Operations Research Analysts Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $62K, rent takes 26.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,097/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new operations research analysts typically earn — is $49K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,951/month. At HUD’s $1,097/month FMR, rent would take 37% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 30% below the national median — $62K here vs. $89K nationally. Cost of living is 11% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Missouri pays $62K median vs. the U.S. average of $89K — that’s -30%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 88.97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $70K — below the national median.

The median is $62,380 a year, that works out to about $30 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $49,180, and experienced operations research analysts can clear $116,980. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,165/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,097/month, which eats 26.3% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Missouri has a Regional Price Parity of 88.97 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median operations research analysts salary is worth about $70,114 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.