Business · Rankings

Best US Cities for Office Managers

Top US cities for Office Managers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.

Top 10 cities by salary
#CityEstimated salaryCost mult.vs national
1San Francisco, CA$78,8001.45×+$24,800
2New York City, NY$73,4001.32×+$19,400
3Irvine, CA$72,5001.30×+$18,500
4Oakland, CA$71,2001.35×+$17,200
5Scottsdale, AZ$67,5001.18×+$13,500
6Boston, MA$66,0001.22×+$12,000
7San Diego, CA$65,6001.21×+$11,600
8Yonkers, NY$65,3001.20×+$11,300
9Honolulu, HI$65,3001.30×+$11,300
10Seattle, WA$64,4001.18×+$10,400
All 50 cities, ranked
#CitySalaryHourly
1San Francisco, CA$78,800$38/hr
2New York City, NY$73,400$35/hr
3Irvine, CA$72,500$35/hr
4Oakland, CA$71,200$34/hr
5Scottsdale, AZ$67,500$32/hr
6Boston, MA$66,000$32/hr
7San Diego, CA$65,600$32/hr
8Yonkers, NY$65,300$31/hr
9Honolulu, HI$65,300$31/hr
10Seattle, WA$64,400$31/hr
11Los Angeles, CA$62,300$30/hr
12Chicago, IL$62,000$30/hr
13Miami, FL$62,000$30/hr
14Frisco, TX$62,000$30/hr
15Plano, TX$61,600$30/hr
16Anchorage, AK$61,600$30/hr
17Portland, OR$61,300$29/hr
18Newark, NJ$61,300$29/hr
19Sacramento, CA$61,300$29/hr
20Tampa, FL$60,800$29/hr
21Long Beach, CA$60,800$29/hr
22Anaheim, CA$60,800$29/hr
23Salt Lake City, UT$60,800$29/hr
24Denver, CO$60,400$29/hr
25Chula Vista, CA$59,700$29/hr
26Dallas, TX$59,500$29/hr
27St. Petersburg, FL$59,500$29/hr
28Austin, TX$59,300$29/hr
29Minneapolis, MN$58,800$28/hr
30Chandler, AZ$58,800$28/hr
31Phoenix, AZ$58,100$28/hr
32Philadelphia, PA$58,100$28/hr
33Atlanta, GA$58,100$28/hr
34Reno, NV$58,100$28/hr
35Gilbert, AZ$58,100$28/hr
36Riverside, CA$57,800$28/hr
37Milwaukee, WI$57,400$28/hr
38Wilmington, DE$57,200$28/hr
39Raleigh, NC$57,200$28/hr
40St. Paul, MN$57,200$28/hr
41Boise, ID$57,200$28/hr
42Nashville, TN$56,800$27/hr
43Madison, WI$56,800$27/hr
44Columbus, OH$56,600$27/hr
45Kansas City, MO$56,600$27/hr
46Charlotte, NC$56,100$27/hr
47Baltimore, MD$55,900$27/hr
48Stockton, CA$55,900$27/hr
49Aurora, CO$55,900$27/hr
50Hialeah, FL$55,900$27/hr
51Omaha, NE$55,700$27/hr
52Las Vegas, NV$55,500$27/hr
53Pittsburgh, PA$55,200$27/hr
54Albuquerque, NM$54,800$26/hr
55Henderson, NV$54,800$26/hr
56Charleston, SC$54,800$26/hr
57Orlando, FL$54,400$26/hr
58Detroit, MI$54,100$26/hr
59Buffalo, NY$54,100$26/hr
60Virginia Beach, VA$54,000$26/hr
61Chesapeake, VA$54,000$26/hr
62North Las Vegas, NV$54,000$26/hr
63Fresno, CA$54,000$26/hr
64Worcester, MA$54,000$26/hr
65Cleveland, OH$53,600$26/hr
66Colorado Springs, CO$53,600$26/hr
67Bakersfield, CA$53,600$26/hr
68Winston-Salem, NC$53,600$26/hr
69Norfolk, VA$53,200$26/hr
70Jacksonville, FL$52,900$25/hr
71Mesa, AZ$52,900$25/hr
72Lincoln, NE$52,800$25/hr
73Houston, TX$52,500$25/hr
74Fort Worth, TX$52,500$25/hr
75Tucson, AZ$52,500$25/hr
76Glendale, AZ$52,500$25/hr
77Garland, TX$52,500$25/hr
78Spokane, WA$52,500$25/hr
79Arlington, TX$52,100$25/hr
80Tallahassee, FL$52,100$25/hr
81New Orleans, LA$51,700$25/hr
82Fort Wayne, IN$51,600$25/hr
83San Antonio, TX$51,400$25/hr
84Grand Rapids, MI$51,400$25/hr
85Cincinnati, OH$51,000$25/hr
86Lexington, KY$51,000$25/hr
87Corpus Christi, TX$51,000$25/hr
88Greensboro, NC$51,000$25/hr
89Knoxville, TN$51,000$25/hr
90El Paso, TX$50,600$24/hr
91St. Louis, MO$50,600$24/hr
92Indianapolis, IN$50,200$24/hr
93Louisville, KY$50,200$24/hr
94Memphis, TN$49,800$24/hr
95Oklahoma City, OK$49,800$24/hr
96Birmingham, AL$49,500$24/hr
97Toledo, OH$49,500$24/hr
98Lubbock, TX$49,500$24/hr
99Wichita, KS$48,700$23/hr
100Mobile, AL$48,700$23/hr

Does location actually decide Office Manager pay?

Office Manager work is rarely remote, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $48,700 in Mobile to $78,800 in San Francisco — a spread of 62%.

Highest-paying is not the same as best-off

The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In San Francisco, $78,800 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $42,800 a year after housing. In Mobile, $48,700 against $850 leaves about $38,500. The top still wins after rent, but by $4,300 rather than the $30,100 the headline suggests.

Why these metros and not others

The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). Depth of demand for business work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.

Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which city pays Office Managers the most?
San Francisco, at roughly $78,800. Rent there averages $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom, so about $36,000 of that salary goes to housing before anything else. The metros near the top combine high local costs with concentrated business employment — the second part is what actually lifts pay above the local baseline.
Should I move to the top-paying metro?
It depends what you keep, not what you earn. High-cost metros pay more but not proportionally more — that gap is exactly why the adjusted ranking reorders this list.
Can a Office Manager work remotely from a cheaper city?
Largely no — the work is rarely remote. For this occupation the metro you live in and the metro that pays you are the same, which makes the ranking above a genuine relocation decision rather than something you can arbitrage.