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Job outlook for chiefs of operations in the United States
Chief of operations job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected chief of operations job growth rate is 6% from 2018-2028.
About 189,200 new jobs for chiefs of operations are projected over the next decade.
Chief of operations salaries have increased 4% for chiefs of operations in the last 5 years.
There are over 28,723 chiefs of operations currently employed in the United States.
There are 93,283 active chief of operations job openings in the US.
The average chief of operations salary is $124,927.
Are chief of operations jobs in demand?
Chief of operations job and salary trends over time
Chief of operations jobs over time
Chief of operations job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28,723 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 23,171 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 23,643 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 22,558 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 21,869 | 0.01% |
Average chief of operations salary over time
Chief of operations salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $124,927 | $60.06 | +2.8% |
| 2025 | $121,468 | $58.40 | --0.1% |
| 2024 | $121,649 | $58.48 | +0.5% |
| 2023 | $121,022 | $58.18 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | $119,696 | $57.55 | +1.6% |
Chief of operations jobs by state
Most common states for chiefs of operations
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 338 | 49% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 139 | 22% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 201 | 19% |
| 4 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 564 | 18% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 106 | 18% |
| 6 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,260 | 17% |
| 7 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 716 | 17% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 894 | 16% |
| 9 | Delaware | 961,939 | 156 | 16% |
| 10 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 141 | 16% |
| 11 | Alaska | 739,795 | 121 | 16% |
| 12 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,870 | 15% |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,037 | 15% |
| 14 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 289 | 15% |
| 15 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 203 | 15% |
| 16 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 161 | 15% |
| 17 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,415 | 14% |
| 18 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 445 | 14% |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,684 | 13% |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 779 | 13% |
Most common cities for chiefs of operations
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saginaw | 2 | 4% | $122,171 |
| 2 | Richmond | 1 | 3% | $101,707 |
| 3 | New Bedford | 2 | 2% | $130,058 |
| 4 | Pensacola | 1 | 2% | $83,293 |
| 5 | Tallahassee | 1 | 1% | $80,858 |
| 6 | Arlington | 1 | 0% | $130,952 |
| 7 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $105,167 |
| 8 | Charlotte | 1 | 0% | $125,442 |
| 9 | Glendale | 1 | 0% | $134,946 |
Chief Of Operations job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of chief of operations experts
Murray State University
Houston Baptist University
Farmingdale State College
Dr. Ben Littlepage
ProfessorMurray State University
Educational Administration And Supervision
What general advice would you give to a Chief Of Operations?
Dr. Ben Littlepage: I believe skills associated with organizational systems (e.g. procedures, processes) and hybridized management are essential for the field. Organizations (e.g. schools, institutions) will continue to be lean for a variety of reasons. The ability to achieve results by refining systems and maximizing resources cannot be understated. Hybrid work schedules and communication are not leaving education. Leaders that embrace hybridized technologies for assessment, employee satisfaction and development, and content delivery will remain competitive in the face of a private market looking to capitalize on laggard leaders.
What will help Chiefs Of Operations increase their earning potential?
Dr. Ben Littlepage: Salary is maximized when leaders are sought after. Leaders who pursue meaningful experiences and remain 'market ready' are viewed as an asset to any organization. Leaders must carefully consider where the field is moving and respond.
Michael Kraten Ph.D.
Professor of Accounting, Chair, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Program Coordinator, Accounting, BBAHouston Baptist University
Accounting, Economics and Finance Department
What's a good job out of college for Chiefs Of Operations?
Michael Kraten Ph.D.: Good jobs out of college place graduates on career paths to better future jobs. Graduates must train themselves to always think one job ahead, and not to be tempted by minor short-term wage or benefit differences.
Xu Zhang Ph.D.
ChairFarmingdale State College
Department of Economics
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Chief Of Operations job market given the pandemic?
Xu Zhang Ph.D.: There are a few trends in the current job maket.
- Slow recovery. Based on the December job market reports released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market slowly recovered since April, but about 44% of the prepandemic jobs have not been gained back. Between March and April, about 22.16 million jobs were lost. The U.S. labor market started to revive in May, and since then until December the market experienced 23.32 million job gains, roughly 56% of pre-pandemic level. The unemployment rate decreased gradually from April (14.8%) to December (6.7%), but still almost twice its pre-pandemic level in February (3.5%). Additionally, although the number of unemployed persons dropped from 23.11million in April to 10.74 million in December 2020, there is still a huge gap compared to 5.72 million in February.
- Uneven impacts by industries. While overall economy was hard hit by the pandemic, the job losses disproportionally impacted industry sectors. Service industries such as educational service, elective healthcare, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services, have been hurt the most due to social distancing. Other job losses in retail service sector were related to a boom on online shopping. In addition, teenagers experienced record high unemployment rate which is associated with lack of experiences and working in hard-hit service industries.
- More employers embracing remote work. The perception of remote work has totally changed during the pandemic. After experiencing sudden changes to remote work and managing the obstacles working at home, more and more workers and employers embrace remote work, which would expand the layouts of job hunting and talent search to larger geographic areas.