Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

51-9111 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.

National estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Industry profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Geographic profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

National estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
370,910	1.3 %	$ 16.94	$ 35,220	0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 11.38	$ 13.21	$ 15.69	$ 19.54	$ 24.56
Annual Wage (2)	$ 23,670	$ 27,490	$ 32,640	$ 40,640	$ 51,080

Industry profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services	33,690	1.05	$ 14.75	$ 30,690
Other Food Manufacturing	29,680	13.04	$ 17.34	$ 36,060
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	29,310	9.83	$ 17.47	$ 36,340
Beverage Manufacturing	27,210	10.40	$ 19.38	$ 40,320
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing	26,380	16.01	$ 17.48	$ 36,360

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Tobacco Manufacturing	2,020	20.49	$ 24.85	$ 51,700
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing	26,380	16.01	$ 17.48	$ 36,360
Dairy Product Manufacturing	22,310	14.87	$ 18.02	$ 37,480
Chemical Manufacturing (3255 and 3256 only)	22,460	13.15	$ 16.66	$ 34,660
Other Food Manufacturing	29,680	13.04	$ 17.34	$ 36,060

Top paying industries for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	30	(7)	$ 28.72	$ 59,730
Tobacco Manufacturing	2,020	20.49	$ 24.85	$ 51,700
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	150	0.03	$ 23.67	$ 49,240
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills	1,030	1.13	$ 21.82	$ 45,380
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing	330	0.39	$ 20.68	$ 43,020

Geographic profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	46,750	2.85	1.07	$ 17.38	$ 36,150
Texas	21,610	1.79	0.67	$ 15.26	$ 31,740
Wisconsin	20,490	7.56	2.84	$ 17.69	$ 36,800
Ohio	19,720	3.84	1.44	$ 17.41	$ 36,220
Pennsylvania	19,390	3.52	1.32	$ 17.68	$ 36,780

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wisconsin	20,490	7.56	2.84	$ 17.69	$ 36,800
Idaho	3,750	5.22	1.96	$ 17.99	$ 37,420
Kentucky	8,710	4.89	1.83	$ 17.97	$ 37,380
Iowa	6,310	4.30	1.61	$ 17.19	$ 35,760
Nebraska	3,980	4.22	1.58	$ 17.41	$ 36,210

Top paying states for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wyoming	310	1.17	0.44	$ 22.16	$ 46,090
Maine	1,670	2.90	1.09	$ 19.53	$ 40,620
Missouri	10,960	4.07	1.53	$ 19.17	$ 39,870
Rhode Island	550	1.23	0.46	$ 18.32	$ 38,110
Minnesota	8,290	3.06	1.15	$ 18.28	$ 38,030

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	17,020	1.93	0.72	$ 15.80	$ 32,860
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	16,280	2.80	1.05	$ 17.18	$ 35,740
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	14,800	3.39	1.27	$ 17.24	$ 35,850
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,900	2.20	0.83	$ 16.05	$ 33,380
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	7,520	7.31	2.74	$ 17.82	$ 37,060
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	6,550	2.43	0.91	$ 17.30	$ 35,980
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,690	2.27	0.85	$ 13.57	$ 28,230
St. Louis, MO-IL	5,510	4.24	1.59	$ 20.41	$ 42,450
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	5,170	1.99	0.75	$ 16.88	$ 35,110
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	4,940	1.88	0.70	$ 17.59	$ 36,580

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Twin Falls, ID	760	16.47	6.17	$ 16.23	$ 33,760
Sheboygan, WI	910	15.76	5.91	$ 17.98	$ 37,400
Logan, UT-ID	900	15.33	5.75	$ 18.61	$ 38,700
Gettysburg, PA	460	15.08	5.66	$ 16.92	$ 35,180
Danville, IL	360	14.13	5.30	$ 19.16	$ 39,850
Enid, OK	320	14.04	5.27	$ 14.44	$ 30,030
St. Joseph, MO-KS	670	12.88	4.83	$ 17.35	$ 36,090
Fond du Lac, WI	550	12.72	4.77	$ 18.63	$ 38,740
Appleton, WI	1,470	12.58	4.72	$ 17.80	$ 37,020
Joplin, MO	880	11.51	4.32	$ 16.25	$ 33,790