GITNUXREPORT 2026

Operations Research Industry Statistics

The operations research market is steadily growing globally, led by strong adoption in North America.

Min-ji Park

Research Analyst focused on sustainability and consumer trends.

First published: Feb 13, 2026

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Statistic 1

1,200 OR-related PhD degrees awarded annually in U.S. 2023.

Statistic 2

INFORMS membership 12,500 professionals and students 2023.

Statistic 3

150 universities offer OR graduate programs worldwide 2023.

Statistic 4

OR journal publications 5,000 papers per year average 2023.

Statistic 5

U.S. OR bachelor's programs enrollment up 10% 2023.

Statistic 6

Annual INFORMS meeting attendance 4,500 in 2023.

Statistic 7

300 OR courses listed on Coursera with 500k enrollments 2023.

Statistic 8

Funding for OR research $200M from NSF in FY2023.

Statistic 9

25 new OR faculty hires at top U.S. unis 2023.

Statistic 10

edX OR micro-credentials completed 100k in 2023.

Statistic 11

OR textbooks sales 50k units annually global 2023.

Statistic 12

40 OR student chapters under INFORMS in 2023.

Statistic 13

H-index average for top OR depts 150+ in 2023.

Statistic 14

Online OR master's programs 20 available U.S. 2023.

Statistic 15

INFORMS teaching awards 10 given yearly 2023.

Statistic 16

OR capstone projects in 80% undergrad programs 2023.

Statistic 17

Global OR conferences 50 events per year 2023.

Statistic 18

MOOC OR completion rate 12% average 2023.

Statistic 19

OR PhD stipends average $35,000 U.S. 2023.

Statistic 20

2,500 OR theses deposited in ProQuest 2023.

Statistic 21

The global operations research (OR) market size was valued at USD 2.63 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2024 to 2030.

Statistic 22

North America dominated the OR market with a share of over 35% in 2023, driven by advanced analytics adoption.

Statistic 23

The OR software segment accounted for 42% of the total market revenue in 2023.

Statistic 24

Asia-Pacific OR market is projected to register the fastest CAGR of 6.8% during 2024-2032.

Statistic 25

Cloud-based OR solutions market grew by 12% YoY in 2023 due to scalability demands.

Statistic 26

OR market in healthcare sector valued at USD 0.85 billion in 2023.

Statistic 27

Global OR services market expected to reach USD 4.1 billion by 2028 at 7.2% CAGR.

Statistic 28

Europe OR market share stood at 28% in 2023, led by manufacturing optimizations.

Statistic 29

OR analytics tools market expanded by 8.4% in 2022-2023 period.

Statistic 30

Projected OR market revenue to hit USD 3.95 billion by 2030 globally.

Statistic 31

U.S. OR market valued at USD 0.92 billion in 2023, largest regionally.

Statistic 32

OR in logistics segment grew 9.2% CAGR from 2018-2023.

Statistic 33

Middle East & Africa OR market to grow at 5.5% CAGR through 2030.

Statistic 34

OR consulting services captured 55% market share in 2023.

Statistic 35

Latin America OR market size reached USD 0.18 billion in 2023.

Statistic 36

OR market influenced by AI integration, boosting growth by 15% in 2023.

Statistic 37

Global OR hardware market minor at 3% share in 2023.

Statistic 38

Defense sector OR spending increased 7% YoY in 2023.

Statistic 39

OR market CAGR forecasted at 6.1% for 2024-2029 in key reports.

Statistic 40

India OR market grew 11% in 2023 due to digital transformation.

Statistic 41

China OR market valued at USD 0.45 billion in 2023.

Statistic 42

OR in energy sector market size USD 0.32 billion in 2023.

Statistic 43

Global OR market post-COVID recovery at 4.8% growth in 2022.

Statistic 44

Simulation modeling sub-market 25% of OR total in 2023.

Statistic 45

OR market in retail projected to grow 7.5% CAGR to 2030.

Statistic 46

U.K. OR market share 12% of Europe in 2023.

Statistic 47

OR big data analytics segment up 14% in 2023.

Statistic 48

Global OR market influenced by 5G, adding 2% growth premium.

Statistic 49

Finance OR sub-market USD 0.41 billion in 2023.

Statistic 50

OR market total projected USD 4.2 billion by 2027.

Statistic 51

Healthcare sector utilizes OR for 15% efficiency gains via scheduling optimizations.

Statistic 52

Logistics industry applies OR in 70% of route optimization problems globally.

Statistic 53

Manufacturing uses OR for inventory management reducing costs by 20-30% on average.

Statistic 54

Finance sector employs OR in portfolio optimization for 40% of hedge funds.

Statistic 55

Energy utilities leverage OR for grid management saving 12% in operational costs.

Statistic 56

Retail applies OR dynamic pricing models boosting revenue by 5-10%.

Statistic 57

Defense uses OR in 80% of supply chain logistics decisions.

Statistic 58

Airlines optimize 95% of flight schedules using OR techniques.

Statistic 59

Telecommunications OR for network design reduces latency by 25%.

Statistic 60

Pharmaceuticals use OR in supply chain for 18% faster drug delivery.

Statistic 61

Public transportation OR scheduling improves on-time performance by 15%.

Statistic 62

Agriculture applies OR crop planning increasing yields by 10-20%.

Statistic 63

Banking OR fraud detection models catch 85% of anomalies.

Statistic 64

Hospitality OR revenue management lifts hotel occupancy 8%.

Statistic 65

Automotive industry OR for assembly line balancing cuts downtime 22%.

Statistic 66

E-commerce OR recommendation systems drive 35% of sales.

Statistic 67

Insurance OR pricing models accurate to 92% in risk assessment.

Statistic 68

Mining OR production scheduling optimizes 28% resource use.

Statistic 69

Sports teams use OR analytics for player selection in 60% of decisions.

Statistic 70

Government OR for disaster response reduces evacuation time 40%.

Statistic 71

Construction OR project scheduling shortens timelines by 15%.

Statistic 72

Media OR audience targeting improves ad ROI by 25%.

Statistic 73

Water utilities OR pipe network optimization saves 10% water loss.

Statistic 74

Education OR class scheduling boosts utilization 18%.

Statistic 75

Real estate OR site selection models 75% accurate.

Statistic 76

Chemicals OR blending optimization cuts costs 16%.

Statistic 77

Shipping OR vessel routing saves 12% fuel annually.

Statistic 78

Non-profits OR resource allocation improves impact 20%.

Statistic 79

Gaming OR dynamic pricing increases profits 9%.

Statistic 80

Forestry OR harvest scheduling sustains 15% more yield.

Statistic 81

Aviation cargo OR load balancing efficiency 88%.

Statistic 82

Gurobi optimizer used in 65% of commercial OR applications in 2023.

Statistic 83

CPLEX solver dominates linear programming with 50% market share 2023.

Statistic 84

Python's PuLP library downloaded 1.2 million times in 2023.

Statistic 85

AnyLogic simulation software users grew 22% YoY 2023.

Statistic 86

MATLAB OR toolbox licenses increased 15% in 2023.

Statistic 87

Xpress optimizer integrated in 40% enterprise OR solutions 2023.

Statistic 88

R's lpSolve package used by 30% academic OR projects 2023.

Statistic 89

LINDO software solved 10^12 constraints in benchmarks 2023.

Statistic 90

Arena simulation software market share 18% in manufacturing 2023.

Statistic 91

Google OR-Tools GitHub stars reached 12,000 in 2023.

Statistic 92

KNITRO nonlinear solver adopted by 25% Fortune 500 in 2023.

Statistic 93

AMPL modeling language users 35,000 active in 2023.

Statistic 94

SAS/OR procedures run in 20% of analytics pipelines 2023.

Statistic 95

MOSEK solver for conic optimization 15% faster in 2023 release.

Statistic 96

Pyomo open-source framework downloads 500k in 2023.

Statistic 97

FlexSim 3D simulation software sales up 19% 2023.

Statistic 98

SCIP open-source MIP solver cited 5,000 times 2023.

Statistic 99

Excel Solver used by 60% small-scale OR practitioners 2023.

Statistic 100

Baron global optimizer benchmarks top 90% cases 2023.

Statistic 101

Witness simulation tool in 12% automotive simulations 2023.

Statistic 102

JuMP.jl Julia package stars 2,500 on GitHub 2023.

Statistic 103

COPT commercial solver 20% market in Asia 2023.

Statistic 104

Simio simulation platform users 10,000+ in 2023.

Statistic 105

HiGHS open-source LP/MIP solver 1M downloads 2023.

Statistic 106

Lingo modeling tool 25 years, 50k licenses 2023.

Statistic 107

OptaPlanner for Java constraint solving 15k GitHub stars 2023.

Statistic 108

COMSOL Multiphysics OR extensions used 8% engineering 2023.

Statistic 109

GLPK GNU solver in 40% Linux OR setups 2023.

Statistic 110

AIMMS platform cloud users doubled to 5,000 in 2023.

Statistic 111

Couenne open-source MINLP solver benchmarks strong 2023.

Statistic 112

There were approximately 25,000 operations research analysts employed in the U.S. in 2023.

Statistic 113

Average annual salary for OR analysts in U.S. was $85,720 in 2023.

Statistic 114

OR employment projected to grow 23% from 2022 to 2032, much faster than average.

Statistic 115

12,100 annual job openings expected for OR analysts in U.S. 2023-2033.

Statistic 116

70% of OR professionals hold at least a master's degree in 2023 survey.

Statistic 117

Women represent 28% of OR workforce in U.S. as of 2023.

Statistic 118

Median wage for OR analysts $41.21 per hour in May 2023.

Statistic 119

Top 10% OR analysts earn over $137,000 annually in 2023.

Statistic 120

OR job postings increased 15% YoY on LinkedIn in 2023.

Statistic 121

45% of OR roles require programming skills like Python in 2023.

Statistic 122

Global OR workforce estimated at 150,000 professionals in 2023.

Statistic 123

U.S. OR analysts employment concentration highest in California with 3,500 jobs in 2023.

Statistic 124

Entry-level OR salary averages $65,000 in U.S. 2023.

Statistic 125

60% of OR jobs in consulting firms per 2023 data.

Statistic 126

OR analyst turnover rate 8.2% annually in 2023.

Statistic 127

Demand for OR in supply chain roles up 20% post-2022.

Statistic 128

35% OR professionals certified by INFORMS in 2023.

Statistic 129

Senior OR managers earn average $120,000 in U.S. 2023.

Statistic 130

OR employment in government sector 15% of total U.S. in 2023.

Statistic 131

Remote OR jobs increased to 25% of postings in 2023.

Statistic 132

OR skills gap reported by 40% of employers in 2023 survey.

Statistic 133

Average experience for OR analysts 5.2 years in 2023.

Statistic 134

OR in tech industry employs 22% of U.S. workforce 2023.

Statistic 135

PhD holders 25% of OR professionals in 2023.

Statistic 136

OR freelance market grew 18% for analysts in 2023.

Statistic 137

Healthcare OR jobs 18% of total postings 2023.

Statistic 138

OR analyst salary in NYC averages $105,000 in 2023.

Statistic 139

52% OR roles require optimization modeling expertise 2023.

Statistic 140

Global OR salary average $75,000 equivalent in 2023.

Statistic 141

OR employment growth 10% in Europe 2020-2023.

Statistic 142

Logistics OR roles demand up 25% in 2023.

Statistic 143

OR in manufacturing 12% workforce share U.S. 2023.

1/143

Sources

Trusted by 500+ publications

+497

From boosting airline profits to saving lives in hospitals, the global operations research industry, now worth $2.63 billion and growing, is quietly revolutionizing how every sector makes its most critical decisions.

Key Takeaways

The global operations research (OR) market size was valued at USD 2.63 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2024 to 2030.
North America dominated the OR market with a share of over 35% in 2023, driven by advanced analytics adoption.
The OR software segment accounted for 42% of the total market revenue in 2023.
There were approximately 25,000 operations research analysts employed in the U.S. in 2023.
Average annual salary for OR analysts in U.S. was $85,720 in 2023.
OR employment projected to grow 23% from 2022 to 2032, much faster than average.
Healthcare sector utilizes OR for 15% efficiency gains via scheduling optimizations.
Logistics industry applies OR in 70% of route optimization problems globally.
Manufacturing uses OR for inventory management reducing costs by 20-30% on average.
Gurobi optimizer used in 65% of commercial OR applications in 2023.
CPLEX solver dominates linear programming with 50% market share 2023.
Python's PuLP library downloaded 1.2 million times in 2023.
1,200 OR-related PhD degrees awarded annually in U.S. 2023.
INFORMS membership 12,500 professionals and students 2023.
150 universities offer OR graduate programs worldwide 2023.

The operations research market is steadily growing globally, led by strong adoption in North America.

Education and Academia

1,200 OR-related PhD degrees awarded annually in U.S. 2023.
INFORMS membership 12,500 professionals and students 2023.
150 universities offer OR graduate programs worldwide 2023.
OR journal publications 5,000 papers per year average 2023.
U.S. OR bachelor's programs enrollment up 10% 2023.
Annual INFORMS meeting attendance 4,500 in 2023.
300 OR courses listed on Coursera with 500k enrollments 2023.
Funding for OR research $200M from NSF in FY2023.
25 new OR faculty hires at top U.S. unis 2023.
edX OR micro-credentials completed 100k in 2023.
OR textbooks sales 50k units annually global 2023.
40 OR student chapters under INFORMS in 2023.
H-index average for top OR depts 150+ in 2023.
Online OR master's programs 20 available U.S. 2023.
INFORMS teaching awards 10 given yearly 2023.
OR capstone projects in 80% undergrad programs 2023.
Global OR conferences 50 events per year 2023.
MOOC OR completion rate 12% average 2023.
OR PhD stipends average $35,000 U.S. 2023.
2,500 OR theses deposited in ProQuest 2023.

Education and Academia Interpretation

Despite its sharp, scholarly output of 5,000 papers and 2,500 theses annually, the true measure of Operations Research is in its scaling solution: a growing, 12,500-member-strong community is patiently building the human algorithm to optimize everything else.

Market Size and Growth

The global operations research (OR) market size was valued at USD 2.63 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2024 to 2030.
North America dominated the OR market with a share of over 35% in 2023, driven by advanced analytics adoption.
The OR software segment accounted for 42% of the total market revenue in 2023.
Asia-Pacific OR market is projected to register the fastest CAGR of 6.8% during 2024-2032.
Cloud-based OR solutions market grew by 12% YoY in 2023 due to scalability demands.
OR market in healthcare sector valued at USD 0.85 billion in 2023.
Global OR services market expected to reach USD 4.1 billion by 2028 at 7.2% CAGR.
Europe OR market share stood at 28% in 2023, led by manufacturing optimizations.
OR analytics tools market expanded by 8.4% in 2022-2023 period.
Projected OR market revenue to hit USD 3.95 billion by 2030 globally.
U.S. OR market valued at USD 0.92 billion in 2023, largest regionally.
OR in logistics segment grew 9.2% CAGR from 2018-2023.
Middle East & Africa OR market to grow at 5.5% CAGR through 2030.
OR consulting services captured 55% market share in 2023.
Latin America OR market size reached USD 0.18 billion in 2023.
OR market influenced by AI integration, boosting growth by 15% in 2023.
Global OR hardware market minor at 3% share in 2023.
Defense sector OR spending increased 7% YoY in 2023.
OR market CAGR forecasted at 6.1% for 2024-2029 in key reports.
India OR market grew 11% in 2023 due to digital transformation.
China OR market valued at USD 0.45 billion in 2023.
OR in energy sector market size USD 0.32 billion in 2023.
Global OR market post-COVID recovery at 4.8% growth in 2022.
Simulation modeling sub-market 25% of OR total in 2023.
OR market in retail projected to grow 7.5% CAGR to 2030.
U.K. OR market share 12% of Europe in 2023.
OR big data analytics segment up 14% in 2023.
Global OR market influenced by 5G, adding 2% growth premium.
Finance OR sub-market USD 0.41 billion in 2023.
OR market total projected USD 4.2 billion by 2027.

Market Size and Growth Interpretation

Amidst a global shift where software dominates and consulting calls the shots, North America currently reigns supreme by turning chaos into quarterly reports, yet all eyes are on Asia-Pacific's blistering growth as the industry proves that optimizing everything from supply chains to surgeries is now a multi-billion-dollar exercise in getting our collective act together.

Sector Applications

Healthcare sector utilizes OR for 15% efficiency gains via scheduling optimizations.
Logistics industry applies OR in 70% of route optimization problems globally.
Manufacturing uses OR for inventory management reducing costs by 20-30% on average.
Finance sector employs OR in portfolio optimization for 40% of hedge funds.
Energy utilities leverage OR for grid management saving 12% in operational costs.
Retail applies OR dynamic pricing models boosting revenue by 5-10%.
Defense uses OR in 80% of supply chain logistics decisions.
Airlines optimize 95% of flight schedules using OR techniques.
Telecommunications OR for network design reduces latency by 25%.
Pharmaceuticals use OR in supply chain for 18% faster drug delivery.
Public transportation OR scheduling improves on-time performance by 15%.
Agriculture applies OR crop planning increasing yields by 10-20%.
Banking OR fraud detection models catch 85% of anomalies.
Hospitality OR revenue management lifts hotel occupancy 8%.
Automotive industry OR for assembly line balancing cuts downtime 22%.
E-commerce OR recommendation systems drive 35% of sales.
Insurance OR pricing models accurate to 92% in risk assessment.
Mining OR production scheduling optimizes 28% resource use.
Sports teams use OR analytics for player selection in 60% of decisions.
Government OR for disaster response reduces evacuation time 40%.
Construction OR project scheduling shortens timelines by 15%.
Media OR audience targeting improves ad ROI by 25%.
Water utilities OR pipe network optimization saves 10% water loss.
Education OR class scheduling boosts utilization 18%.
Real estate OR site selection models 75% accurate.
Chemicals OR blending optimization cuts costs 16%.
Shipping OR vessel routing saves 12% fuel annually.
Non-profits OR resource allocation improves impact 20%.
Gaming OR dynamic pricing increases profits 9%.
Forestry OR harvest scheduling sustains 15% more yield.
Aviation cargo OR load balancing efficiency 88%.

Sector Applications Interpretation

Operations Research is the quiet force that, from streamlining hospital schedules to sharpening military logistics, consistently proves that a bit of clever math can make any industry profoundly more efficient, effective, and profitable.

Software and Tools

Gurobi optimizer used in 65% of commercial OR applications in 2023.
CPLEX solver dominates linear programming with 50% market share 2023.
Python's PuLP library downloaded 1.2 million times in 2023.
AnyLogic simulation software users grew 22% YoY 2023.
MATLAB OR toolbox licenses increased 15% in 2023.
Xpress optimizer integrated in 40% enterprise OR solutions 2023.
R's lpSolve package used by 30% academic OR projects 2023.
LINDO software solved 10^12 constraints in benchmarks 2023.
Arena simulation software market share 18% in manufacturing 2023.
Google OR-Tools GitHub stars reached 12,000 in 2023.
KNITRO nonlinear solver adopted by 25% Fortune 500 in 2023.
AMPL modeling language users 35,000 active in 2023.
SAS/OR procedures run in 20% of analytics pipelines 2023.
MOSEK solver for conic optimization 15% faster in 2023 release.
Pyomo open-source framework downloads 500k in 2023.
FlexSim 3D simulation software sales up 19% 2023.
SCIP open-source MIP solver cited 5,000 times 2023.
Excel Solver used by 60% small-scale OR practitioners 2023.
Baron global optimizer benchmarks top 90% cases 2023.
Witness simulation tool in 12% automotive simulations 2023.
JuMP.jl Julia package stars 2,500 on GitHub 2023.
COPT commercial solver 20% market in Asia 2023.
Simio simulation platform users 10,000+ in 2023.
HiGHS open-source LP/MIP solver 1M downloads 2023.
Lingo modeling tool 25 years, 50k licenses 2023.
OptaPlanner for Java constraint solving 15k GitHub stars 2023.
COMSOL Multiphysics OR extensions used 8% engineering 2023.
GLPK GNU solver in 40% Linux OR setups 2023.
AIMMS platform cloud users doubled to 5,000 in 2023.
Couenne open-source MINLP solver benchmarks strong 2023.

Software and Tools Interpretation

While the academic realm tinkers with open-source tools and small-scale practitioners cling to the familiar comfort of Excel, the commercial battlefield is decisively commanded by a few powerful, and often expensive, optimized engines like Gurobi and CPLEX, proving that in operations research, serious industrial problems demand serious industrial solvers.

Workforce and Employment

There were approximately 25,000 operations research analysts employed in the U.S. in 2023.
Average annual salary for OR analysts in U.S. was $85,720 in 2023.
OR employment projected to grow 23% from 2022 to 2032, much faster than average.
12,100 annual job openings expected for OR analysts in U.S. 2023-2033.
70% of OR professionals hold at least a master's degree in 2023 survey.
Women represent 28% of OR workforce in U.S. as of 2023.
Median wage for OR analysts $41.21 per hour in May 2023.
Top 10% OR analysts earn over $137,000 annually in 2023.
OR job postings increased 15% YoY on LinkedIn in 2023.
45% of OR roles require programming skills like Python in 2023.
Global OR workforce estimated at 150,000 professionals in 2023.
U.S. OR analysts employment concentration highest in California with 3,500 jobs in 2023.
Entry-level OR salary averages $65,000 in U.S. 2023.
60% of OR jobs in consulting firms per 2023 data.
OR analyst turnover rate 8.2% annually in 2023.
Demand for OR in supply chain roles up 20% post-2022.
35% OR professionals certified by INFORMS in 2023.
Senior OR managers earn average $120,000 in U.S. 2023.
OR employment in government sector 15% of total U.S. in 2023.
Remote OR jobs increased to 25% of postings in 2023.
OR skills gap reported by 40% of employers in 2023 survey.
Average experience for OR analysts 5.2 years in 2023.
OR in tech industry employs 22% of U.S. workforce 2023.
PhD holders 25% of OR professionals in 2023.
OR freelance market grew 18% for analysts in 2023.
Healthcare OR jobs 18% of total postings 2023.
OR analyst salary in NYC averages $105,000 in 2023.
52% OR roles require optimization modeling expertise 2023.
Global OR salary average $75,000 equivalent in 2023.
OR employment growth 10% in Europe 2020-2023.
Logistics OR roles demand up 25% in 2023.
OR in manufacturing 12% workforce share U.S. 2023.

Workforce and Employment Interpretation

Amid a booming 23% projected growth and 12,100 annual openings, the field of operations research presents a lucrative and intellectually demanding landscape, yet it remains a club with a steep academic barrier to entry, a notable gender gap, and an urgent call for more Python-wielding talent to bridge its widespread skills gap.

Sources & References

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