General and Operations Managers · SOC 11-1021
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for General and Operations Managers
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for general and operations managers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 392 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $181,450 | 3,100 | 12.9 |
| 2 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $163,860 | 17,230 | 15.2 |
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $157,000 | 177,850 | 18.7 |
| 4 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $156,460 | 112,530 | 35.9 |
| 5 | Boulder, CO | $152,100 | 2,750 | 14.3 |
| 6 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $149,990 | 43,520 | 18.3 |
| 7 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $148,080 | 13,370 | 22.3 |
| 8 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $146,030 | 29,370 | 14.1 |
| 9 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | $142,730 | 1,730 | 9.7 |
| 10 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $142,330 | 22,940 | 14.3 |
| 11 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $137,980 | 1,370 | 14.7 |
| 12 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $137,230 | 11,140 | 27.6 |
| 13 | Huntsville, AL | $136,340 | 4,050 | 15.2 |
| 14 | New Haven, CT | $134,450 | 5,750 | 20.4 |
| 15 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $133,800 | 70,950 | 26.2 |
| 16 | Midland, TX | $132,420 | 4,830 | 39.5 |
| 17 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $131,810 | 1,590 | 9.4 |
| 18 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | $130,900 | 3,370 | 21.0 |
| 19 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $130,460 | 1,550 | 11.9 |
| 20 | Rapid City, SD | $130,410 | 700 | 9.5 |
| 21 | Vineland, NJ | $130,180 | 550 | 8.8 |
| 22 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | $126,870 | 2,140 | 16.9 |
| 23 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $126,680 | 710 | 13.6 |
| 24 | Madison, WI | $126,620 | 5,130 | 12.6 |
| 25 | Bellingham, WA | $125,840 | 1,270 | 13.9 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the General and Operations Managers overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.