Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

51-4041 Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
384,350	1.0 %	$21.75	$45,250	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$13.01	$16.41	$20.97	$26.36	$31.43
Annual Wage (2)	$27,050	$34,130	$43,630	$54,830	$65,360

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	99,400	27.78	$20.97	$43,620
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)	39,160	5.38	$22.07	$45,910
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	27,110	15.00	$21.51	$44,750
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	22,100	4.66	$21.09	$43,860
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing	21,160	3.53	$20.55	$42,730

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	99,400	27.78	$20.97	$43,620
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	27,110	15.00	$21.51	$44,750
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing	9,730	10.26	$21.74	$45,230
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)	39,160	5.38	$22.07	$45,910
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	22,100	4.66	$21.09	$43,860

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution	30	0.03	$45.07	$93,740
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	1,080	0.02	$39.48	$82,110
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	570	0.15	$36.52	$75,960
Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging	(8)	(8)	$32.53	$67,660
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	1,300	1.16	$31.53	$65,590

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	36,530	2.15	0.81	$22.81	$47,450
Illinois	31,000	5.17	1.95	$19.88	$41,350
Michigan	27,020	6.26	2.36	$20.14	$41,880
Ohio	26,250	4.85	1.83	$20.63	$42,910
Texas	26,050	2.15	0.81	$22.52	$46,850

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Michigan	27,020	6.26	2.36	$20.14	$41,880
South Carolina	12,480	6.05	2.28	$18.56	$38,610
Indiana	18,390	6.03	2.27	$21.21	$44,110
Illinois	31,000	5.17	1.95	$19.88	$41,350
Ohio	26,250	4.85	1.83	$20.63	$42,910

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii	240	0.38	0.14	$32.13	$66,840
Alaska	160	0.51	0.19	$30.88	$64,220
District of Columbia	140	0.20	0.07	$30.26	$62,950
Delaware	340	0.75	0.28	$26.54	$55,210
New Mexico	860	1.06	0.40	$25.93	$53,930

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	24,180	5.21	1.96	$19.77	$41,110
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	16,510	2.70	1.02	$22.00	$45,770
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	12,480	6.33	2.38	$21.03	$43,730
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	10,480	3.52	1.32	$24.14	$50,210
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	9,240	4.72	1.78	$24.81	$51,610
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	7,160	0.75	0.28	$23.76	$49,420
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	6,750	3.40	1.28	$26.32	$54,750
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC	6,020	14.56	5.48	$17.71	$36,840
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	5,740	5.54	2.09	$19.36	$40,270
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	5,220	4.87	1.83	$24.27	$50,480