Public Works Director salary

Average public works director salary

$88,965

$42.77 hourly rate

Entry-level public works director salary
$58,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a public works director make?

The average public works director salary in the United States is $88,965. Public works director salaries typically range between $58,000 and $134,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for public works directors is $42.77 per hour.

Public works director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Public works directors earn the highest average salary in California.

On This Page
Public works director salary by: 
Zippi Waving Small

Level up your salary

Let Zippi find your next Public Works Director job

Zippi Waving Small

Level up your salary

Let Zippi find your next Public Works Director job

Where can a Public Works Director earn more?

Compare salary by location
Loading...
Vs
Loading...
153k
133k
113k
93k
73k
53k
33k
Columbus, OH$123,632
Idaho Falls, ID$62,743
Compare salary by company
Loading...
Vs
Loading...
131k
111k
91k
71k
51k
Icma-rc$108,010
WTS International$81,112

Public Works Director salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a public works director typically falls between $76,912 and $135,107.
zippia
$88,965yearly
glassdoor[1]
$112,977yearly
comparably[2]
$90,699yearly
Salary.com[3]
$76,912yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$135,107yearly
payscale[5]
$82,748yearly

Average public works director salary by state

Highest paying states for public works directors

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1California$119,108$57.26
2District of Columbia$117,808$56.64
3New Jersey$114,735$55.16
4Connecticut$108,919$52.36
5Nevada$112,389$54.03
6Maryland$117,171$56.33
7New York$107,101$51.49
8Illinois$105,651$50.79
9Massachusetts$102,980$49.51
10Washington$107,094$51.49
11Virginia$102,879$49.46
12Rhode Island$94,101$45.24
13Ohio$104,288$50.14
14North Carolina$94,366$45.37
15Texas$92,860$44.64
16West Virginia$82,979$39.89
17Delaware$99,260$47.72
18Louisiana$81,694$39.28
19Arizona$92,229$44.34
20Colorado$87,742$42.18
21Missouri$89,977$43.26
22Alaska$86,283$41.48
23New Mexico$91,248$43.87
24Florida$85,263$40.99
25Michigan$86,151$41.42
26Pennsylvania$83,560$40.17
27Alabama$75,331$36.22
28Oregon$82,160$39.50
29Georgia$76,990$37.01
30Vermont$78,443$37.71
31Wisconsin$77,741$37.38
32Nebraska$79,648$38.29
33South Dakota$69,717$33.52
34South Carolina$72,089$34.66
35New Hampshire$82,161$39.50
36Minnesota$78,997$37.98
37Hawaii$86,003$41.35
38Kansas$77,122$37.08
39Montana$69,707$33.51
40Oklahoma$64,995$31.25
41Wyoming$70,378$33.84
42Indiana$71,643$34.44
43North Dakota$74,118$35.63
44Mississippi$49,660$23.88
45Utah$69,768$33.54
46Kentucky$69,046$33.20
47Arkansas$66,019$31.74
48Iowa$69,620$33.47
49Tennessee$63,768$30.66
50Maine$62,560$30.08
51Idaho$64,036$30.79

Highest paying cities for public works directors

The highest-paying cities for public works directors are San Rafael, CA, Washington, DC, and Reno, NV.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1San Rafael, CA$123,632$59.44
2Washington, DC$117,826$56.65
3Reno, NV$114,933$55.26
4Sammamish, WA$107,457$51.66
5Orland Park, IL$105,851$50.89
6Charlottesville, VA$102,802$49.42
7Pflugerville, TX$93,435$44.92
8Prescott, AZ$92,525$44.48
9Saint Charles, MO$91,995$44.23
10Colorado Springs, CO$87,858$42.24
11Palm Bay, FL$85,889$41.29
12Mount Pleasant, MI$85,430$41.07
13Saint Paul, MN$79,101$38.03
14Topeka, KS$77,718$37.36
15Idaho Falls, ID$62,743$30.16

Public Works Director salary details

A public works director's salary ranges from $58,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $134,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Public Works Director Salary Graph
Average Public Works Director Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a public works director's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$134,000$11,167$64
75th Percentile$110,000$9,167$53
Average$88,965$7,414$43
25th Percentile$71,000$5,917$34
10th Percentile$58,000$4,833$28

Highest paying public works director jobs

The highest paying types of public works directors are president/chief executive officer, senior vice president, and president.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Owner$90,334$7,528$43.4386,486
Board Member$70,751$5,896$34.017,581
Co-Founder$105,022$8,752$50.494,214
Chief Operating Officer$136,604$11,384$65.67128,993
Co-Owner$86,704$7,225$41.6852,915
Chief Finance Officer$143,947$11,996$69.21145,184

Top companies hiring public works directors now:

  1. Icma-rc Jobs (49)
  2. Fluor Corporation Jobs (3)
  3. City of Cathedral City Jobs (2)
  4. City of Coral Gables Jobs (2)
  5. Douglas County Jobs (3)

Which companies pay public works directors the most?

Public works director salaries at Icma-rc and City of Colleyville are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average public works director salary at companies like 1 8 3 Lanes and City Of Ceres are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Icma-rc$108,010$51.93
2City of Colleyville$99,000$47.60
31 8 3 Lanes$98,130$47.18
4City Of Ceres$97,842$47.04
5Borough Of Chambersburg$96,279$46.29
6City of Lewistown$95,319$45.83
7Westchester$94,285$45.33
8Village of Ashwaubenon$94,226$45.30
9City of Fort Madison$94,222$45.30
10City of Prescott$93,310$44.86
11Minnesota Limited$93,228$44.82
12TAIT & Associates$92,199$44.33
13City of Tukwila$90,691$43.60
14City of Palm Bay$89,108$42.84
15New York State Restaurant Association$87,255$41.95
16Glenn County Emergency Service$87,016$41.83
17City of Las Vegas$86,683$41.67
18Lincoln Holdings LLC$85,855$41.28
19Washington County$83,766$40.27
20WTS International$81,112$39.00

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$85,000$83,200$81,400$79,600$77,800$76,000
MaleFemale

Public Works Director salary trends

The average public works director salary has risen by $9,109 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average public works director earned $79,856 annually, but today, they earn $88,965 a year. That works out to a 3% change in pay for public works directors over the last decade.

Compare public works director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average public works director salary over time

Compare public works director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Public Works Director salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$89,000$42.77+0.8%
2024$88,300$42.43-2.8%
2023$90,700$43.61+3.3%
2022$87,700$42.16+1.1%
2021$86,700$41.68+3.4%

Recently added public works director salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Eagle, Co▼ Public WorksBoone, CO12/16/2024$49,316
City of New CarrolltonPublic Works DirectorNew Carrollton, MD12/14/2024$110,264
City of Kissimmee, FlGeneral Tradesworker PRKissimmee, FL12/13/2024$35,688
City of Johns CreekPublic Works DirectorDuluth, GA12/13/2024$153,000
City of Bath, MeDeputy Public Works DirectorBath, ME12/12/2024$85,000
Travis County (TxAssistant Director of Public Works Director/Capital Improvement ProgramAustin, TX12/12/2024$120,000
Central FallsDirector-Public Works and Code EnforcementCentral Falls, RI12/11/2024$75,000
CityoflittlefallsAssistant Public Works Director/City EngineerNore, MN12/11/2024$100,817
National Rural Water AssociationPublic Works DirectorIone, OR12/11/2024$109,976
CibolotxDirector of Public WorksCibolo, TX12/11/2024$118,248

Public Works Director salary FAQs

Search for public works director jobs

Loading...
Loading...

Browse executive management jobs