Average operations research major salary

Updated September 14, 2023

$82,068

$50,00010%

$82,068Median

$133,00090%

What is the average operations research major salary in the US?

Operations research major graduates in America make an average salary of $82,068 per year or $39.46 per hour.If you are in the top 10 percent, you will make over $133,000; however, if you are in the bottom 10 percent, you will earn less than $50,000 per year.Employers that have the highest concentration of job opportunities for operations research majors are technology companies and professional companies.States with the highest salaries for operations research major graduates include California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Best paying cities

$103,093

$95,597

$93,658

Average operations research salary by company

There is good job security for operations research major graduates. However, some industries offer better pay and benefit packages than others.Most jobs for operations research majors are in technology companies and technology companies.Meta and Apple are the best paying companies for operations research major graduates.In addition, companies like Google and McKinsey & Company Inc report highly competitive salaries for operations research major graduates.

Average salary by company

Rank	Company	Zippia score	Average operations research salary
1	1.Meta	4.8	$137,813
2	2.Apple	4.8	$133,381
3	3.Google	4.8	$129,230
4	4.McKinsey & Company Inc	4.6	$128,859
5	5.Palo Alto Networks	4.8	$118,758
6	6.Microsoft	4.8	$118,286
7	7.Citi	4.6	$114,994
8	8.Applied Materials	4.5	$114,960
9	9.Yahoo	4.8	$114,185
10	10.Bloomberg	4.8	$113,912
11	11.Ernst & Young	4.7	$108,624
12	12.General Motors	4.6	$106,931
13	13.Morgan Stanley	4.6	$106,218
14	14.JPMorgan Chase & Co.	4.8	$105,101
15	15.Houlihan Lokey	4.9	$103,240
16	16.Proofpoint	4.7	$101,835
17	17.Booz Allen Hamilton	4.9	$101,482
18	18.Tesla	4.6	$101,355
19	19.Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	4.7	$101,155
20	20.Amazon	4.7	$100,866

Average operations research major salary by city

The national average salary for an operations research major graduate in the USA is $82,068 annually or $39.46 hourly.San Francisco, CA reports the highest annual salary for operations research majors at 103,093.Even entry-level jobs for operations research majors have an average salary of $63,000 per year in San Francisco, CA.Washington, DC, New York, NY, Washington, NJ, Boston, MA, Hartford, CT, and Seattle, WA are the best cities for operations research major graduates looking for a higher than average salary.The top 5 states with the highest reported salaries for operations research major graduates are California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.Tennessee, Florida, Montana, South Dakota, and Hawaii are the lowest earners.

Average salary by location

Rank	City	Average operations research salary	Salary range
1	San Francisco, CA	$103,093	$59k $132k
2	Washington, DC	$95,597	$59k $132k
3	New York, NY	$93,658	$59k $132k
4	Washington, NJ	$93,584	$59k $132k
5	Boston, MA	$90,707	$59k $132k
6	Hartford, CT	$90,159	$59k $132k
7	Seattle, WA	$90,089	$59k $132k
8	Arlington, VA	$89,219	$59k $132k
9	Albany, OR	$88,509	$59k $132k
10	Baltimore, MD	$87,549	$59k $132k
11	Portland, ME	$85,676	$59k $132k
12	Philadelphia, PA	$85,646	$59k $132k
13	Raleigh, NC	$84,010	$59k $132k
14	Providence, RI	$82,229	$59k $132k
15	Chicago, IL	$81,771	$59k $132k
16	Saint Paul, MN	$79,555	$59k $132k
17	Phoenix, AZ	$78,896	$59k $132k
18	Columbus, OH	$78,751	$59k $132k
19	Austin, TX	$76,972	$59k $132k
20	Columbia, SC	$74,995	$59k $132k

Average operations research major salary by state

The darker areas on the map show where operations research majors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary

Operations research major average salary by state

State	Average operations research major salary	Average hourly rate
California	$96,378	$46.34
New Jersey	$94,142	$45.26
New York	$93,572	$44.99
Massachusetts	$90,600	$43.56
Connecticut	$90,134	$43.33
Delaware	$89,689	$43.12
Washington	$89,201	$42.89
Virginia	$88,070	$42.34
Oregon	$87,808	$42.22
Maryland	$87,311	$41.98
New Hampshire	$86,763	$41.71
Pennsylvania	$85,193	$40.96
Maine	$85,024	$40.88
North Carolina	$82,742	$39.78
Rhode Island	$82,178	$39.51
Illinois	$81,407	$39.14
Michigan	$80,353	$38.63
Minnesota	$79,454	$38.20
Ohio	$79,203	$38.08
Nevada	$79,029	$37.99
Arizona	$78,775	$37.87
Vermont	$78,390	$37.69
Texas	$76,657	$36.85
Colorado	$74,708	$35.92
South Carolina	$74,698	$35.91
New Mexico	$72,807	$35.00
Missouri	$72,121	$34.67
Utah	$71,797	$34.52
Iowa	$71,520	$34.38
West Virginia	$71,008	$34.14
Wisconsin	$70,877	$34.08
Alaska	$70,642	$33.96
Kansas	$70,619	$33.95
Alabama	$70,511	$33.90
Indiana	$70,498	$33.89
Louisiana	$70,027	$33.67
North Dakota	$69,738	$33.53
Wyoming	$69,052	$33.20
Idaho	$68,959	$33.15
Georgia	$68,911	$33.13
Nebraska	$68,534	$32.95
Oklahoma	$67,809	$32.60
Mississippi	$66,112	$31.78
Kentucky	$65,720	$31.60
Tennessee	$65,635	$31.56
Florida	$65,319	$31.40
Montana	$65,151	$31.32
South Dakota	$64,269	$30.90
Hawaii	$64,093	$30.81
Arkansas	$60,713	$29.19

Highest paying jobs for operations research majors

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Open jobs
1	Investment Banker	$162,714	28,460
2	Investment Banking Associate	$119,967	39,516
3	Data Engineer	$109,675	303,105
4	Data Scientist	$106,104	106,973
5	Quantitative Analyst	$101,197	48,644
6	Business Analyst-Consultant	$90,127	166,560
7	Research Scientist	$89,998	93,013
8	Senior Analyst	$84,799	159,807
9	Statistician	$84,726	17,782
10	Systems Engineer	$82,833	145,936
11	Operational Risk Analyst	$82,457	24,212
12	Business Intelligence Analyst	$80,248	124,916
13	Product Analyst	$79,316	176,369
14	Industrial Engineer	$76,500	46,756
15	Business & Data Analyst	$75,461	188,716
16	Business Analyst	$74,430	170,514
17	Operations Research Analyst	$74,423	154,380
18	Data Analyst	$74,342	167,520
19	Analyst	$73,007	253,138
20	Research Analyst	$70,231	81,374

Average operations research major salary by industry

The type of industry that an operations research major graduate works in can influence their earning potential.Our analysis shows that pharmaceutical companies, professional companies, and technology companies pay higher-than-average wages for operations research major graduates.Salaries for operations research major graduates in pharmaceutical companies average $123,448 annually, while professional companies and technology companies pay $115,813 and $104,462, respectively.The average operations research major salary in the government industry is lower than the rest, coming in at $89,539.

Average salary by industry

Rank	Industry	Average operations research major salary	Range
1	Pharmaceutical	$123,448	$72k $146k
2	Professional	$115,813	$72k $146k
3	Technology	$104,462	$72k $146k
4	Insurance	$98,676	$72k $146k
5	Finance	$92,687	$72k $146k
6	Manufacturing	$89,731	$72k $146k
7	Government	$89,539	$72k $146k

Salary history for operations research major graduates

This data shows the national average salary between 2011-2020 among Operations Research major graduates.

Salaries for related majors

Rank	Major	Average salary	Range
1	Systems Engineering	$92,720	$41k $114k
2	Manufacturing Engineering	$86,102	$41k $114k
3	Petroleum Engineering	$85,578	$41k $114k
4	Plastics Engineering	$85,097	$41k $114k
5	Engineering	$84,098	$41k $114k
6	Mining Engineering	$81,856	$41k $114k
7	Aerospace Engineering	$80,340	$41k $114k
8	Computer Engineering	$79,862	$41k $114k
9	Industrial Engineering	$79,503	$41k $114k
10	Mechanical Engineering	$75,070	$41k $114k
11	Electrical Engineering	$75,040	$41k $114k
12	Biological Engineering	$72,923	$41k $114k
13	Engineering Science	$72,902	$41k $114k
14	Civil Engineering	$72,245	$41k $114k
15	Materials Science And Engineering	$70,247	$41k $114k
16	Environmental Engineering	$70,158	$41k $114k
17	Mechatronics And Robotics	$69,788	$41k $114k
18	Chemical Engineering	$68,316	$41k $114k
19	Architectural Engineering	$65,064	$41k $114k
20	Biomedical Engineering	$55,912	$41k $114k