Data Center Operations Manager Salary in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

This is the Data Center Headhunters salary guide.

BLS does not measure Data Center Operations Manager as its own occupation, so this page uses Facilities Managers (SOC 11-3013, broader occupation). The median annual wage in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN was $113,150 (BLS, May 2025), and the middle half earned $89,330 to $138,710. That is $6,490 above the national median of $106,660.

This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.

Broader occupation

Facilities Managers is a broader occupation based on the work described, not a separate data center wage series. BLS does not distinguish this title, experience level, shift, credentials or data center employers. Confirm the actual duties before using this comparison.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Facilities Managers, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, annual wages
Point	Annual wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$69,110	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$89,330	25% earned less than this.
Median	$113,150	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$138,710	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$174,540	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$119,840	Average wage.

Facilities Managers, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, hourly wages
Point	Hourly wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$33.22	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$42.95	25% earned less than this.
Median	$54.4	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$66.69	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$83.91	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$57.62	Average wage.

United States

Facilities Managers, United States, annual wages
Point	Annual wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$64,480	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$82,020	25% earned less than this.
Median	$106,660	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$138,870	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$176,120	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$116,890	Average wage.

Facilities Managers, United States, hourly wages
Point	Hourly wage	Meaning
10th percentile	$31	10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this.
25th percentile	$39.43	25% earned less than this.
Median	$51.28	Half earned less, half earned more.
75th percentile	$66.76	75% earned less than this.
90th percentile	$84.67	90% earned less than this.
Mean	$56.2	Average wage.

What BLS wages cover: OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. These are straight-time gross wages, not pure base salary or total compensation. Discuss per diem, travel and relocation separately. BLS pay-term definitions.

Employment: 6,790. Location quotient: 1.5.

Location quotient measures job concentration, not pay. A value above 1 means the occupation makes up a larger share of local jobs than it does nationally. It says nothing about wages.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 11-3013 Facilities Managers, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. Download metropolitan data (ZIP).

Pay relative to all occupations

Median for this occupation divided by the all-occupations median, same area, same annual basis
Measure	Value
This occupation, median	$113,150
All occupations (SOC 00-0000), median	$54,720
Relative wage	2.07 times

A ratio of 1.00 means the same median as all workers in the area. It is arithmetic on two BLS medians, not a BLS statistic.

Change since the prior BLS release

Median annual wage, same SOC and same BLS area code, two releases
Reference period	Median
May 2024	$105,700
May 2025	$113,150
Difference	+$7,450 (+7.0%)

Two published BLS values, shown as released. Not annualized, not adjusted for inflation, and BLS metro boundaries and survey panels can differ between releases.

What is inside the BLS pay figure

For an operations offer, separate standby availability payments from wages for hours actually worked. BLS excludes on-call waiting pay and shift differentials. Ordinary straight-time wages for work performed are not excluded by the on-call rule.

Pay components for Critical Facilities Operations roles against the BLS wage definition
Component	In the BLS figure?	Note
Base rate and guaranteed pay	Included	BLS counts the "base rate" and "guaranteed pay".
Production and incentive pay	Included	BLS counts "incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses".
On-call waiting or availability pay matters here	Left out	BLS excludes payment for time spent awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. BLS on-call pay definition.
Overtime pay	Left out	BLS excludes "overtime pay". Straight-time pay only.
Shift differentials matters here	Left out	BLS excludes "shift differentials", so night and weekend premiums are not in the figure.
Project-completion and discretionary bonuses	Depends on the terms	Guaranteed pay and production incentives are included. Discretionary nonproduction bonuses are excluded. Check how the payment is defined.
Per diem, travel and relocation	Left out	BLS does not name these as wages. They are expense reimbursements and are not in the figure.
Benefits and employer costs	Left out	BLS excludes "employer costs for supplementary benefits".

Nearby and other areas

Recruiter's read

Qualitative, not from BLS data.

Data Center Operations Manager candidates are usually screened on customer SLAs, incident and change management, capacity; audit support (SOC 2, ISO 27001); team leadership.

We usually find them through colos; enterprise data centers; hyperscaler ops leads. We contact working people directly rather than relying on job applications.

Hiring Market Brief

A one-page brief for Data Center Operations Manager in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: BLS pay, mapping and caveats.

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What the published rows say about Data Center Operations Manager pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Data Center Operations Manager maps to Facilities Managers, SOC 11-3013. For Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, the May 2025 OEWS annual median is $113,150; the middle half runs from $89,330 to $138,710. This is a broader occupation, not a separate wage estimate for this exact job. BLS does not separate seniority titles that share this row. Set out the shift, switching authority and on-call duties before comparing offers. A site-based position and a traveling service job can share a wage row without offering the same working conditions.

The middle-half spread is $49,380: $23,820 from the 25th percentile to the median and $25,560 from the median to the 75th. The upper interval is wider. Use these points to compare an offer, not to price a junior or senior hire. Percentiles are not experience bands, and this distribution alone does not explain why individual workers earn different amounts.

The local median is $6,490 above the national $106,660 on the same annual basis. Both rows cover SOC 11-3013 in May 2025. This is a wage comparison, not a cost-of-living adjustment or evidence of a separate data center premium.

Kankakee, IL reports a annual median of $93,590 for this occupation in May 2025. It is one of the two nearest usable metro reference points, measured from the Census area internal point. That is $19,560 below Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's median.

Niles, MI reports a annual median of $76,960 for this occupation in May 2025. It is one of the two nearest usable metro reference points, measured from the Census area internal point. That is $36,190 below Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN's median.

The highest exact national industry medians in the loaded SOC 11-3013 rows are Oil and Gas Extraction at $211,660 and Oil and Gas Extraction at $211,660. These are May 2025 national occupation estimates, not local data center pay. The loaded data has no local industry-by-occupation breakdown, so it cannot rank industries within Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.

The matched median moved from $105,700 in May 2024 to $113,150 in May 2025: $7,450 higher. Both rows use SOC 11-3013, area 16980 and the same annual basis. This is not adjusted for inflation or annualized, and it does not attribute the change to a particular employer.

OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. This is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Agree travel, per diem and relocation terms separately. No verified Data Center Operations Manager-specific allowance is in this occupation row, so none is added to the figures.

Questions about Data Center Operations Manager pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Which BLS row supports Data Center Operations Manager pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Data Center Operations Manager maps to SOC 11-3013, Facilities Managers. The May 2025 annual median for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN is $113,150. The broader mapping is not a separate survey of this niche title.

Does the figure cover the whole offer for Data Center Operations Manager?

OEWS includes base rates, guaranteed pay, commissions and production incentives. It excludes on-call waiting or availability pay, overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. The on-call exclusion covers time awaiting a call to work, not ordinary wages for hours actually worked. Travel and relocation terms still need their own discussion; this row supplies no separate allowance.

Nearest-area selection uses Census Gazetteer internal points, not road distance. Source: 2025 Census Gazetteer.