• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

51-4041 Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. 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. Machinists who primarily program or operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment are classified in “Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators and Programmers” (51-9160).

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National estimates for Machinists
Industry profile for Machinists
Geographic profile for Machinists

National estimates for Machinists:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Machinists:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
316,860	0.9 %	$ 24.72	$ 51,430	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Machinists:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 16.21	$ 18.79	$ 23.32	$ 29.27	$ 34.53
Annual Wage (2)	$ 33,720	$ 39,090	$ 48,510	$ 60,870	$ 71,820

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Industry profile for Machinists:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Machinists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	77,160	23.00	$ 23.69	$ 49,270
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)	32,040	4.28	$ 24.04	$ 50,000
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	23,440	14.46	$ 23.86	$ 49,630
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	19,920	4.28	$ 23.19	$ 48,240
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	18,790	3.93	$ 28.29	$ 58,840

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Machinists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	77,160	23.00	$ 23.69	$ 49,270
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	23,440	14.46	$ 23.86	$ 49,630
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing	7,550	8.50	$ 24.02	$ 49,970
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	19,920	4.28	$ 23.19	$ 48,240
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)	32,040	4.28	$ 24.04	$ 50,000

Top paying industries for Machinists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	450	0.12	$ 50.10	$ 104,200
Scheduled Air Transportation	100	0.02	$ 46.78	$ 97,290
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	920	0.02	$ 46.08	$ 95,850
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	1,360	1.31	$ 40.56	$ 84,360
Rail Transportation	3,680	2.01	$ 36.77	$ 76,480

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Geographic profile for Machinists:

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

States with the highest employment level in Machinists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	29,710	1.68	0.79	$ 26.83	$ 55,800
Ohio	25,020	4.65	2.17	$ 23.11	$ 48,060
Michigan	23,490	5.53	2.58	$ 22.87	$ 47,580
Illinois	20,050	3.41	1.59	$ 24.66	$ 51,300
Indiana	19,180	6.21	2.90	$ 23.21	$ 48,270

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

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Indiana	19,180	6.21	2.90	$ 23.21	$ 48,270
Michigan	23,490	5.53	2.58	$ 22.87	$ 47,580
Ohio	25,020	4.65	2.17	$ 23.11	$ 48,060
Minnesota	12,810	4.53	2.11	$ 25.85	$ 53,770
Connecticut	7,350	4.50	2.10	$ 27.19	$ 56,550

Top paying states for Machinists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	260	0.38	0.18	$ 36.17	$ 75,240
Hawaii	230	0.39	0.18	$ 36.09	$ 75,060
Alaska	260	0.85	0.40	$ 31.54	$ 65,600
Wyoming	280	1.06	0.49	$ 31.50	$ 65,510
Washington	6,970	2.05	0.95	$ 29.72	$ 61,810

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Machinists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	12,970	2.94	1.37	$ 25.35	$ 52,720
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	11,750	1.93	0.90	$ 25.43	$ 52,880
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	9,930	5.32	2.48	$ 23.92	$ 49,760
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	8,180	4.34	2.03	$ 27.13	$ 56,440
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	6,410	6.49	3.03	$ 22.80	$ 47,410
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	5,970	1.95	0.91	$ 26.69	$ 55,520
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	5,410	5.15	2.40	$ 22.87	$ 47,560
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	5,180	0.56	0.26	$ 27.73	$ 57,670
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	4,410	1.63	0.76	$ 28.29	$ 58,840
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	4,360	1.14	0.53	$ 26.34	$ 54,780

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Machinists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Rockford, IL	2,940	21.45	10.01	$ 23.82	$ 49,550
Columbus, IN	910	18.45	8.61	$ 21.47	$ 44,660
Staunton-Waynesboro, VA	710	14.80	6.91	(8)	(8)
Bloomington, IN	930	12.96	6.05	$ 24.06	$ 50,050
Jackson, MI	670	12.00	5.60	$ 22.53	$ 46,860
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI	620	10.71	5.00	$ 21.32	$ 44,340
Fort Wayne, IN	2,200	10.11	4.72	$ 22.63	$ 47,070
Muskegon, MI	610	10.02	4.68	$ 20.21	$ 42,040
Lewiston, ID-WA	250	8.88	4.15	$ 24.35	$ 50,650
Morristown, TN	400	8.63	4.03	$ 21.02	$ 43,730