Side-by-side distribution
Production Manager
$107,800
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 37.9%
- Live roles
- 311
Quality Assurance
$111,309
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.3%
- Live roles
- 249
Highest-paying jobs
Production Manager
Engineering Manager, Production Engineering
Sr. Manager - Production Engineering
Sr. Production Manager
Senior Manager, Production Engineering
Manager, Engineering (Production Orchestration)
Staff Technical Program Manager, Production
Project & Production Manager, Brand
Project Manager, Production Lines
Senior Technical Program Manager, Production Engineering
Highest-paying jobs
Technical Program Manager, QA Program
QA Engineering Manager
Senior Manager, CMC QA
Senior Manager, GxP Electronic System Validation QA
ClearCalc Quality Assurance Manager
Senior Manager, GMP QA Operations
QA Manager, Training Services
Project Quality Assurance Manager
Principal Analytical QA Specialist, Drug Substance
QA Engineering Manager
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$149,500 | 15 |
LandCare
|
$72,500 | 10 |
J&J Snack Foods
|
$70,000 | 7 |
HelloFresh
|
$45,497 | 7 |
Gotion, Inc.
|
$123,750 | 6 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$203,000 | 5 |
Relativity Space
|
$162,000 | 3 |
Vast
|
$160,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Legend Biotech US
|
$90,478 | 4 |
Green Thumb
|
$107,500 | 3 |
|
Revolution Medicines
|
$99,000 | 3 |
|
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
|
$171,425 | 2 |
Olema Oncology
|
$170,000 | 2 |
|
Radformation
|
$162,500 | 2 |
Genetix Biotherapeutics
|
$142,000 | 2 |
Quince
|
$117,500 | 2 |
Production Manager salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $213,600 | 6 |
| Austin | $203,000 | 3 |
| New York | $127,500 | 11 |
| Los Angeles | $97,096 | 9 |
Quality Assurance salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | $171,250 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $162,500 | 7 |
| New York | $122,500 | 3 |
Production Manager vs Quality Assurance: which pays more?
The median for Production Manager is $107,800 per year (typically $83,606–$149,750), versus $111,309 for Quality Assurance ($75,000–$155,000). That puts Quality Assurance about 3% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Production Manager and Quality Assurance are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.