Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of chief operating officer salary by state for the United States:
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New Jersey has the highest chief operating officer salary of $170,805
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Mississippi has the lowest chief operating officer salary of $71,645
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The national average salary for chief operating officers is $136,604
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The national hourly pay for chief operating officers is $65.67
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do chief operating officers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for chief operating officer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for chief operating officers after this adjustment? That would be New Jersey.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for chief operating officer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Chief Operating Officers By State
| Rank | State | Average Chief Operating Officer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $170,805 | $114,000 | $253,000 |
| 2 | New York | $163,488 | $108,000 | $246,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $162,206 | $107,000 | $245,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $150,774 | $97,000 | $233,000 |
| 5 | California | $148,076 | $93,000 | $234,000 |
| 6 | Virginia | $145,032 | $92,000 | $226,000 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $143,746 | $91,000 | $225,000 |
| 8 | Illinois | $141,160 | $88,000 | $225,000 |
| 9 | Maryland | $140,780 | $89,000 | $222,000 |
| 10 | Delaware | $139,163 | $88,000 | $220,000 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $138,436 | $87,000 | $219,000 |
| 12 | Michigan | $138,396 | $86,000 | $222,000 |
| 13 | Texas | $136,826 | $85,000 | $219,000 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $136,414 | $86,000 | $216,000 |
| 15 | Nevada | $132,764 | $81,000 | $217,000 |
| 16 | Washington | $128,515 | $78,000 | $210,000 |
| 17 | New Mexico | $127,600 | $77,000 | $209,000 |
| 18 | North Carolina | $120,165 | $73,000 | $195,000 |
| 19 | Maine | $120,022 | $72,000 | $198,000 |
| 20 | Georgia | $119,472 | $73,000 | $194,000 |
| 21 | Minnesota | $118,433 | $72,000 | $194,000 |
| 22 | Louisiana | $118,328 | $72,000 | $194,000 |
| 23 | Arizona | $117,720 | $70,000 | $196,000 |
| 24 | Alabama | $117,267 | $71,000 | $191,000 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $115,442 | $69,000 | $191,000 |
| 26 | Ohio | $113,925 | $68,000 | $190,000 |
| 27 | South Carolina | $111,549 | $68,000 | $182,000 |
| 28 | Colorado | $108,930 | $65,000 | $182,000 |
| 29 | Nebraska | $106,129 | $63,000 | $177,000 |
| 30 | Oregon | $105,424 | $61,000 | $181,000 |
| 31 | Missouri | $105,314 | $62,000 | $176,000 |
| 32 | Florida | $104,718 | $65,000 | $167,000 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | $104,717 | $61,000 | $177,000 |
| 34 | Vermont | $103,310 | $60,000 | $176,000 |
| 35 | Iowa | $103,067 | $60,000 | $174,000 |
| 36 | New Hampshire | $101,592 | $60,000 | $170,000 |
| 37 | Kentucky | $95,599 | $56,000 | $163,000 |
| 38 | North Dakota | $95,230 | $57,000 | $158,000 |
| 39 | Idaho | $94,921 | $55,000 | $162,000 |
| 40 | Alaska | $93,141 | $55,000 | $156,000 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $92,116 | $54,000 | $156,000 |
| 42 | Indiana | $91,657 | $53,000 | $157,000 |
| 43 | Utah | $90,328 | $52,000 | $155,000 |
| 44 | Tennessee | $89,166 | $52,000 | $152,000 |
| 45 | Wyoming | $88,615 | $52,000 | $150,000 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $87,158 | $51,000 | $147,000 |
| 47 | Montana | $83,818 | $50,000 | $138,000 |
| 48 | Kansas | $83,143 | $48,000 | $141,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $76,393 | $44,000 | $130,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $71,645 | $42,000 | $121,000 |
Methodology: Chief Operating Officer Salary By State
To better understand chief operating officer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for chief operating officers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for chief operating officers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for chief operating officers.
Chief Operating Officer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for chief operating officers?
The highest-paid state for chief operating officers is New Jersey with an average salary of $170,805 per year.
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What city pays chief operating officers the most?
Jersey City, NJ pays chief operating officers the most with an average salary of $188,014 per year.
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What is the worst state for chief operating officers?
The worst state for chief operating officers is Mississippi with an average salary of $71,645 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
