Management · 70 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for General and Operations Manager (2025)

The median General and Operations Manager salary is $163,860 in San Jose, CA, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, Birmingham, AL offers the best purchasing power at $136,681 adjusted.

The 70 cities below are ranked by median wage for General and Operations Manager, drawn from BLS OEWS. Top-of-list cities typically combine high local labor demand with above-baseline cost-of-living, so the gross-wage ranking partly reflects COL adjustment. Reading the ranking carefully: gross median wage is the headline number, but the cost-adjusted figure (which divides by the city's cost-of-living index) tells a different story for high-COL cities. The ranking sorts on gross wage; the per-city pages surface the adjusted figure.

For workers evaluating General and Operations Manager relocation, the top of the ranking is the obvious starting point — but the bottom of the list (low gross wage, low COL) is often where cost-adjusted real income is highest. The role-specific pages link to per-city detail.

$111,190

National Median

$163,860

Highest City

$76,080

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th-90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Jose, CA	$163,860	$76,890, $346,810	195.8	$83,687	17,230
2	New York, NY	$157,000	$71,030, $364,770	187.2	$83,868	177,850
3	Washington, DC	$156,460	$67,600, $291,420	152.8	$102,395	112,530
4	San Francisco, CA	$149,990	$70,960, $330,110	179.6	$83,513	43,520
5	Hartford, CT	$148,080	$71,300, $295,600	112.6	$131,510	13,370
6	Seattle, WA	$146,030	$79,610, $292,160	149.4	$97,744	29,370
7	Denver, CO	$142,330	$73,490, $313,870	112.8	$126,179	22,940
8	Bridgeport, CT	$137,230	$69,020, $366,020	137.5	$99,804	11,140
9	Boston, MA	$133,800	$63,020, $329,130	152.1	$87,968	70,950
10	Madison, WI	$126,620	$63,380, $257,480	103.8	$121,985	5,130
11	Los Angeles, CA	$125,830	$62,400, $299,990	166	$75,801	104,610
12	Milwaukee, WI	$125,490	$61,420, $260,040	97.4	$128,840	10,480
13	Birmingham, AL	$123,560	$61,350, $278,780	90.4	$136,681	7,950
14	Philadelphia, PA	$121,630	$57,210, $284,880	118.4	$102,728	68,730
15	Portland, OR	$121,050	$62,140, $280,300	130.1	$93,044	21,070
16	Colorado Springs, CO	$120,770	$62,140, $294,690	104.5	$115,569	4,580
17	Indianapolis, IN	$120,480	$57,710, $283,140	90.1	$133,718	17,510
18	Anchorage, AK	$120,030	$65,050, $223,230	127	$94,512	3,290
19	Nashville, TN	$119,990	$59,000, $240,110	100.3	$119,631	23,820
20	Houston, TX	$119,600	$50,490, $296,070	96.5	$123,938	97,320
21	San Diego, CA	$119,600	$58,370, $267,090	160.2	$74,657	26,230
22	Spokane, WA	$119,420	$73,000, $234,040	97.4	$122,608	3,290
23	Sacramento, CA	$118,460	$51,520, $248,800	124.7	$94,996	17,980
24	Austin, TX	$117,850	$48,890, $296,440	103	$114,417	42,190
25	Baltimore, MD	$117,040	$58,350, $232,180	114.2	$102,487	44,960
26	Raleigh, NC	$114,940	$56,020, $268,030	99.8	$115,170	9,520
27	Charlotte, NC	$112,730	$55,750, $274,620	96.7	$116,577	18,380
28	Atlanta, GA	$111,410	$51,410, $268,690	99.2	$112,308	69,320
29	Albany, NY	$111,130	$60,220, $235,180	100.7	$110,357	8,890
30	Dallas, TX	$111,010	$46,710, $279,830	104.1	$106,638	125,090
31	Providence, RI	$110,360	$60,420, $227,770	119.4	$92,429	14,110
32	Chicago, IL	$109,390	$58,000, $298,090	107.3	$101,948	122,930
33	Richmond, VA	$108,670	$57,070, $229,230	102.1	$106,435	15,770
34	Greenville, SC	$106,750	$57,470, $222,130	90.1	$118,479	5,780
35	Reno, NV	$106,050	$51,270, $215,510	106.5	$99,577	7,930
36	Miami, FL	$105,640	$49,220, $242,380	123.1	$85,816	74,960
37	New Orleans, LA	$105,110	$53,040, $240,450	95.9	$109,604	10,670
38	Knoxville, TN	$104,590	$51,410, $253,540	90.3	$115,825	8,660
39	Bakersfield, CA	$104,460	$53,910, $218,740	100.6	$103,837	4,100
40	Detroit, MI	$104,010	$51,910, $259,390	95.1	$109,369	37,250
41	Salt Lake City, UT	$103,710	$44,090, $221,230	101.4	$102,278	20,870
42	Rochester, NY	$103,690	$54,090, $234,220	92.9	$111,615	9,230
43	Tampa, FL	$103,670	$50,100, $223,850	99.6	$104,086	35,700
44	Minneapolis, MN	$103,570	$49,640, $220,960	106.2	$97,524	44,890
45	Buffalo, NY	$103,280	$54,140, $236,480	92.5	$111,654	11,100
46	Columbus, OH	$102,590	$50,440, $221,270	93.1	$110,193	29,070
47	Memphis, TN	$102,510	$50,180, $231,770	84	$122,036	9,730
48	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$102,260	$51,710, $220,690	122.4	$83,546	23,090
49	Fresno, CA	$101,010	$56,820, $239,420	105.5	$95,744	6,800
50	Greensboro, NC	$100,930	$48,180, $237,370	91.3	$110,548	4,710
51	Jacksonville, FL	$100,870	$50,470, $221,030	95.1	$106,067	16,870
52	Pittsburgh, PA	$100,840	$50,130, $216,150	92.3	$109,252	31,020
53	Cincinnati, OH	$100,670	$49,550, $222,520	91.2	$110,384	29,330
54	Orlando, FL	$100,440	$47,400, $226,870	103.1	$97,420	27,430
55	San Antonio, TX	$99,790	$46,380, $223,730	91.5	$109,060	30,560
56	Des Moines, IA	$98,780	$46,950, $208,630	93.3	$105,874	8,370
57	Phoenix, AZ	$98,610	$47,990, $243,280	100.7	$97,925	81,520
58	Las Vegas, NV	$97,290	$46,800, $265,410	109	$89,257	27,290
59	Oklahoma City, OK	$97,110	$47,220, $208,030	86.5	$112,266	17,710
60	Tulsa, OK	$96,150	$47,400, $215,110	86.8	$110,772	11,840
61	Albuquerque, NM	$94,640	$44,610, $217,000	94	$100,681	7,670
62	St. Louis, MO	$93,140	$45,690, $210,790	90	$103,489	46,410
63	Omaha, NE	$90,620	$48,880, $203,670	91.8	$98,715	11,430
64	Kansas City, MO	$90,490	$47,080, $219,230	95.4	$94,853	31,080
65	Louisville, KY	$89,140	$44,440, $206,940	90.2	$98,825	16,830
66	Wichita, KS	$85,230	$48,910, $191,600	84	$101,464	5,060
67	Boise, ID	$83,680	$42,690, $175,000	102.1	$81,959	11,270
68	Tucson, AZ	$83,610	$46,680, $199,310	95.4	$87,642	12,130
69	Lexington, KY	$80,440	$38,900, $188,210	91.3	$88,105	8,100
70	Little Rock, AR	$76,080	$36,910, $174,530	88.2	$86,259	9,330

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your General and Operations Manager paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	Birmingham, AL	$136,681	$123,560	90.4
2	Indianapolis, IN	$133,718	$120,480	90.1
3	Hartford, CT	$131,510	$148,080	112.6
4	Milwaukee, WI	$128,840	$125,490	97.4
5	Denver, CO	$126,179	$142,330	112.8
6	Houston, TX	$123,938	$119,600	96.5
7	Spokane, WA	$122,608	$119,420	97.4
8	Memphis, TN	$122,036	$102,510	84
9	Madison, WI	$121,985	$126,620	103.8
10	Nashville, TN	$119,631	$119,990	100.3
11	Greenville, SC	$118,479	$106,750	90.1
12	Charlotte, NC	$116,577	$112,730	96.7
13	Knoxville, TN	$115,825	$104,590	90.3
14	Colorado Springs, CO	$115,569	$120,770	104.5
15	Raleigh, NC	$115,170	$114,940	99.8
16	Austin, TX	$114,417	$117,850	103
17	Atlanta, GA	$112,308	$111,410	99.2
18	Oklahoma City, OK	$112,266	$97,110	86.5
19	Buffalo, NY	$111,654	$103,280	92.5
20	Rochester, NY	$111,615	$103,690	92.9
21	Tulsa, OK	$110,772	$96,150	86.8
22	Greensboro, NC	$110,548	$100,930	91.3
23	Cincinnati, OH	$110,384	$100,670	91.2
24	Albany, NY	$110,357	$111,130	100.7
25	Columbus, OH	$110,193	$102,590	93.1
26	New Orleans, LA	$109,604	$105,110	95.9
27	Detroit, MI	$109,369	$104,010	95.1
28	Pittsburgh, PA	$109,252	$100,840	92.3
29	San Antonio, TX	$109,060	$99,790	91.5
30	Dallas, TX	$106,638	$111,010	104.1
31	Richmond, VA	$106,435	$108,670	102.1
32	Jacksonville, FL	$106,067	$100,870	95.1
33	Des Moines, IA	$105,874	$98,780	93.3
34	Tampa, FL	$104,086	$103,670	99.6
35	Bakersfield, CA	$103,837	$104,460	100.6
36	St. Louis, MO	$103,489	$93,140	90
37	Philadelphia, PA	$102,728	$121,630	118.4
38	Baltimore, MD	$102,487	$117,040	114.2
39	Washington, DC	$102,395	$156,460	152.8
40	Salt Lake City, UT	$102,278	$103,710	101.4
41	Chicago, IL	$101,948	$109,390	107.3
42	Wichita, KS	$101,464	$85,230	84
43	Albuquerque, NM	$100,681	$94,640	94
44	Bridgeport, CT	$99,804	$137,230	137.5
45	Reno, NV	$99,577	$106,050	106.5
46	Louisville, KY	$98,825	$89,140	90.2
47	Omaha, NE	$98,715	$90,620	91.8
48	Phoenix, AZ	$97,925	$98,610	100.7
49	Seattle, WA	$97,744	$146,030	149.4
50	Minneapolis, MN	$97,524	$103,570	106.2
51	Orlando, FL	$97,420	$100,440	103.1
52	Fresno, CA	$95,744	$101,010	105.5
53	Sacramento, CA	$94,996	$118,460	124.7
54	Kansas City, MO	$94,853	$90,490	95.4
55	Anchorage, AK	$94,512	$120,030	127
56	Portland, OR	$93,044	$121,050	130.1
57	Providence, RI	$92,429	$110,360	119.4
58	Las Vegas, NV	$89,257	$97,290	109
59	Lexington, KY	$88,105	$80,440	91.3
60	Boston, MA	$87,968	$133,800	152.1
61	Tucson, AZ	$87,642	$83,610	95.4
62	Little Rock, AR	$86,259	$76,080	88.2
63	Miami, FL	$85,816	$105,640	123.1
64	New York, NY	$83,868	$157,000	187.2
65	San Jose, CA	$83,687	$163,860	195.8
66	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$83,546	$102,260	122.4
67	San Francisco, CA	$83,513	$149,990	179.6
68	Boise, ID	$81,959	$83,680	102.1
69	Los Angeles, CA	$75,801	$125,830	166
70	San Diego, CA	$74,657	$119,600	160.2

Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose, CA pays the highest median General and Operations Manager salary at $163,860. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, Birmingham, AL offers the most purchasing power at $136,681 adjusted.

The national median General and Operations Manager salary is $111,190 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $76,080 to $163,860 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above, cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.