Top Metros for Business Operations Specialists: Washington Leads, Lexington Park and Huntsville Top Pay

Across the top 10 metros for business operations specialists, all other, LaborCove’s results highlight a mix of large labor markets such as Washington and New York alongside much smaller but higher‑paying metros such as Lexington Park and Huntsville. Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria holds the highest LaborCove Geography Score and also has the largest employment count among these metros, while San Jose‑Sunnyvale‑Santa Clara posts the highest median salary among the 10. Several metros, including Washington, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Lexington Park, Denver, and Huntsville, have median salaries above the national median, showing that multiple regions sit above the national benchmark even though their overall rankings differ. The national projected growth rate of 3.0% for this occupation frames these metro‑level comparisons but does not indicate how employment will change in any specific metro. Instead, the metro data show how salary levels, employment counts, and Geography Scores currently line up in LaborCove’s 10 highest‑ranked areas.

At the national level, business operations specialists, all other, have a median annual salary of $83,050 and total employment of 1,087,090. The projected national employment growth rate of 3.0% provides a broad context for the occupation overall, but it does not describe or predict conditions in any individual metro. Within that national picture, several of the top 10 metros have median salaries that differ noticeably from the national figure. For example, Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria, Seattle‑Tacoma‑Bellevue, San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont, San Jose‑Sunnyvale‑Santa Clara, Lexington Park, Denver‑Aurora‑Centennial, and Huntsville all have median salaries above $83,050, while Los Angeles‑Long Beach‑Anaheim and Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell fall below that national benchmark. LaborCove’s analysis focuses on how these metro‑level salaries, employment counts, and Geography Scores compare with each other and with the national reference point, without making claims about job openings or future hiring in specific locations.

Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria ranks #1 among the 10 metros, with a LaborCove Geography Score of 72.09. This score is higher than every other metro in the top 10, including New York‑Newark‑Jersey City at 57.95 and Seattle‑Tacoma‑Bellevue at 57.39. Washington also reports a median annual salary of $104,770 for business operations specialists, all other, which is above the national median of $83,050. Its salary is also higher than New York’s $92,120 and Los Angeles‑Long Beach‑Anaheim’s $82,750. On the employment side, Washington has 76,600 workers in this occupation. This employment count is higher than New York’s 39,190, Seattle’s 38,800, Los Angeles’s 50,470, San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont’s 23,400, San Jose‑Sunnyvale‑Santa Clara’s 11,970, Lexington Park’s 2,180, Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell’s 43,720, Denver‑Aurora‑Centennial’s 28,670, and Huntsville’s 3,100. Among the metros listed, Washington therefore has the largest employment count.

Several metros in the top 10 report median salaries above $100,000 for business operations specialists, all other. San Jose‑Sunnyvale‑Santa Clara has a median salary of $108,330, which is higher than Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria’s $104,770 and San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont’s $104,500. Lexington Park’s median salary of $136,660 and Huntsville’s $124,950 are both higher than San Jose’s figure. Despite these higher salaries, rankings vary. San Jose, with a Geography Score of 53.51, ranks #6, below Washington at 72.09 and San Francisco at 54.53. Lexington Park, with the highest median salary among the metros listed at $136,660, has a Geography Score of 52.15 and ranks #7. Huntsville, with a median salary of $124,950, holds a Geography Score of 48.73 and ranks #10. These comparisons show that a higher median salary does not guarantee a higher LaborCove Geography Score or ranking. For example, Lexington Park’s median salary of $136,660 is higher than Washington’s $104,770, yet its Geography Score of 52.15 is lower than Washington’s 72.09.

Within the top 10, Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria, New York‑Newark‑Jersey City, Seattle‑Tacoma‑Bellevue, Los Angeles‑Long Beach‑Anaheim, and Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell have larger employment counts than some of the smaller metros. For instance, Washington’s 76,600 workers exceeds New York’s 39,190 and Seattle’s 38,800. Los Angeles has 50,470 workers, which is higher than San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont’s 23,400 and San Jose‑Sunnyvale‑Santa Clara’s 11,970. Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell has 43,720 workers in this occupation, which is a larger employment count than Denver‑Aurora‑Centennial’s 28,670 and Huntsville’s 3,100. Lexington Park has 2,180 workers, which is lower than the employment counts reported in each of the other nine metros. These differences underline that metros with higher Geography Scores can appear at a range of employment scales. For example, Lexington Park’s Geography Score of 52.15 ranks it #7 even though its employment count of 2,180 is lower than Atlanta’s 43,720 and Denver’s 28,670.

New York‑Newark‑Jersey City and Seattle‑Tacoma‑Bellevue are both high‑employment metros that sit near the top of the ranking but below Washington. New York’s Geography Score of 57.95 is slightly higher than Seattle’s 57.39, while New York’s employment of 39,190 is also slightly higher than Seattle’s 38,800. In contrast, Seattle’s median salary of $101,920 is higher than New York’s $92,120. Los Angeles‑Long Beach‑Anaheim and San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont illustrate different combinations of salary and employment. Los Angeles has 50,470 workers and a median salary of $82,750, while San Francisco has 23,400 workers and a median salary of $104,500. San Francisco’s Geography Score of 54.53 is also higher than Los Angeles’s 55.85 score? No, Los Angeles’s Geography Score of 55.85 is higher than San Francisco’s 54.53. Denver‑Aurora‑Centennial, with a Geography Score of 50.10, median salary of $94,990, and employment of 28,670, sits just behind Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell in the ranking. Atlanta’s Geography Score of 50.24 is slightly higher than Denver’s 50.10, and its employment count of 43,720 is also higher than Denver’s 28,670, while Denver’s median salary of $94,990 is higher than Atlanta’s $80,020.

The top 10 metros span LaborCove Geography Scores from 72.09 in Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria down to 48.73 in Huntsville. Washington’s score of 72.09 is higher than every other metro in this group, including New York‑Newark‑Jersey City at 57.95 and Huntsville at 48.73. The mid‑tier scores highlight small differences that affect ordering. New York’s 57.95 is slightly higher than Seattle’s 57.39, placing New York ahead of Seattle in the ranking. Similarly, Los Angeles‑Long Beach‑Anaheim’s Geography Score of 55.85 is higher than San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont’s 54.53, and Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell’s 50.24 is higher than Denver‑Aurora‑Centennial’s 50.10. Because the Geography Score is a composite measure, it should be interpreted together with the median salary and employment numbers rather than on its own. For instance, Huntsville’s Geography Score of 48.73 ranks it #10 even though its median salary of $124,950 is higher than the median salaries reported in Washington‑Arlington‑Alexandria, New York‑Newark‑Jersey City, Seattle‑Tacoma‑Bellevue, Los Angeles‑Long Beach‑Anaheim, San Francisco‑Oakland‑Fremont, Atlanta‑Sandy Springs‑Roswell, and Denver‑Aurora‑Centennial.

LaborCove ranks locations for each occupation by combining authoritative labor‑market data with our internal Geography Score methodology. For this article, we use national occupational figures and metro‑level median annual salaries, employment counts, and LaborCove Geography Scores. All occupational employment and wage statistics cited here refer to observations from May 2025. The 2026 report year is the publication and product year for this dataset, not the underlying observation date. The projected 3.0% employment growth rate cited for this occupation is a national‑level projection and is not used as a metro‑specific forecast. The LaborCove Geography Score is a composite measure that supports the rankings shown but its internal weighting is not detailed in this article. Rankings are one input to a career or relocation decision and should be considered alongside individual priorities such as preferred industries, personal circumstances, and non‑labor‑market factors that are outside the scope of this data.