Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
15-2031 Operations Research Analysts
Formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decisionmaking, policy formulation, or other managerial functions. May collect and analyze data and develop decision support software, services, or products. May develop and supply optimal time, cost, or logistics networks for program evaluation, review, or implementation.
National estimates for Operations Research Analysts
Industry profile for Operations Research Analysts
Geographic profile for Operations Research Analysts
National estimates for Operations Research Analysts:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Operations Research Analysts:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 96,220 |
1.7 % |
$ 44.37 |
$ 92,280 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Operations Research Analysts:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 23.10 |
$ 30.32 |
$ 41.44 |
$ 55.33 |
$ 69.39 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 48,050 |
$ 63,070 |
$ 86,200 |
$ 115,080 |
$ 144,330 |
Industry profile for Operations Research Analysts:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Operations Research Analysts are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Operations Research Analysts, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Operations Research Analysts:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
9,930 |
0.41 |
$ 46.05 |
$ 95,780 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services |
8,030 |
0.37 |
$ 45.42 |
$ 94,480 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
7,990 |
0.52 |
$ 42.96 |
$ 89,350 |
| Insurance Carriers |
7,970 |
0.66 |
$ 41.03 |
$ 85,350 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 and 5223 only) |
7,010 |
0.35 |
$ 43.18 |
$ 89,820 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Operations Research Analysts:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Insurance Carriers |
7,970 |
0.66 |
$ 41.03 |
$ 85,350 |
| Nondepository Credit Intermediation |
3,200 |
0.55 |
$ 45.95 |
$ 95,580 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
7,990 |
0.52 |
$ 42.96 |
$ 89,350 |
| Cable and Other Subscription Programming |
250 |
0.50 |
$ 37.49 |
$ 77,970 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities |
4,250 |
0.45 |
$ 54.26 |
$ 112,860 |
Top paying industries for Operations Research Analysts:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 106.90 |
$ 222,350 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
5,340 |
0.26 |
$ 57.98 |
$ 120,600 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities |
4,250 |
0.45 |
$ 54.26 |
$ 112,860 |
| Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) |
420 |
0.06 |
$ 53.54 |
$ 111,350 |
| Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing |
40 |
0.01 |
$ 53.30 |
$ 110,860 |
Geographic profile for Operations Research Analysts:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Operations Research Analysts are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Operations Research Analysts, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Operations Research Analysts:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
8,940 |
0.54 |
0.79 |
$ 52.09 |
$ 108,350 |
| Texas |
8,880 |
0.73 |
1.06 |
$ 41.87 |
$ 87,090 |
| Virginia |
7,350 |
1.99 |
2.87 |
$ 51.97 |
$ 108,090 |
| New York |
6,600 |
0.76 |
1.10 |
$ 51.74 |
$ 107,620 |
| Florida |
5,570 |
0.66 |
0.95 |
$ 33.96 |
$ 70,640 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Operations Research Analysts:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Virginia |
7,350 |
1.99 |
2.87 |
$ 51.97 |
$ 108,090 |
| District of Columbia |
1,330 |
1.94 |
2.80 |
$ 56.10 |
$ 116,700 |
| Delaware |
690 |
1.61 |
2.33 |
$ 43.91 |
$ 91,330 |
| Maryland |
4,030 |
1.60 |
2.31 |
$ 50.04 |
$ 104,090 |
| Utah |
1,640 |
1.10 |
1.59 |
$ 35.53 |
$ 73,910 |
Top paying states for Operations Research Analysts:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
1,330 |
1.94 |
2.80 |
$ 56.10 |
$ 116,700 |
| New Jersey |
2,700 |
0.71 |
1.03 |
$ 55.00 |
$ 114,410 |
| California |
8,940 |
0.54 |
0.79 |
$ 52.09 |
$ 108,350 |
| Virginia |
7,350 |
1.99 |
2.87 |
$ 51.97 |
$ 108,090 |
| New York |
6,600 |
0.76 |
1.10 |
$ 51.74 |
$ 107,620 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Operations Research Analysts:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,330 |
0.83 |
1.20 |
$ 55.41 |
$ 115,250 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
6,910 |
2.29 |
3.31 |
$ 54.67 |
$ 113,710 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
4,190 |
1.17 |
1.69 |
$ 41.87 |
$ 87,090 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,230 |
0.74 |
1.07 |
$ 45.79 |
$ 95,250 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
3,180 |
0.55 |
0.79 |
$ 49.19 |
$ 102,310 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
3,040 |
1.16 |
1.67 |
$ 35.03 |
$ 72,860 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
2,600 |
1.41 |
2.04 |
$ 43.43 |
$ 90,330 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
2,510 |
0.97 |
1.40 |
$ 45.01 |
$ 93,630 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,290 |
0.85 |
1.23 |
$ 45.80 |
$ 95,260 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
2,050 |
1.05 |
1.52 |
$ 50.18 |
$ 104,380 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Operations Research Analysts:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California-Lexington Park, MD |
540 |
11.84 |
17.12 |
$ 50.43 |
$ 104,900 |
| Bloomington, IL |
420 |
5.13 |
7.42 |
$ 49.56 |
$ 103,080 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
320 |
2.98 |
4.31 |
$ 33.61 |
$ 69,910 |
| Richmond, VA |
1,840 |
2.94 |
4.24 |
$ 44.74 |
$ 93,050 |
| Tallahassee, FL |
400 |
2.35 |
3.40 |
$ 19.23 |
$ 40,000 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
6,910 |
2.29 |
3.31 |
$ 54.67 |
$ 113,710 |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL |
210 |
1.96 |
2.83 |
$ 46.19 |
$ 96,060 |
| Wausau, WI |
130 |
1.91 |
2.76 |
$ 37.53 |
$ 78,060 |
| Dayton, OH |
610 |
1.70 |
2.46 |
$ 47.07 |
$ 97,910 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
1,210 |
1.67 |
2.42 |
$ 33.98 |
$ 70,670 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Operations Research Analysts:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,030 |
0.93 |
1.35 |
$ 70.59 |
$ 146,830 |
| Salinas, CA |
50 |
0.26 |
0.38 |
$ 60.07 |
$ 124,950 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
40 |
0.21 |
0.31 |
$ 59.31 |
$ 123,370 |
| Trenton, NJ |
250 |
1.10 |
1.59 |
$ 56.12 |
$ 116,730 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,330 |
0.83 |
1.20 |
$ 55.41 |
$ 115,250 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,040 |
0.87 |
1.26 |
$ 54.69 |
$ 113,760 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
6,910 |
2.29 |
3.31 |
$ 54.67 |
$ 113,710 |
| Winston-Salem, NC |
90 |
0.35 |
0.51 |
$ 53.94 |
$ 112,200 |
| Huntsville, AL |
340 |
1.45 |
2.10 |
$ 53.81 |
$ 111,910 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
40 |
0.40 |
0.57 |
$ 52.08 |
$ 108,330 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Operations Research Analysts:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Operations Research Analysts:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Operations Research Analysts:
About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
