People Operations Specialist salary: $140K median

Lead roles advertise a median of $210K, 35% more than senior roles ($156K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.

• VSenior Director/ VP, People OperationsVerkada · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA United States$280K - $420KLead and aboveWorkday3mo
• FVP, Total Rewards and People OperationsFivetran · 🇺🇸Remote, Massachusetts, United States, AMER$239K - $299KRemoteLead and abovedbtInternal controlsHRIS3d
• FVP, Total Rewards and People OperationsFivetran · 🇺🇸Remote, California, United States, AMER$239K - $299KRemoteLead and abovedbtInternal controlsHRIS3d
• HDirector, People OperationsHeadway · Remote$212K - $265KRemoteLead and aboveWorkdayReconciliationsHRIS4w
• LDirector, People OperationsLaunchDarkly · 🇺🇸Remote - US$192K - $264KRemoteLead and aboveData qualityData governanceFeature flags5w
• CHead of People OperationsChowNow · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA or Remote$197K - $257KRemoteLead and aboveSHRM certificationPerformance managementWorkforce planning3mo
• SPayroll & People Ops CoordinatorSkild AI · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA$150K - $250KMachine LearningWorkday5w
• CDirector, People SystemsClickHouse · NAMER and LatAm$195K - $248KRemoteLead and aboveWorkdayData qualityData governance2mo
• SHead of People OperationsSkylight · 🇺🇸United States$170K - $240KLead and above4mo
• PFounding People Operations PartnerPercepta · 🇺🇸New York City$180K - $240KAWS7w
• RDirector of People OperationsRidealso · 🇺🇸Palo Alto$180K - $230KLead and above2d
• NPeople Systems EngineerNscale · AMER$150K - $230KLLMWorkday10d
• BAssociate Director, People Operations (Contract)BridgeBio Pharma · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA/Hybrid$145K - $230KHybridLead and aboveWorkday12d
• PDirector, People Operations & Total RewardsPie Insurance · 🇺🇸United States$190K - $230KLead and aboveAgileWorkday2w
• BSr. Director, People Operations & Total RewardsBetterment · 🇺🇸Betterment HQ - New York City$200K - $225KLead and abovePayrollHRISWorkforce planning2w
• CSr. Director, People Systems & Data GovernanceCurrent Advisors · Remote$187K - $225KRemoteLead and above2w
• HSr. Manager, People OperationsHorizon3ai · 🇺🇸US, Remote$170K - $222KRemoteSenior6w
• PPeople Operations ManagerPlaid · 🇺🇸San Francisco HQ$163K - $221KHybridWorkdayData qualityLow-code tools2w
• FPeople Systems ArchitectFastly · 🇺🇸Denver, CO; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA$154K - $217KAgileWorkdayData quality5w
• TSenior Manager, People OperationsThat's No Moon Entertainment · 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA or Remote US$181K - $216KRemoteSenior3w

What is the average People Operations Specialist salary?

$148K a year on average and $140K at the median, across 130 open People Operations Specialist postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.

What is the typical range?

The middle half of the postings offer $108K to $178K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.

Which companies advertise the highest People Operations Specialist pay?

Fivetran ($269K), Nscale ($170K), Justworks ($156K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).

Is a people operations specialist a high-paying job?

The median People Operations Specialist posting advertises $140K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 20% below the middle of the market.

How much can you earn as a people operations specialist?

A tenth of the postings offer $222K a year or more; the highest open People Operations Specialist role advertises up to $420K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.

What is the People Operations Specialist salary per hour and per month?

The median of $140K a year is about $67 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $11,667 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $52 to $85 an hour.

Which skills pay more for People Operations Specialist roles?

Postings that ask for Compensation (+$129K, 14 postings), Workday (+$16K, 37 postings), HRIS (+$15K, 50 postings) advertise more than the $140K median of all People Operations Specialist postings with pay.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.