Pay · 15-2031
Operations Research Analysts earn $88,940 a year at the midpoint
The middle of the pay scale for operations research analysts is $88,940. A typical start is nearer $68,360; the top tenth earn about $159,910.
National figures for operations research analysts, 15-2031, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Operations research analyst earnings, from starting pay to the top 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
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An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
No. 165 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 79% of the occupations in the survey.
- 163 Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers $89,900
- 164 Urban and Regional Planners $89,320
- 165 Operations Research Analysts $88,940
- 166 Food Scientists and Technologists $88,720
- 167 Microbiologists $87,990
Examples
Resumes written for this line of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
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Operations research analyst pay rate, hourly to yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Operations research analyst wages by state
The 35 states where the most people do this work, of 47 with a published figure: their medians range by 2.11 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | $129,880 | $79,570 | $79,570 — $182,530 | 770 |
| Virginia | $129,460 | $71,820 | $71,820 — $194,260 | 6,980 |
| Alabama | $115,630 | $64,830 | $64,830 — $173,910 | 550 |
| New York | $108,610 | $62,780 | $62,780 — $175,800 | 5,890 |
| Ohio | $103,620 | $52,000 | $52,000 — $142,080 | 2,600 |
| Idaho | $103,600 | $60,640 | $60,640 — $138,510 | 500 |
| Oregon | $102,170 | $65,600 | $65,600 — $145,710 | 2,710 |
| California | $102,100 | $65,510 | $65,510 — $168,030 | 10,620 |
| Delaware | $101,070 | $62,510 | $62,510 — $132,780 | 660 |
| Washington | $98,030 | $68,580 | $68,580 — $155,790 | 3,050 |
| Maryland | $97,410 | $55,880 | $55,880 — $180,750 | 4,710 |
| North Carolina | $97,290 | $60,180 | $60,180 — $130,980 | 2,520 |
| Connecticut | $96,700 | $61,300 | $61,300 — $131,030 | 950 |
| Massachusetts | $96,500 | $71,550 | $71,550 — $146,000 | 4,200 |
| District of Columbia | $96,030 | $65,550 | $65,550 — $195,190 | 2,250 |
| Minnesota | $95,550 | $60,350 | $60,350 — $133,170 | 1,240 |
| Texas | $90,710 | $57,840 | $57,840 — $164,570 | 11,890 |
| Utah | $90,200 | $57,990 | $57,990 — $130,910 | 810 |
| Illinois | $89,800 | $62,500 | $62,500 — $164,990 | 5,180 |
| Nevada | $86,500 | $65,210 | $65,210 — $139,920 | 370 |
| Indiana | $85,280 | $59,850 | $59,850 — $133,480 | 1,380 |
| Kentucky | $83,850 | $58,970 | $58,970 — $129,860 | 660 |
| Michigan | $83,480 | $61,650 | $61,650 — $139,880 | 980 |
| New Mexico | $80,360 | $49,940 | $49,940 — $150,030 | 510 |
| South Carolina | $80,240 | $52,500 | $52,500 — $125,700 | 1,380 |
| Pennsylvania | $79,640 | $55,220 | $55,220 — $129,420 | 3,220 |
| Rhode Island | $77,910 | $61,110 | $61,110 — $183,030 | 360 |
| Florida | $77,600 | $46,340 | $46,340 — $131,490 | 9,120 |
| Tennessee | $76,680 | $46,150 | $46,150 — $125,480 | 1,200 |
| Georgia | $76,220 | $52,000 | $52,000 — $132,610 | 4,600 |
| Arizona | $75,470 | $58,430 | $58,430 — $124,230 | 2,600 |
| Wisconsin | $71,820 | $50,380 | $50,380 — $102,090 | 4,270 |
| Louisiana | $63,210 | $49,940 | $49,940 — $111,160 | 550 |
| Missouri | $62,380 | $49,180 | $49,180 — $116,980 | 1,190 |
| Oklahoma | $61,520 | $41,680 | $41,680 — $88,280 | 1,840 |
No estimate is published for 2 states: the survey withholds a figure when too few employers report it. Nothing has been filled in for them.
A resume for operations research analysts
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Presented the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users.
- Defined data requirements, and gathered and validated information, applying judgment and statistical tests.
- Performed validation and testing of models to ensure adequacy, and reformulate models, as necessary.
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Questions people ask
What is an operations research analyst’s yearly income?
An operations research analyst makes a median of $88,940 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $68,360 and $125,990.
What is an operations research analyst’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $42.76 an hour; the average is $99,730 a year.
What is the starting pay for an operations research analyst?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $68,360 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $57,060.
Which state pays operations research analysts the most?
Colorado, with a median of $129,880 a year.
How many people work as operations research analysts?
About 108,510 in the United States — number 165 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Jobs that pay about the same
Median pay within $950 of what operations research analysts earn — $88,940 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $220 less Food Scientists and Technologists $88,720median a year 10th percentile: $52,920 90th percentile: $145,280
- $380 more Urban and Regional Planners $89,320median a year 10th percentile: $60,010 90th percentile: $134,490
- $950 less Microbiologists $87,990median a year 10th percentile: $54,670 90th percentile: $150,000