Research Operations

Research Operations Salary

$38.5K

$95K

$151.5K

$93,804

/year

$45.10

/hour

Research Operations Salary Comparison by Location

Nationwide

United States

$93,804

Columbus

Ohio

$90,605

    Do you get a good deal as a Research Operations?

    Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.

    Take The Breakroom Quiz

    Breakroom banner

    How much does a Research Operations make?

    As of Jul 27, 2026, the average annual pay for a Research Operations in the United States is $93,804 a year.

    Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $45.10 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,803/week or $7,817/month.

    While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $151,500 and as low as $38,500, the majority of Research Operations salaries currently range between $66,500 (25th percentile) to $115,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $130,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Research Operations varies greatly (by as much as 49000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.

    A Research Operations in your area makes on average $90,605 per year, or $3,199 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $93,804. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Research Operations salaries.

    To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Research Operations jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.

    Find your next high paying job as a Research Operations on ZipRecruiter today.

    What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Research Operations Jobs

    We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Research Operations job is above the national average. Topping the list is San Diego, CA, , with Downers Grove, IL, and Park Ridge, IL, close behind in the second and third positions. Park Ridge, IL, beats the national average by $25,099 (26.8%), and San Diego, CA, furthers that trend with another $41,985 (44.8%) above the $93,804 average.

    With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Research Operations appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

    However, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies modestly at 18% between San Diego, CA, and Westerville, OH, , suggesting it may be difficult to see much positive wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may help determine the balance between location and salary for a Research Operations role.

    City

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    San Diego, CA

    $135,789

    $65.28

    Downers Grove, IL

    $119,952

    $57.67

    Park Ridge, IL

    $118,903

    $57.16

    King of Prussia, PA

    $118,056

    $56.76

    Burleigh County, ND

    $116,962

    $56.23

    Nome, AK

    $116,364

    $55.94

    Cupertino, CA

    $115,730

    $55.64

    Pennington County, SD

    $115,225

    $55.40

    Berkeley, CA

    $114,858

    $55.22

    Westerville, OH

    $113,074

    $54.36

    What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Research Operations Jobs in the U.S.

    Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Research Operations job category, we found that Master Data Administrator jobs have average salaries greater than Research Operations jobs.

    Significantly, Master Data Administrator jobs pay $8,456 (9.0%) more than the average Research Operations salary of $93,804. If you're qualified, finding work as a Master Data Administrator may help you make more money than that of the average Research Operations position.

    Job Title

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Master Data Administrator

    $102,260

    $49.16

    Quality Operations Manager

    $91,047

    $43.77

    Business Operations Manager

    $89,520

    $43.04

    Investment Operations

    $54,588

    $26.24

    Biomedical Physics

    $37,126

    $17.85

    About Our Data

    ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.

    Infographic detailing Research Operations salary across the United States as of July 2026. Displays a bar chart with salary percentiles, a national average salary of $93,804 per year or $45.10 an hour, and a color-coded map showing state-by-state salary variations.