Salary benchmark
Is $133,800 good for Operations Manager in Boston, MA?
For a mapped General and Operations Managers role in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area, a base salary near $133,800 sits around the official BLS OEWS median wage estimate. A stronger offer usually includes clear bonus terms, benefits, review timing, and limited restrictive language.
Role mapping note: Plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities across an organization.
| Percentile | Annual base benchmark |
|---|---|
| 10th | $63,020 |
| 25th | $89,650 |
| 50th | $133,800 |
| 75th | $210,290 |
| 90th | $329,130 |
How to use this benchmark
- Below $89,650
- Below the local 25th percentile for this mapped occupation. Confirm level, scope, and whether the employer can move base salary or add guaranteed sign-on.
- $89,650 to $133,800
- Between the 25th percentile and median. Check whether the role is entry, mid-level, or scoped below the public occupation mapping before deciding how hard to push.
- $133,800 to $210,290
- Between median and the 75th percentile. Base pay is more competitive, so negotiation may shift toward bonus clarity, equity terms, review timing, schedule, and benefits.
- Above $210,290
- Above the 75th percentile. Pressure-test total compensation quality and restrictive clauses instead of assuming the headline base salary tells the whole story.
Negotiation signals for this role
- The role owns P&L, headcount, safety, customer SLAs, inventory, procurement, logistics, or multi-site execution.
- The job requires nights, weekends, travel, field escalation, or responsibility for a 24/7 operation.
- The manager is accountable for cost, quality, throughput, compliance, or labor planning outcomes.
Offer risks to check
- Hours, travel, emergency coverage, or escalation duties are open-ended.
- Bonus depends on operational metrics that are not defined in writing.
- The role carries safety, compliance, or labor-risk responsibility without clear authority or support.
What this public benchmark misses
- This page maps Operations Manager to SOC 11-1021, General and Operations Managers; the actual offer may be narrower, broader, or leveled differently than that public occupation group.
- Public wage data cannot see facility scale, headcount, shift structure, travel burden, profit sharing, or safety/compliance exposure.
- The benchmark does not distinguish corporate operations, site leadership, logistics, fulfillment, and customer operations roles.
- BLS OEWS wages are straight-time wage estimates and do not add private salary submissions or employer-specific compensation data.
Questions to ask the recruiter
- Which sites, shifts, teams, and metrics are owned by this role?
- What emergency coverage, travel, or weekend work should I expect?
- How are bonus targets, safety metrics, and operating goals documented?
- What authority will I have over hiring, staffing, vendors, and budgets?
Boston, MA and remote context
- Confirm whether the band is tied to Boston-Cambridge-Newton, a suburban office, or a specialized employer cluster.
- Ask how hybrid days, parking or transit support, and relocation timing are handled before accepting.
- If the role is remote or hybrid, ask whether pay is anchored to Boston, MA, a headquarters band, or your home market.
Source note: BLS OEWS May 2025, mapped to SOC 11-1021 and BLS area code 0014460. OEWS wages are straight-time wage estimates and do not fully capture equity, signing bonus, severance, or every total-compensation detail.
FAQ
Is $133,800 a good salary for an Operations Manager in Boston, MA?
$133,800 is near the BLS OEWS median base-wage estimate for the mapped General and Operations Managers occupation in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area. Treat it as a base salary anchor, then evaluate bonus, equity, benefits, schedule, review timing, and restrictive terms before deciding whether the full offer is strong.
What should an Operations Manager negotiate beyond base salary?
Start with level and scope. For this role, one useful signal is whether the role owns P&L, headcount, safety, customer SLAs, inventory, procurement, logistics, or multi-site execution. Also ask for written details on any variable pay, equity, review timing, and offer terms that could affect future mobility.
What does this benchmark miss for Operations Manager offers?
This page maps Operations Manager to SOC 11-1021, General and Operations Managers; the actual offer may be narrower, broader, or leveled differently than that public occupation group. Public wage data cannot see facility scale, headcount, shift structure, travel burden, profit sharing, or safety/compliance exposure. The benchmark does not distinguish corporate operations, site leadership, logistics, fulfillment, and customer operations roles. BLS OEWS wages are straight-time wage estimates and do not add private salary submissions or employer-specific compensation data.
How should remote or hybrid offers tied to Boston, MA be checked?
Confirm whether the band is tied to Boston-Cambridge-Newton, a suburban office, or a specialized employer cluster. Ask how hybrid days, parking or transit support, and relocation timing are handled before accepting. If the role is remote or hybrid, ask whether pay is anchored to Boston, MA, a headquarters band, or your home market.
Which public data source is used on this page?
This page uses BLS OEWS May 2025, mapped to SOC 11-1021 (General and Operations Managers) and BLS area code 0014460. It uses public OEWS wage estimates, not private salary submissions or employer-specific compensation data.
On an H-1B (or hoping for one)?
Since March 2026 the H-1B lottery weighs entries by OFLC wage level, so where this salary lands changes your selection odds. Request a free H-1B Offer Brief — estimated wage level, lottery entries, and a prevailing-wage sanity check for your offer.