Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of operator salary by state for the United States:
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North Dakota has the highest operator salary of $49,742
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Alabama has the lowest operator salary of $31,413
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The national average salary for operators is $37,928
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The national hourly pay for operators is $18.23
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 operators 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 operator 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 operators after this adjustment? That would be North Dakota.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for operator salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Operators By State
| Rank | State | Average Operator Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | $49,742 | $37,000 | $65,000 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $49,399 | $32,000 | $73,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $47,937 | $33,000 | $69,000 |
| 4 | Alaska | $47,106 | $38,000 | $57,000 |
| 5 | California | $46,788 | $29,000 | $73,000 |
| 6 | Oregon | $46,205 | $31,000 | $68,000 |
| 7 | New York | $45,663 | $30,000 | $67,000 |
| 8 | Nevada | $44,769 | $29,000 | $68,000 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $44,639 | $30,000 | $65,000 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $44,515 | $30,000 | $64,000 |
| 11 | Hawaii | $44,481 | $35,000 | $56,000 |
| 12 | Montana | $44,211 | $32,000 | $60,000 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $44,151 | $31,000 | $62,000 |
| 14 | Wyoming | $43,951 | $32,000 | $60,000 |
| 15 | Minnesota | $43,652 | $32,000 | $58,000 |
| 16 | Utah | $43,464 | $30,000 | $61,000 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $42,498 | $30,000 | $58,000 |
| 18 | Delaware | $42,299 | $27,000 | $63,000 |
| 19 | Maryland | $42,297 | $28,000 | $62,000 |
| 20 | Colorado | $41,834 | $30,000 | $56,000 |
| 21 | Idaho | $41,049 | $28,000 | $58,000 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $40,907 | $27,000 | $61,000 |
| 23 | Illinois | $40,649 | $29,000 | $55,000 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $40,623 | $29,000 | $55,000 |
| 25 | Vermont | $39,996 | $29,000 | $53,000 |
| 26 | Nebraska | $39,475 | $29,000 | $52,000 |
| 27 | Virginia | $39,176 | $27,000 | $56,000 |
| 28 | Iowa | $39,062 | $29,000 | $52,000 |
| 29 | Maine | $38,881 | $29,000 | $50,000 |
| 30 | New Mexico | $38,743 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $38,313 | $28,000 | $51,000 |
| 32 | Michigan | $37,951 | $27,000 | $52,000 |
| 33 | Indiana | $37,305 | $27,000 | $51,000 |
| 34 | Ohio | $37,025 | $26,000 | $51,000 |
| 35 | Arizona | $36,980 | $25,000 | $54,000 |
| 36 | West Virginia | $36,858 | $26,000 | $51,000 |
| 37 | Kentucky | $36,505 | $26,000 | $49,000 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $36,142 | $26,000 | $50,000 |
| 39 | Kansas | $35,985 | $26,000 | $48,000 |
| 40 | Missouri | $35,752 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 41 | Texas | $35,054 | $25,000 | $49,000 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $33,422 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $33,390 | $24,000 | $44,000 |
| 44 | North Carolina | $33,288 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 45 | Georgia | $32,882 | $24,000 | $44,000 |
| 46 | Florida | $32,778 | $23,000 | $45,000 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $32,293 | $24,000 | $43,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $31,928 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $31,849 | $23,000 | $43,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $31,413 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
Methodology: Operator Salary By State
To better understand operator 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 operators by state.
We took the average annual salary data for operators from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for operators.
Operator Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for operators?
The highest-paid state for operators is North Dakota with an average salary of $49,742 per year.
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What city pays operators the most?
San Jose, CA pays operators the most with an average salary of $53,920 per year.
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What is the worst state for operators?
The worst state for operators is Alabama with an average salary of $31,413 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.
