Average Project Engineer Salary in Jamaica for 2026
A project engineer in Jamaica earns about 1,181,200 JMD a year. That's 2% roughly in line with the national average of 1,157,300 JMD.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Jamaica sit around 638,700 JMD a year, while the very top stretches to 1,777,700 JMD. Everything on this page is in Jamaican dollar (JMD, symbol $), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Jamaica, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does a project engineer make in Jamaica?
A typical project engineer working in Jamaica brings home around 98,433 JMD a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 638,700 JMD, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 1,777,700 JMD for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior project engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How project engineer pay ranges in Jamaica
A good way to think about salary in Jamaica is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all project engineers in Jamaica earn less than 1,085,600 JMD a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 773,400 JMD (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 1,320,500 JMD (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of project engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 638,700 JMD. The highest stretch to 1,777,700 JMD, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Project engineer pay by experience in Jamaica
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a project engineer in Jamaica, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical project engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years739,500 JMD
- 2-5 Years+26% from previous932,000 JMD
- 5-10 Years+33% from previous1,235,600 JMD
- 10-15 Years+17% from previous1,450,700 JMD
- 15-20 Years+11% from previous1,606,100 JMD
- 20+ Years+6% from previous1,703,200 JMD
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a project engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Project engineer pay by education in Jamaica
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving project engineer pay in Jamaica. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average project engineer salary in Jamaica broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Bachelor's Degree957,800 JMD
- Master's Degree+53% from previous1,464,200 JMD
Project engineer gender pay gap in Jamaica
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Jamaica is no exception. Male project engineers in Jamaica earn an average of 1,212,800 JMD a year, while female project engineers earn around 1,142,900 JMD. That works out to a 6% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Project Engineer gender pay gap
6%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Jamaica.
Pay raises for a project engineer in Jamaica
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Jamaica sees a raise of about 8% every 29 months, which works out to roughly 3% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Jamaica, the national average raise is around 5% every 28 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Jamaica:
- Banking
- Energy
- Information Technology
- Healthcare1%
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Project engineer bonus rates in Jamaica
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
33% of project engineers in Jamaica reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a project engineer a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 67% of project engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Jamaica
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Project engineer: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Jamaica is about 10% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
9%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Jamaica on average.
Project engineer salary by city in Jamaica
Project engineer pay is not even across Jamaica. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Kingston
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | City | 1,273,300 JMD | 1,249,900 JMD | 649,700-1,967,000 JMD |
Project Engineer in Jamaica: FAQs
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How much does a project engineer make per month in Jamaica?
A project engineer in Jamaica earns about 98,433 JMD a month before tax, based on an annual average of 1,181,200 JMD.
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What's the salary range for a project engineer in Jamaica?
Entry-level project engineers in Jamaica start near 638,700 JMD. Top-end pay reaches around 1,777,700 JMD. The middle 50% of earners sit between 773,400 and 1,320,500 JMD.
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Is the median project engineer salary in Jamaica higher or lower than the average?
The median is 1,085,600 JMD, lower than the average of 1,181,200 JMD. Half of project engineers in Jamaica earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for project engineers in Jamaica?
Men working as a project engineer in Jamaica earn around 6% more than women on average (1,212,800 vs 1,142,900 JMD a year).
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Do project engineers in Jamaica get bonuses?
About 33% of project engineers in Jamaica reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5% of base salary.
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Do project engineers earn more in the public or private sector in Jamaica?
In Jamaica, the public sector pays a project engineer about 10% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do project engineers in Jamaica get a pay raise?
A project engineer in Jamaica sees a raise of around 8% every 29 months, equivalent to roughly 3% a year.