Data Center Operations Manager Salary in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA was $145,000 (BLS, May 2025), and the middle half earned $110,000 to $185,960. That is $38,340 above the national median of $106,660.
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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.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
| Point | Annual wage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $88,400 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $110,000 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $145,000 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $185,960 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $225,280 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $156,550 | Average wage. |
| Point | Hourly wage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42.5 | 10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $52.88 | 25% earned less than this. |
| Median | $69.71 | Half earned less, half earned more. |
| 75th percentile | $89.4 | 75% earned less than this. |
| 90th percentile | $108.31 | 90% earned less than this. |
| Mean | $75.26 | Average wage. |
United States
| 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. |
| 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: 1,460. Location quotient: 1.28.
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, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Download metropolitan data (ZIP).
Pay relative to all occupations
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| This occupation, median | $145,000 |
| All occupations (SOC 00-0000), median | $84,050 |
| Relative wage | 1.73 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
| Reference period | Median |
|---|---|
| May 2024 | $137,890 |
| May 2025 | $145,000 |
| Difference | +$7,110 (+5.2%) |
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.
| 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
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- All roles in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- Data Center Operations Manager nationally
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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: BLS pay, mapping and caveats.
Hiring Data Center Operations Manager in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?
Pay is one input. Scope, license and travel decide whether the person says yes.
Related
What the published rows say about Data Center Operations Manager pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Data Center Operations Manager maps to Facilities Managers, SOC 11-3013. For San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, the May 2025 OEWS annual median is $145,000; the middle half runs from $110,000 to $185,960. 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 $75,960: $35,000 from the 25th percentile to the median and $40,960 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 $38,340 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.
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA reports a annual median of $114,670 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 $30,330 below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA's median.
Merced, CA reports a annual median of $121,730 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 $23,270 below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA'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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
The matched median moved from $137,890 in May 2024 to $145,000 in May 2025: $7,110 higher. Both rows use SOC 11-3013, area 41940 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Which BLS row supports Data Center Operations Manager pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?
Data Center Operations Manager maps to SOC 11-3013, Facilities Managers. The May 2025 annual median for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is $145,000. 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.
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Nearest-area selection uses Census Gazetteer internal points, not road distance. Source: 2025 Census Gazetteer.