Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019
51-5112 Printing Press Operators
Set up and operate digital, letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, or other printing machines. Includes short-run offset printing presses.
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) |
| 173,430 |
1.4 % |
$18.80 |
$39,100 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$11.46 |
$13.86 |
$17.74 |
$22.79 |
$28.24 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$23,830 |
$28,840 |
$36,910 |
$47,400 |
$58,740 |
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) |
| Printing and Related Support Activities |
106,230 |
24.72 |
$18.65 |
$38,800 |
| Converted Paper Product Manufacturing |
11,440 |
4.21 |
$20.29 |
$42,210 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
9,260 |
3.04 |
$19.68 |
$40,930 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services |
7,160 |
1.46 |
$19.05 |
$39,620 |
| Plastics Product Manufacturing |
5,640 |
0.95 |
$18.69 |
$38,870 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Printing and Related Support Activities |
106,230 |
24.72 |
$18.65 |
$38,800 |
| Converted Paper Product Manufacturing |
11,440 |
4.21 |
$20.29 |
$42,210 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
9,260 |
3.04 |
$19.68 |
$40,930 |
| Other Textile Product Mills |
1,860 |
2.86 |
$15.86 |
$32,980 |
| Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media |
320 |
2.73 |
$19.64 |
$40,860 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) |
550 |
0.03 |
$47.19 |
$98,160 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing |
40 |
0.01 |
$33.63 |
$69,950 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (5221 And 5223 only) |
40 |
(7) |
$25.81 |
$53,680 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) |
580 |
0.01 |
$25.27 |
$52,550 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations |
80 |
0.02 |
$24.80 |
$51,590 |
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 |
14,860 |
0.86 |
0.72 |
$19.16 |
$39,860 |
| Texas |
10,600 |
0.85 |
0.72 |
$19.57 |
$40,710 |
| Illinois |
10,260 |
1.70 |
1.44 |
$19.55 |
$40,670 |
| New York |
9,460 |
0.99 |
0.84 |
$20.03 |
$41,650 |
| Wisconsin |
9,370 |
3.26 |
2.77 |
$18.72 |
$38,930 |
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) |
| Wisconsin |
9,370 |
3.26 |
2.77 |
$18.72 |
$38,930 |
| Kansas |
3,470 |
2.49 |
2.11 |
$16.82 |
$34,990 |
| Minnesota |
6,180 |
2.14 |
1.82 |
$21.41 |
$44,520 |
| Kentucky |
3,910 |
2.06 |
1.74 |
$18.04 |
$37,530 |
| Nebraska |
1,840 |
1.88 |
1.59 |
$16.84 |
$35,020 |
Top paying States for this occupation:
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 |
8,270 |
1.77 |
1.50 |
$20.11 |
$41,830 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,790 |
0.81 |
0.68 |
$22.02 |
$45,800 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
7,120 |
1.14 |
0.97 |
$18.52 |
$38,520 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
4,870 |
1.33 |
1.13 |
$21.74 |
$45,210 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
4,250 |
2.16 |
1.83 |
$22.48 |
$46,750 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
3,970 |
1.45 |
1.23 |
$18.63 |
$38,750 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
3,860 |
1.34 |
1.14 |
$20.95 |
$43,580 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI |
3,240 |
3.78 |
3.20 |
$18.11 |
$37,670 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
2,570 |
1.87 |
1.59 |
$21.20 |
$44,100 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
2,470 |
0.88 |
0.75 |
$20.56 |
$42,770 |
United States Department of Labor
