Prevailing Wage for General and Operations Managers
Prevailing wage for General and Operations Managers is set by the DOL across four experience levels, and the floor shifts substantially depending on where the worksite is located. Whether the job offer is for a Business Manager, General Manager, or Operations Director, visa sponsors must meet the DOL minimum for the correct level and city.
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Level 1 applies to entry-level managers with limited supervisory experience, typically recent graduates or candidates new to coordinating multi-department operations. Expect minimal independent authority and close oversight from senior leadership.
Level 2 is the most common filing level for General and Operations Managers. It covers candidates with several years of experience directing daily operations, managing subordinate supervisors, and applying established organizational policies with moderate autonomy.
Level 3 applies to experienced managers who exercise significant independent judgment, oversee complex multi-site or multi-department operations, and contribute to strategic planning. Sponsors filing at this level are typically competing for senior management talent.
Level 4 covers fully competent managers at the top of the occupation, often holding titles like Operations Director or Senior General Manager. These individuals set policy, direct organizational resources at scale, and require minimal supervisory oversight.
Prevailing Wage for General and Operations Managers by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for General and Operations Managers and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Watch for title aliasing across SOC codes
Titles like District Manager or Center Manager sometimes get filed under retail or administrative SOC codes rather than SOC 11-1021, which carries a different prevailing wage floor. Confirm your LCA lists the correct SOC before accepting an offer.
Account for bonus exclusions in total compensation
General and Operations Managers frequently receive performance bonuses and profit-sharing that DOL does not count toward prevailing wage compliance. Base salary alone must clear the floor; verify that the base component of any offer meets the L2 or L3 threshold independently.
Check wage levels in Puerto Rico metros separately
Arecibo and Mayaguez carry some of the lowest prevailing wage floors for this occupation nationally. If a regional operations role is headquartered in Puerto Rico, the applicable floor differs substantially from mainland metros and could affect your compensation benchmarking.
Find sponsors using Migrate Mate employer history
General and Operations Manager roles are sponsored across a wide range of industries, making it hard to know which employers actually file regularly. Migrate Mate shows historical sponsorship counts by employer, so you can identify companies that have sponsored this occupation before and target your search there.
Jobs for General and Operations Managers are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Jobs for this rolePrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 11-1021.00 alongside General and Operations Managers, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Business Manager Prevailing Wage
Business Manager Prevailing Wage
Business Manager positions fall under SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Center Manager Prevailing Wage
Center Manager Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Center Manager for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Department Manager Prevailing Wage
Department Manager Prevailing Wage
Department Manager is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
District Manager Prevailing Wage
District Manager Prevailing Wage
District Manager positions fall under SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
General Manager (GM) Prevailing Wage
General Manager (GM) Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a General Manager (GM) for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Operations Director Prevailing Wage
Operations Director Prevailing Wage
Operations Director is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Operations General Manager (Operations GM) Prevailing Wage
Operations General Manager (Operations GM) Prevailing Wage
Operations General Manager (Operations GM) positions fall under SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Operations Manager Prevailing Wage
Operations Manager Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Operations Manager for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Plant Superintendent Prevailing Wage
Plant Superintendent Prevailing Wage
Plant Superintendent is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Store Manager Prevailing Wage
Store Manager Prevailing Wage
Store Manager positions fall under SOC 11-1021.00 (General and Operations Managers). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for General and Operations Managers?
DOL calculates prevailing wages using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For General and Operations Managers, the OFLC assigns a wage to each of four experience levels based on the occupation's SOC code and the worksite location. Employers must request a prevailing wage determination from OFLC or use the OFLC Wage Search to identify the applicable floor before filing an LCA.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I identify which one applies to my offer?
DOL defines four levels based on experience, complexity, and supervisory authority. Level 1 is entry-level with close oversight. Level 2 covers qualified professionals with moderate autonomy, and it is the most common level for sponsored General and Operations Managers roles. Level 3 reflects experienced managers with independent judgment. Level 4 applies to fully competent senior leaders. The level on your LCA should match the actual scope of the position, not simply the job title.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same role vary so much from city to city?
DOL sets wages by worksite, using regional OES surveys that capture local labor market conditions. Dense employer markets with high concentrations of corporate headquarters, such as the New York and San Jose metro areas, push the surveyed wage up significantly. The LCA must list the actual worksite location, so a General Manager role in Trenton, NJ carries a much higher floor than the same title in a lower-wage metro. The worksite on the LCA controls which figure applies.
What happens if a job offer is below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?
USCIS will not approve an H-1B or other sponsored visa petition if the LCA wage is below the applicable DOL prevailing wage. If the offered salary falls short, the employer must either increase the base salary to meet the floor or reclassify the position at the correct wage level before filing. An LCA certified with a wage below the prevailing rate can also expose the employer to DOL audit and back-pay liability under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific U.S. location?
Use the OFLC Wage Search and enter SOC code 11-1021 along with the target metro area to retrieve the current four-level wage schedule for General and Operations Managers. Cross-check against recent LCA disclosure data published by OFLC to see what wages employers are actually certifying for comparable roles. Migrate Mate also lists open roles by employers with verified sponsorship history for this occupation, which can help you gauge what competing offers look like in a given market.
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