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Lead Operator salary
Average lead operator salary
$88,429
How much does a lead operator make?
The average lead operator salary in the United States is $88,429. Lead operator salaries typically range between $54,000 and $142,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for lead operators is $42.51 per hour.
Lead operator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Lead operators earn the highest average salary in New Jersey.
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Where can a Lead Operator earn more?
Lead Operator Salaries By Experience Level
Experience Level  | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level lead operator | $87,200 | $41.92 |
| Mid-level lead operator | $110,000 | $53.02 |
| Senior-level lead operator | $112,000 | $53.72 |
Lead Operator salary estimates from across the web
Average lead operator salary by state
Highest paying states for lead operators
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $110,005 | $52.89 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $108,013 | $51.93 |
| 3 | Wyoming | $101,227 | $48.67 |
| 4 | Nevada | $100,259 | $48.20 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $114,085 | $54.85 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $107,203 | $51.54 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $96,261 | $46.28 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $107,691 | $51.77 |
| 9 | Idaho | $90,108 | $43.32 |
| 10 | California | $110,135 | $52.95 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $85,305 | $41.01 |
| 12 | Michigan | $83,196 | $40.00 |
| 13 | Arizona | $92,088 | $44.27 |
| 14 | Montana | $86,313 | $41.50 |
| 15 | Mississippi | $87,776 | $42.20 |
| 16 | Louisiana | $84,040 | $40.40 |
| 17 | Maine | $92,318 | $44.38 |
| 18 | District of Columbia | $98,724 | $47.46 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | $80,997 | $38.94 |
| 20 | New York | $96,893 | $46.58 |
| 21 | Texas | $87,782 | $42.20 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | $78,680 | $37.83 |
| 23 | Arkansas | $75,241 | $36.17 |
| 24 | Tennessee | $73,683 | $35.42 |
| 25 | South Carolina | $82,227 | $39.53 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $81,012 | $38.95 |
| 27 | Washington | $87,366 | $42.00 |
| 28 | Hawaii | $80,844 | $38.87 |
| 29 | Kentucky | $72,834 | $35.02 |
| 30 | New Mexico | $76,730 | $36.89 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $74,632 | $35.88 |
| 32 | Delaware | $83,602 | $40.19 |
| 33 | Missouri | $73,490 | $35.33 |
| 34 | Vermont | $78,734 | $37.85 |
| 35 | Maryland | $76,291 | $36.68 |
| 36 | North Carolina | $75,394 | $36.25 |
| 37 | West Virginia | $76,094 | $36.58 |
| 38 | Georgia | $75,245 | $36.18 |
| 39 | Minnesota | $74,461 | $35.80 |
| 40 | Alabama | $73,118 | $35.15 |
| 41 | Iowa | $71,177 | $34.22 |
| 42 | Kansas | $68,856 | $33.10 |
| 43 | Utah | $64,268 | $30.90 |
| 44 | Virginia | $76,683 | $36.87 |
| 45 | Florida | $75,644 | $36.37 |
| 46 | Colorado | $75,054 | $36.08 |
| 47 | Indiana | $67,639 | $32.52 |
| 48 | Ohio | $66,987 | $32.21 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $63,875 | $30.71 |
| 50 | Illinois | $69,980 | $33.64 |
| 51 | Oregon | $72,338 | $34.78 |
Highest paying cities for lead operators
The highest-paying cities for lead operators are San Francisco, CA, Jersey City, NJ, and Hartford, CT.
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $123,759 | $59.50 |
| 2 | Jersey City, NJ | $115,239 | $55.40 |
| 3 | Hartford, CT | $108,287 | $52.06 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $107,264 | $51.57 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $99,115 | $47.65 |
| 6 | Las Vegas, NV | $98,903 | $47.55 |
| 7 | Albany, NY | $97,877 | $47.06 |
| 8 | Portland, ME | $94,080 | $45.23 |
| 9 | Phoenix, AZ | $92,659 | $44.55 |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | $88,894 | $42.74 |
| 11 | Austin, TX | $88,564 | $42.58 |
| 12 | Philadelphia, PA | $86,352 | $41.52 |
| 13 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $81,174 | $39.03 |
| 14 | Arlington, VA | $79,011 | $37.99 |
| 15 | Baltimore, MD | $76,745 | $36.90 |
| 16 | Raleigh, NC | $76,504 | $36.78 |
| 17 | Miami, FL | $75,188 | $36.15 |
| 18 | Aurora, CO | $74,802 | $35.96 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $74,791 | $35.96 |
| 20 | Minneapolis, MN | $74,274 | $35.71 |
Lead Operator salary details
A lead operator's salary ranges from $54,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $142,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead operator's salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $142,000 | $11,833 | $68 |
| 75th Percentile | $113,000 | $9,417 | $54 |
| Average | $88,429 | $7,369 | $43 |
| 25th Percentile | $68,000 | $5,667 | $33 |
| 10th Percentile | $54,000 | $4,500 | $26 |
Highest paying lead operator jobs
The highest paying types of lead operators are head operator, cell leader, and lead person.
| Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shop Lead | $48,007 | $4,001 | $23.08 | 16,766 |
| Working Supervisor | $49,372 | $4,114 | $23.74 | 44,021 |
| Production Leader | $44,563 | $3,714 | $21.42 | 107,578 |
| 2nd Shift Supervisor | $34,465 | $2,872 | $16.57 | 145,604 |
| 3rd Shift Supervisor | $32,932 | $2,744 | $15.83 | 129,192 |
| Planting Supervisor | $41,894 | $3,491 | $20.14 | 59,990 |
Top companies hiring lead operators now:
Which companies pay lead operators the most?
Lead operator salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead operator salary at companies like ZS and Apple are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $165,622 | $79.63 |
| 2 | $159,066 | $76.47 | |
| 3 | ZS | $157,207 | $75.58 |
| 4 | Apple | $142,967 | $68.73 |
| 5 | Microsoft | $142,750 | $68.63 |
| 6 | eBay | $142,723 | $68.62 |
| 7 | Chevron | $137,840 | $66.27 |
| 8 | Cloudflare | $134,879 | $64.85 |
| 9 | Marathon Oil | $132,364 | $63.64 |
| 10 | $128,055 | $61.56 | |
| 11 | Lyft | $126,563 | $60.85 |
| 12 | Neuralink IT Solutions | $126,030 | $60.59 |
| 13 | Genentech | $124,568 | $59.89 |
| 14 | UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital | $124,290 | $59.75 |
| 15 | Citi | $124,086 | $59.66 |
| 16 | Uber Technologies | $123,875 | $59.56 |
| 17 | Pandora | $122,765 | $59.02 |
| 18 | Amd | $122,597 | $58.94 |
| 19 | Tishman | $122,455 | $58.87 |
| 20 | Hess | $121,996 | $58.65 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Operator salary by industry
The average lead operator salary varies across industries:
- The average lead operator salary in the technology industry is $94,784, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead operator salary in the finance industry is $87,806.
- Lead operators in the retail industry earn an average salary of $58,346, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead operators
| Rank | Industry | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $94,784 | $45.57 |
| 2 | Energy | $87,806 | $42.21 |
| 3 | Finance | $79,970 | $38.45 |
| 4 | Professional | $77,797 | $37.40 |
| 5 | Health Care | $76,929 | $36.99 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | $69,239 | $33.29 |
| 7 | Transportation | $69,058 | $33.20 |
| 8 | Retail | $58,346 | $28.05 |
High Paying Lead Operator Jobs
Lead Operator salary trends
The average lead operator salary has risen by $12,916 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead operator earned $75,513 annually, but today, they earn $88,429 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for lead operators over the last decade.
Compare lead operator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead operator salary over time
Compare lead operator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
- National Average
- Columbus, OH
Lead Operator salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $88,400 | $42.51 | +2.5% |
| 2024 | $86,300 | $41.47 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | $85,000 | $40.87 | +2.6% |
| 2022 | $82,800 | $39.82 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | $81,300 | $39.08 | +2.5% |
Recently added lead operator salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pet Food Experts | Operations Lead | Tacoma, WA | 12/17/2024 | $43,827 |
| Iberdrola | Lead Analyst-Field Operations | Ithaca, NY | 12/17/2024 | $76,100 |
| Kohl's Corp | Stockroom Operations Lead | Bismarck, ND | 12/16/2024 | $32,453 |
| Behr Paint | Lead Operator, Filling, 2Nd Shift | Allentown, PA | 12/16/2024 | $46,958 |
| Docusign | Lead, People Operations | San Francisco, CA | 12/16/2024 | $79,500 |
| Headway | Lead, Strategy & Operations | Nashville, TN | 12/16/2024 | $150,000 |
| at Home Stores LLC | Operations Lead | Seekonk, MA | 12/16/2024 | $33,392 |
| Sierra | Strategy & Operations Lead | San Francisco, CA | 12/16/2024 | $160,000 |
| Via Transportation, Inc. | Cities Data Lead, Operations (Citymapper) | New York, NY | 12/16/2024 | $80,000 |
| Fbfl | Lead Operator | Fernandina Beach, FL | 12/16/2024 | $56,203 |
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