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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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).

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

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
383,470 1.0 % $22.17 $46,120 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $13.43 $16.74 $21.36 $26.88 $32.02
Annual Wage (2) $27,940 $34,820 $44,420 $55,910 $66,610

Industry profile for this occupation:

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 99,260 27.07 $21.25 $44,200
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) 37,620 5.00 $22.22 $46,210
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing 26,280 14.61 $21.74 $45,230
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only) 24,120 4.97 $21.19 $44,080
Employment Services 22,920 0.62 $18.82 $39,140

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 99,260 27.07 $21.25 $44,200
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing 26,280 14.61 $21.74 $45,230
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing 9,200 9.43 $22.02 $45,800
Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing 2,110 6.15 $23.56 $49,000
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only) 37,620 5.00 $22.22 $46,210

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution 40 0.03 $45.28 $94,180
Scheduled Air Transportation 400 0.09 $42.03 $87,420
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) (8) (8) $39.80 $82,790
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 530 0.14 $37.48 $77,970
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing 1,170 1.04 $32.42 $67,440

Geographic profile for this occupation:

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 36,120 2.08 0.80 $23.25 $48,360
Illinois 30,010 4.98 1.91 $20.58 $42,800
Texas 28,590 2.30 0.88 $22.32 $46,420
Michigan 26,600 6.12 2.35 $21.10 $43,900
Ohio 26,290 4.83 1.85 $21.33 $44,370




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)
Indiana 19,630 6.39 2.45 $21.58 $44,880
Michigan 26,600 6.12 2.35 $21.10 $43,900
South Carolina 11,380 5.40 2.07 $19.16 $39,860
Illinois 30,010 4.98 1.91 $20.58 $42,800
Ohio 26,290 4.83 1.85 $21.33 $44,370




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii 280 0.44 0.17 $31.99 $66,550
District of Columbia 150 0.21 0.08 $30.04 $62,480
Alaska 160 0.51 0.19 $28.24 $58,740
Maryland 2,020 0.75 0.29 $27.30 $56,780
Delaware 350 0.77 0.29 $27.19 $56,560





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 21,890 4.68 1.79 $20.76 $43,180
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 16,120 2.58 0.99 $23.03 $47,900
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 11,400 5.75 2.20 $21.84 $45,430
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 11,040 3.62 1.39 $23.26 $48,370
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 7,700 3.91 1.50 $25.37 $52,760
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 6,960 0.72 0.28 $24.08 $50,090
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 6,240 3.09 1.18 $27.17 $56,510
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 6,160 1.68 0.64 $21.23 $44,160
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 6,060 5.79 2.22 $20.33 $42,290
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 5,630 5.20 1.99 $25.21 $52,440