Operations manager salary in the US
What operations managers are paid in the US, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.
Median annual pay
$105,770
Middle half earn
$72,320 to $167,280
People in this job, US
3,503,020
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General and Operations Managers, national, annual pay, May 2025
- 10th percentile
- $50,090
- 25th percentile
- $72,320
- Median
- $105,770
- 75th percentile
- $167,280
- 90th percentile
- $253,390
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 11-1021. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.
At a glance
What operations managers earn across the US
- About 3,503,020 people are employed in this occupation across the US.
- Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 5.1 times the 10th.
Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.
Skills
What employers look for in an operations manager
The skills our operations manager resume example leads with, written for US employers.
- Process improvement
- P&L management
- Team leadership
- Capacity planning
- KPI development
- Lean and Six Sigma
- Vendor negotiation
- Inventory control
- Workforce scheduling
- Health and safety compliance
See the full operations manager resume example, with bullets and keywords.
Negotiating
Using these numbers
Below $72,320 puts you in the bottom quarter for operations managers in the US. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.
The median, $105,770, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.
Asking for $167,280 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.
Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.
About the numbers
What these figures are
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in General and Operations Managers, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.
They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living.
Questions
Questions about operations manager pay in the US
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