How much does an operations director make?

The average operations director salary in the United States is $104,050. Operations director salaries typically range between $65,000 and $164,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for operations directors is $50.02 per hour. Operations director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Operations directors earn the highest average salary in California.

Operations director salary

Q: What state pays Operations Directors the most?

California pays Operations Directors the most in the United States, with an average salary of $128,743 per year, or $61.90 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an operations director?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an operations director if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in New Jersey you should be paid close to $126,450 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for an Operations Director?

A good starting salary for an operations director is $74,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for an operations director in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for operations directors is $115,901, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for an operations director can vary by state.

Q: How much do company directors make?

Company directors make $131,000 a year, on average. That equates to $63.10 an hour. However, there is significant variation in pay for company directors, with those at the low end netting an average of $92,000 annually. Significant predictors of company director pay are location and industry.

Q: What does a director of operations do?

Directors of operations are responsible for everything from negotiations, budgeting, and purchasing. They should be especially skilled at developing long-term operational strategies and working closely with senior management to meet company objectives.

Q: What level is director of operations?

The level of the director of operations is typically the highest management position outside of the executive team. This position acts as a liaison between management and the executive team, balancing the high-level focus with the more practical needs of an organization.

Average operations director salary

$104,050

$50.02 hourly rate

Entry-level operations director salary

$65,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding the Operations Director Salary

As of October 2025, the average salary for an Operations Director is $104,050 annually. This figure reflects a combination of experience, education, and the specific industry in which an individual works. For instance, Operations Directors in technology and finance often earn more due to the higher demand for strategic oversight in these sectors.

Factors influencing salary include:

Experience: Entry-level positions may start closer to $80,000, while those with over ten years can exceed $130,000.
Location: States like California and New York typically offer the highest salaries, reflecting the cost of living and competitive job market.
Industry: Sectors such as healthcare and manufacturing may offer different compensation packages based on the operational complexities involved.

Additionally, opportunities for advancement within the organization can lead to increased salaries over time. Candidates seeking to enhance their prospects should consider pursuing relevant certifications or advanced degrees in business management.

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Operations director salary by:

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Where can an Operations Director earn more?

Compare salary by location

167k

147k

127k

107k

87k

67k

Columbus, OH$141,492

Phoenix, AZ$97,283

Compare salary by company

212k

192k

172k

152k

132k

Airbnb$196,123

Walmart$161,784

Operations director salaries by experience level

Experience level	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
Entry-level operations director	$42,900	$20.60
Mid-level operations director	$66,200	$31.82
Senior-level operations director	$120,000	$57.70

Operations director salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for an operations director typically falls between $92,635 and $190,677.

zippia

$104,050yearly

comparably[1]

$179,753yearly

Salary.com[2]

$190,677yearly

payscale[3]

$92,635yearly

Average operations director salary by state

The highest-paying states for operations directors are California, New Jersey, and Hawaii. The lowest average operations director salary states are Utah, Wyoming, and Mississippi.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for operations directors

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington	$119,237	$57.33
2	Nevada	$107,078	$51.48
3	Alaska	$120,262	$57.82
4	New Jersey	$126,450	$60.79
5	Delaware	$121,430	$58.38
6	California	$128,743	$61.90
7	Texas	$101,044	$48.58
8	District of Columbia	$118,214	$56.83
9	North Carolina	$102,554	$49.30
10	Connecticut	$123,818	$59.53
11	South Dakota	$97,398	$46.83
12	Wisconsin	$103,718	$49.86
13	Georgia	$101,438	$48.77
14	Minnesota	$102,004	$49.04
15	Rhode Island	$109,369	$52.58
16	Michigan	$102,933	$49.49
17	New York	$112,357	$54.02
18	Pennsylvania	$96,063	$46.18
19	Oregon	$99,715	$47.94
20	Hawaii	$124,736	$59.97
21	Alabama	$91,770	$44.12
22	Colorado	$109,564	$52.67
23	Virginia	$106,654	$51.28
24	Massachusetts	$102,864	$49.45
25	Nebraska	$94,554	$45.46
26	Louisiana	$88,672	$42.63
27	Ohio	$89,154	$42.86
28	New Hampshire	$93,809	$45.10
29	Indiana	$89,585	$43.07
30	Illinois	$97,849	$47.04
31	Maine	$88,903	$42.74
32	New Mexico	$94,519	$45.44
33	Tennessee	$87,575	$42.10
34	Arizona	$96,973	$46.62
35	North Dakota	$81,852	$39.35
36	Arkansas	$76,256	$36.66
37	Maryland	$97,634	$46.94
38	Montana	$82,989	$39.90
39	Kansas	$85,172	$40.95
40	Oklahoma	$75,209	$36.16
41	Florida	$80,122	$38.52
42	Idaho	$80,516	$38.71
43	Mississippi	$71,223	$34.24
44	South Carolina	$80,267	$38.59
45	Wyoming	$72,442	$34.83
46	Missouri	$78,046	$37.52
47	Iowa	$66,615	$32.03
48	Kentucky	$67,881	$32.64
49	West Virginia	$70,699	$33.99
50	Vermont	$77,842	$37.42
51	Utah	$73,773	$35.47

Top operations director jobs near you

Highest paying cities for operations directors

The highest-paying cities for operations directors are San Francisco, CA, Jersey City, NJ, and Stamford, CT.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$141,492	$68.03
2	Jersey City, NJ	$127,764	$61.42
3	Stamford, CT	$124,629	$59.92
4	Seattle, WA	$122,074	$58.69
5	Washington, DC	$119,123	$57.27
6	New York, NY	$112,915	$54.29
7	Denver, CO	$110,464	$53.11
8	Arlington, VA	$107,945	$51.90
9	Las Vegas, NV	$107,771	$51.81
10	San Antonio, TX	$104,543	$50.26
11	Raleigh, NC	$104,274	$50.13
12	Detroit, MI	$103,448	$49.73
13	Madison, WI	$103,342	$49.68
14	Boston, MA	$102,923	$49.48
15	Minneapolis, MN	$102,390	$49.23
16	Columbus, GA	$101,767	$48.93
17	Portland, OR	$99,428	$47.80
18	Chicago, IL	$98,610	$47.41
19	Baltimore, MD	$97,885	$47.06
20	Phoenix, AZ	$97,283	$46.77

Operations Directors are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Operations director salary details

An operations director's salary ranges from $65,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $164,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average operations director salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an operations director's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$164,000	$13,667	$79
75th Percentile	$132,000	$11,000	$63
Average	$104,050	$8,671	$50
25th Percentile	$81,000	$6,750	$39
10th Percentile	$65,000	$5,417	$31

Highest paying operations director jobs

The highest paying types of operations directors are senior vice president-operations, operations vice president, and senior director, operations.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Director, Facilities & Operations	$57,665	$4,805	$27.72	83,458
Director Of Sales And Operations	$138,898	$11,575	$66.78	141,516
Director Of Business Operations	$111,945	$9,329	$53.82	202,032
Regional Director Of Operations	$115,156	$9,596	$55.36	130,533
Director, Technical Operations	$141,158	$11,763	$67.86	166,100
Director Of Operations And Finance	$118,503	$9,875	$56.97	186,569

Top companies hiring operations directors now:

Which companies pay operations directors the most?

Operations director salaries at Airbnb and Cheniere Energy are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average operations director salary at companies like Meta and Stitch Fix are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Airbnb	$196,123	$94.29
2	Cheniere Energy	$184,517	$88.71
3	Meta	$183,799	$88.36
4	Stitch Fix	$181,241	$87.14
5	Apple	$180,057	$86.57
6	PayPal	$179,206	$86.16
7	Google	$178,440	$85.79
8	School of Visual Concepts	$176,701	$84.95
9	Mercy Corps	$175,899	$84.57
10	Brookfield Properties	$175,484	$84.37
11	Pure Storage	$173,523	$83.42
12	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$172,903	$83.13
13	Yuma Regional Medical Center	$167,673	$80.61
14	Nike	$166,954	$80.27
15	Lifetime	$166,583	$80.09
16	Earthjustice	$164,682	$79.17
17	Chewy	$164,090	$78.89
18	Rent the Runway	$163,645	$78.68
19	Novartis	$162,541	$78.14
20	Walmart	$161,784	$77.78

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$109,000$106,400$103,800$101,200$98,600$96,000

MaleFemale

Operations Director salary by industry

The average operations director salary varies across industries:

The average operations director salary in the finance industry is $120,460, the highest of any industry.
The average operations director salary in the finance industry is $113,426.
Operations directors in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $100,237, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for operations directors

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Finance	$120,460	$57.91
2	Manufacturing	$113,426	$54.53
3	Technology	$110,679	$53.21
4	Health Care	$108,607	$52.21
5	Insurance	$106,918	$51.40
6	Professional	$106,841	$51.37
7	Retail	$102,473	$49.27
8	Government	$101,272	$48.69
9	Hospitality	$100,237	$48.19

High paying operations director jobs

Operations director salary trends

The average operations director salary has risen by $8,533 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average operations director earned $95,517 annually, but today, they earn $104,050 a year. That works out to a 4% change in pay for operations directors over the last decade.

Compare operations director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average operations director salary over time

Compare operations director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Operations director salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$104,000	$50.02	+2.8%
2024	$101,000	$48.64	-0.1%
2023	$101,000	$48.71	+0.5%
2022	$101,000	$48.46	+1.1%
2021	$99,700	$47.93	+1.6%

Recently added operations director salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Cambia Health Solutions	Director Claims Operations	Portland, OR	06/30/2025	$147,500
Franklin Templeton	Director, Operational Due Diligence (Hedge Funds)	Stamford, CT	06/30/2025	$170,000
Valet Waste	Director of Operations	Tampa, FL	06/30/2025	$85,000
Blue Origin	Director, New Shepard Launch Operations	Seattle, WA	06/30/2025	$197,247
Ntrs	Director, Alternatives Operations	Chicago, IL	06/30/2025	$137,400
Duke University	Director of Baseball Operations	Durham, NC	06/29/2025	$37,566
MUFG Americas Holdings	Operational Risk (Markets & Corporate Functions), Director	Tampa, FL	06/29/2025	$160,000
Fuller Theological	Director of Operations	Pasadena, CA	06/29/2025	$70,000
Databricks	Director of Product Operations	San Francisco, CA	06/29/2025	$185,000
Rocket Lawyer	Director, Billing and Payment Operations (Remote	Pine, AZ	06/29/2025	$166,000