Salary guide, May 2025

Chief Operating Officer (COO) pay, United States

Manufacturing Headhunters uses the published BLS OEWS figures below. They describe the mapped occupation and area, not an individual offer.

This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.

The median annual wage for Chief Executives in the United States was $213,990 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $129,540 and $356,200.

Also searched as: EVP Operations, SVP Operations, COO. These titles share this page because BLS reports them under one occupation.

Broader occupation · SOC 11-1011 Chief Executives

BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.

Chief Executives in U.S.: median $213,990; published 25th to 75th percentile $129,540 to $356,200.

Annual wage percentiles, U.S.
10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
$75,700	$129,540	$213,990	$356,200	$507,730

Chief Executives in U.S.: median $102.88; published 25th to 75th percentile $62.28 to $171.25.

Hourly wage percentiles, U.S.
10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
$36.39	$62.28	$102.88	$171.25	$244.10

BLS estimated 204,350 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 11-1011 Chief Executives, U.S.. Official occupation data · Official area tables. Released 2026-05-15.

How does pay compare in the target metros?

Chief Operating Officer (COO) pay in target metros (May 2025)
Metro	Median	25th to 75th	Employment	Location quotient
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply.
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply.
Raleigh-Cary, NC	$286,050	$171,810 to $417,820	360	0.36
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$301,440	$208,320 to $462,490	7,180	0.58
Northern New Jersey within New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$301,440	$208,320 to $462,490	7,180	0.58
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$320,060	$198,120 to $442,330	2,580	0.49
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$344,960	$197,530 to $428,710	3,610	0.61

Rank every metro for Chief Operating Officer (COO)

What should you know about pay by manufacturing industry, United States?

Same BLS occupation, national estimates for each manufacturing industry (NAICS) BLS publishes, May 2025. Industry names are BLS labels. Nested NAICS rows overlap; they are not independent samples and must not be added together. Identical source rows repeated at different publication levels appear once.

Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (NAICS 324000)$360,290
Paper Manufacturing (NAICS 322000)$344,970
Chemical Manufacturing (NAICS 325000)$326,280
Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing (NAICS 335000)$323,770
Wood Product Manufacturing (NAICS 321000)$311,420
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing (NAICS 334000)$300,650
Miscellaneous Manufacturing (NAICS 339000)$294,840
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing (NAICS 327000)$277,640
Food Manufacturing (NAICS 311000)$274,990
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing (NAICS 312000)$273,450
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing (NAICS 336000)$272,830
Primary Metal Manufacturing (NAICS 331000)$257,460
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing (NAICS 326000)$243,120
Machinery Manufacturing (NAICS 333000)$219,510
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (NAICS 337000)$217,200

Bars compare up to 15 non-overlapping 3-digit manufacturing subsectors with exact annual medians. More detailed scopes remain in the table, identified by code and publication level.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) (SOC 11-1011) by manufacturing industry, national, May 2025
NAICS / scope	Industry	Employment	25th	Median	75th
31-33 · sector	Manufacturing	10,990	$160,390	$263,290	$390,070
334000 · 3-digit	Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	1,480	$191,620	$300,650	$424,700
332000 · 3-digit	Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing	1,370	$137,500	$206,740	$313,780
311000 · 3-digit	Food Manufacturing	1,300	$160,890	$274,990	$420,680
325000 · 3-digit	Chemical Manufacturing	1,140	$202,100	$326,280	$408,820
333000 · 3-digit	Machinery Manufacturing	1,020	$139,540	$219,510	$352,610
339000 · 3-digit	Miscellaneous Manufacturing	880	$141,010	$294,840	$405,530
336000 · 3-digit	Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	770	$159,090	$272,830	$393,520
3330A1 · 4-digit	Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)	710	$145,010	$214,920	$354,870
334500 · 4-digit	Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	680	$210,270	$306,050	$435,150
335000 · 3-digit	Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing	550	$190,340	$323,770	$394,980
325400 · 4-digit	Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	510	$201,990	$369,510	$408,820
339100 · 4-digit	Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing	510	$215,230	$327,880	$419,560
3320A1 · 4-digit	Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	470	$156,020	$216,570	$355,510
326000 · 3-digit	Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing	450	$169,760	$243,120	$421,530
311900 · 4-digit	Other Food Manufacturing	400	$174,520	$301,120	$441,210
3320A2 · 4-digit	Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)	390	$160,810	$212,200	$307,460
332700 · 4-digit	Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	380	$123,590	$178,670	$247,400
339900 · 4-digit	Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	380	$125,730	$173,560	$327,100
3250A1 · 4-digit	Chemical Manufacturing (3251, 3252, 3253, and 3259 only)	350	$203,280	$300,900	$428,840
334400 · 4-digit	Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	350	$219,450	$349,200	$431,780
326100 · 4-digit	Plastics Product Manufacturing	340	$175,270	$244,590	$446,450
332710 · 5-digit	Machine Shops	340	$123,590	$176,070	$232,460
331000 · 3-digit	Primary Metal Manufacturing	290	$105,600	$257,460	$310,230
337000 · 3-digit	Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing	280	$123,490	$217,200	$336,120
3250A2 · 4-digit	Chemical Manufacturing (3255 and 3256 only)	270	$205,990	$277,750	$370,200
335900 · 4-digit	Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing	270	$211,550	$341,650	$412,110
336400 · 4-digit	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	270	$201,050	$281,650	$355,230
336300 · 4-digit	Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing	250	$122,750	$314,990	$423,110
3370A1 · 4-digit	Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only)	250	$123,450	$218,560	$361,750
311400 · 4-digit	Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing	230	$128,650	$229,290	$395,010
335300 · 4-digit	Electrical Equipment Manufacturing	220	$164,830	$271,430	$363,630
312000 · 3-digit	Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing	210	$205,180	$273,450	$399,990
322000 · 3-digit	Paper Manufacturing	210	$195,970	$344,970	$499,320
322200 · 4-digit	Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	210	$195,760	$344,970	$499,320
311600 · 4-digit	Animal Slaughtering and Processing	200	$166,920	$264,590	$452,790
312100 · 4-digit	Beverage Manufacturing	190	$213,620	$281,130	$399,990
321000 · 3-digit	Wood Product Manufacturing	180	$124,420	$311,420	$377,800
311800 · 4-digit	Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing	170	$161,220	$330,940	$437,700
327000 · 3-digit	Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing	160	$212,260	$277,640	$363,180
333500 · 4-digit	Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	150	$124,680	$176,560	$320,080
334200 · 4-digit	Communications Equipment Manufacturing	150	$246,110	$409,320	$447,710
311500 · 4-digit	Dairy Product Manufacturing	140	$138,990	$198,910	$308,900
321900 · 4-digit	Other Wood Product Manufacturing	140	$105,640	$307,640	$367,810
333300 · 4-digit	Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing	140	$214,420	$299,240	$370,220
332800 · 4-digit	Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities	130	$134,010	$202,060	$320,660
326200 · 4-digit	Rubber Product Manufacturing	110	$153,280	$208,210	$340,150
334100 · 4-digit	Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	110	$188,680	$243,470	$400,980
315000 · 3-digit	Apparel Manufacturing	100	$146,640	$162,590	$445,360
315200 · 4-digit	Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing	100	$146,640	$162,330	$528,880
336200 · 4-digit	Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing	90	$109,990	$208,670	$379,400
331500 · 4-digit	Foundries	70	$186,190	$257,460	$286,070
336600 · 4-digit	Ship and Boat Building	70	$101,130	$243,150	$403,930
313000 · 3-digit	Textile Mills	60	$146,370	$176,450	$376,100
324000 · 3-digit	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	60	$303,990	$360,290	$447,260
324100 · 4-digit	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	60	$303,990	$360,290	$447,260
331100 · 4-digit	Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing	60	$72,250	$310,220	$541,580
335100 · 4-digit	Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing	60	$239,200 or more	$239,200 or more	$239,200 or more
331200 · 4-digit	Steel Product Manufacturing from Purchased Steel	50	$198,380	$275,320	$331,550
311200 · 4-digit	Grain and Oilseed Milling	40	$184,410	$264,440	$359,060
311300 · 4-digit	Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing	40	$190,390	$276,290	$380,610
314000 · 3-digit	Textile Product Mills	40	$176,820	$206,270	$258,950
314900 · 4-digit	Other Textile Product Mills	40	$176,820	$206,270	$258,950
332720 · 5-digit	Turned Product and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	40	$109,880	$211,540	$331,280
336100 · 4-digit	Motor Vehicle Manufacturing	40	$185,480	$276,910	$419,090
336900 · 4-digit	Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	30	$162,060	$187,470	$237,490

What should you know about manufacturing pay mix?

For Chief Operating Officer (COO), separate the guaranteed salary from any discretionary bonus or commission arrangement. OEWS measures straight-time gross wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. It includes base rate, guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses. It excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits.

An attendance bonus is not a production bonus; confirm its purpose and treatment rather than adding every bonus to the BLS figure. Skills-based pay steps affect the base rate when they are part of straight-time pay; BLS does not publish a separate rate for each plant's skill grade. Ask whether a tool allowance is expense reimbursement or wage pay. OEWS does not publish a separate tool-allowance component. Keep these items separate in the offer so the published wage is not mistaken for the whole package.

Pay mix here means how published medians for this one BLS occupation differ across manufacturing industries and against the all-industry median. It does not split pay into base, incentive or overtime. BLS wages are straight-time gross pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses.

What should you know about two BLS releases?

Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the United States, annual wages, May 2024 and May 2025
Release period	25th	Median	75th
May 2024	$126,080	$206,420	Top-coded, no exact figure
May 2025	$129,540	$213,990	$356,200

These are two separate BLS estimates from different survey panels. The workers and employers behind them differ, so the gap is not like-for-like pay for the same workers and is not a growth rate. We show no percentage change.

Recruiter's read. Qualitative, not BLS data.

Why fit is difficult?

A COO search is as much about the CEO as the candidate. Roles fail when the CEO wants a deputy and the candidate wants a seat at the top. The pool is tiny, candidates are cautious, and the best ones usually have to be persuaded over several conversations.

What should you know about questions?

Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.

What is the median pay for a Chief Operating Officer (COO)?

The median annual wage for Chief Executives in the United States was $213,990 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $129,540 and $356,200. This is the broader occupation BLS publishes, not a figure for this exact title.

What does the 10th percentile mean here?

10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than $75,700. 90% earned less than $507,730.

Does this include overtime or bonuses?

Is this the pay for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) at a plant?

BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title. These are occupation estimates across all industries, not an offer for a particular manufacturing title.

How many people work in this occupation?

BLS estimated 204,350 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.

What should you know about related?

CEO / President (Manufacturing) pay VP of Operations pay VP of Manufacturing pay Regional VP of Operations pay General Manager (Manufacturing) pay Chief Operating Officer (COO) pay ranked across all metros Open jobs Chief Operating Officer (COO) recruiting Check an offer for this role

Underlying BLS figures for this role (JSON)

Reading this wage estimate

What does this data mean for your opening?

The Chief Operating Officer role within manufacturing relies on broad Chief Executive BLS reporting. For Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the United States, releases are separate survey estimates. The May 2025 median is $213,990; the May 2024 median is $206,420. Their arithmetic difference is $7,570.

They are not the same workers' raises and do not establish a pay trend or its cause. This figure is contrasted against sectoral national industry medians, such as $409,320 for Communications Equipment Manufacturing and $369,510 for Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing. For Chief Operating Officer (COO) in the United States, percentiles describe the wage distribution of the mapped occupation. The published middle interval is $129,540 to $356,200 annually. They do not assign pay to plant size, seniority, credentials or job complexity. Assess duties and candidate requirements separately; these rows do not measure a premium for them. The middle band width for this occupation is $226,660, demonstrating that the market compensates heavily for scope, scale, and specific turnaround or scaling experience rather than just role title.

Regional analysis reveals that compensation in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim sits at a $234,290 median, while New York-Newark-Jersey City reports $301,440. These specific metros are the highest-density areas for this occupation. Candidates possessing experience with lean operating systems and footprint consolidation often fall on the higher end of the spectrum, though BLS does not measure these qualitative factors. Manufacturing Headhunters observes that hiring managers often face challenges when applying broad salary data to specific site or multi-site P&L responsibilities. BLS data excludes deferred compensation and equity which are standard for COOs. The role mapping assumes broad responsibilities, so managers should assess candidate history against corporate benchmarks rather than relying on hourly-derived approximations or internal estimations. The data presented here is based on the May 2025 release; figures are as stated without adjustments for individual performance or local economic conditions.

Which pay questions should you settle before hiring?

How do national industry rows help determine COO pay?

The national industry figures, such as $360,290 for Petroleum and Coal Products, highlight that high-complexity manufacturing often pays significantly above the general executive median. Use these rows to understand the potential ceiling in specific high-barrier sectors.

What is the primary limitation of using this broad occupation data for COOs?

The data is mapped to a broad Chief Executive SOC, which fails to account for specialized multi-site operational management duties. This creates a data gap that requires supplementary knowledge of industry-specific executive pay practices.

Do regional salary variations reflect availability?

Regional variations in New York or Los Angeles are driven by local market demand for executive talent within the broader SOC. These figures do not indicate the availability of candidates with specific lean or footprint consolidation experience.