 18,600 SAR | -7% |
Change Control Analyst | 18,900 SAR | -6% |
Change Impact Analyst | 18,900 SAR | -6% |
Chief Automation Officer | 24,000 SAR | +19% |
Chief Innovation Officer | 25,900 SAR | +29% |
Contracts Executive | 18,200 SAR | -9% |
Corporate Strategy Analyst | 19,300 SAR | -4% |
Cost Control Engineer | 13,200 SAR | -34% |
Cost Controller | 14,900 SAR | -26% |
Cost Estimator | 13,500 SAR | -33% |
Crisis Management Specialist | 20,900 SAR | +4% |
Data Executive | 10,000 SAR | -50% |
Data Manager | 14,700 SAR | -27% |
Data Processing Manager | 18,400 SAR | -8% |
Development Researcher | 15,400 SAR | -23% |
Digital Strategist | 18,700 SAR | -7% |
Digital Transformation Manager | 21,300 SAR | +6% |
Director of Business Development | 27,400 SAR | +36% |
Director of Production Planning | 23,400 SAR | +16% |
Drop Shipping Consultant | 17,100 SAR | -15% |
Due Diligence Analyst | 21,400 SAR | +7% |
Estimating Manager | 21,800 SAR | +9% |
General Manager | 24,200 SAR | +20% |
Growth Hacker | 14,900 SAR | -26% |
Impact Assessment Specialist | 17,900 SAR | -11% |
Impact Investing Analyst | 17,800 SAR | -11% |
Incident Handler | 13,100 SAR | -35% |
Incident Specialist | 15,900 SAR | -21% |
Lean Consultant | 15,300 SAR | -24% |
Manager | 26,500 SAR | +32% |
Marketing and Business Development Manager | 24,400 SAR | +21% |
Materials Planner | 8,740 SAR | -56% |
Merchandise Assistant | 8,480 SAR | -58% |
Merchandise Controller | 8,410 SAR | -58% |
Merchandise Planner | 8,660 SAR | -57% |
Online Consultant | 16,400 SAR | -18% |
Online Reputation Manager | 15,600 SAR | -22% |
Operations Analyst | 17,200 SAR | -14% |
Operations Manager | 20,200 SAR | +1% |
Operations Research Analyst | 11,700 SAR | -42% |
Planning and Reporting Manager | 22,000 SAR | +10% |
Planning Director | 25,600 SAR | +27% |
Product Designer | 13,700 SAR | -32% |
Product Manager | 15,900 SAR | -21% |
Project Administrator | 12,800 SAR | -36% |
Project Manager | 20,100 SAR | +0% |
Project Planner | 12,200 SAR | -39% |
Research Assistant | 10,400 SAR | -48% |
Research Engineer | 12,000 SAR | -40% |
Research Officer | 9,490 SAR | -53% |
Risk Management Specialist | 19,600 SAR | -2% |
Scholarship Coordinator | 9,480 SAR | -53% |
Store Planner | 9,230 SAR | -54% |
Strategy Director | 25,900 SAR | +29% |
Top Research and Development Executive | 27,500 SAR | +37% |
Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in Saudi Arabia is 7% on average across all career fields.
Private Sector | 16,100 SAR | |
Public Sector | +7% | 17,300 SAR |
A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 18,000 SAR and 20,300 SAR. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.
The base salary for a careers like Project Manager in Saudi Arabia ranges from 10,800 SAR to 15,000 SAR. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people earn more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary