Chief of Staff vs Operations Manager

Put two roles head to head — any role, in any location or worldwide-remote.

Side A

Side B

Chief of Staff pays about 53% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

Chief of Staff Operations Manager
$190k
$124k
$53.9k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $274k

Chief of Staff

$190,000

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▲ +5.6%
$180,000 $190,000
$156.3k 25th
$190k Median
$228.4k 75th
$127.3k
$258.8k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5.3k – $520k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
41%
Live roles
376

Operations Manager

$123,975

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -15.4%
$146,596 $123,975
$92.5k 25th
$124k Median
$157.5k 75th
$69.1k
$183.5k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5.3k – $500k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
40.1%
Live roles
7,200

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
HP $140,963 6
talentpluto $175,000 5
Boston Medical Center $215,000 3
AX Axon $197,496 3
Fundraise Up $114,999 3
Flex $301,500 2
LS Lila Sciences $281,000 2
Cohere $273,750 2

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
CVS Health $56,160 299
Target $102,500 64
DaVita $114,750 36
TH The Home Depot $73,300 34
Maersk $87,500 32
DoorDash USA $168,000 27
Towne Park $68,400 22
Northrop Grumman $158,550 20

Chief of Staff salary by location

Location Median Roles
Austin $262,500 3
San Francisco $220,000 29
Boston $211,613 8
New York $182,500 36
Chicago $180,025 3
Los Angeles $162,500 4

Operations Manager salary by location

Location Median Roles
San Francisco $170,000 225
Seattle $151,533 71
New York $150,000 353
Atlanta $147,500 34
Chicago $145,550 112
Denver $140,000 52
Austin $137,500 50
Boston $135,000 71
Los Angeles $132,600 86
London $111,486 17

Chief of Staff vs Operations Manager: which pays more?

The median for Chief of Staff is $190,000 per year (typically $156,300–$228,391), versus $123,975 for Operations Manager ($92,500–$157,500). That puts Chief of Staff about 53% ahead at the median.

Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Chief of Staff and Operations Manager are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.

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