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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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 Printing Press Operators
Industry profile for Printing Press Operators
Geographic profile for Printing Press Operators

National estimates for Printing Press Operators:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Printing Press Operators:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
160,270 1.4 % $ 19.32 $ 40,200 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for Printing Press Operators:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 12.08 $ 14.39 $ 18.21 $ 23.31 $ 28.86
Annual Wage (2) $ 25,120 $ 29,940 $ 37,880 $ 48,480 $ 60,040


Industry profile for Printing Press Operators:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Printing Press Operators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Printing and Related Support Activities 95,340 24.33 $ 19.24 $ 40,030
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 10,610 4.03 $ 20.96 $ 43,610
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 8,520 3.11 $ 19.99 $ 41,570
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 6,830 1.50 $ 19.09 $ 39,710
Plastics Product Manufacturing 5,900 1.05 $ 19.38 $ 40,310

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Printing Press Operators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Printing and Related Support Activities 95,340 24.33 $ 19.24 $ 40,030
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 10,610 4.03 $ 20.96 $ 43,610
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 8,520 3.11 $ 19.99 $ 41,570
Other Textile Product Mills 1,790 3.05 $ 15.98 $ 33,240
Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media 260 2.31 $ 20.17 $ 41,960

Top paying industries for Printing Press Operators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 540 0.03 $ 50.20 $ 104,410
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 70 0.02 $ 26.03 $ 54,140
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 550 0.01 $ 25.77 $ 53,600
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (8) (8) $ 24.82 $ 51,630
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) 190 0.04 $ 24.33 $ 50,610


Geographic profile for Printing Press Operators:

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





States with the highest employment level in Printing Press Operators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 12,940 0.79 0.68 $ 20.03 $ 41,670
Texas 10,170 0.84 0.73 $ 20.21 $ 42,030
Illinois 9,580 1.70 1.48 $ 19.39 $ 40,330
Wisconsin 8,910 3.29 2.85 $ 19.94 $ 41,470
Ohio 8,560 1.67 1.45 $ 18.69 $ 38,870




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Printing Press Operators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Wisconsin 8,910 3.29 2.85 $ 19.94 $ 41,470
Kansas 3,050 2.29 1.99 $ 17.61 $ 36,630
Nebraska 2,100 2.23 1.94 $ 16.82 $ 34,980
Minnesota 5,850 2.16 1.88 $ 21.87 $ 45,500
Kentucky 3,610 2.02 1.76 $ 18.85 $ 39,210




Top paying states for Printing Press Operators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 440 0.63 0.55 $ 43.48 $ 90,440
Hawaii 230 0.40 0.35 $ 22.96 $ 47,760
New Jersey 3,550 0.94 0.81 $ 22.65 $ 47,100
Washington 2,550 0.80 0.69 $ 22.40 $ 46,580
Minnesota 5,850 2.16 1.88 $ 21.87 $ 45,500





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Printing Press Operators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 7,590 1.74 1.51 $ 19.97 $ 41,550
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 6,910 0.78 0.68 $ 22.32 $ 46,420
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 5,870 1.01 0.87 $ 19.74 $ 41,060
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 4,410 1.23 1.07 $ 22.88 $ 47,590
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 3,960 2.14 1.86 $ 22.92 $ 47,680
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 3,720 1.41 1.23 $ 18.77 $ 39,040
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 3,450 1.28 1.11 $ 21.25 $ 44,190
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 3,110 3.87 3.36 $ 19.11 $ 39,740
St. Louis, MO-IL 2,550 1.96 1.70 $ 20.76 $ 43,190
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 2,240 1.06 0.92 $ 18.47 $ 38,420




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Printing Press Operators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Lawrence, KS 590 13.19 11.45 $ 16.16 $ 33,620
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI 990 10.88 9.44 $ 21.10 $ 43,900
Mankato-North Mankato, MN 430 8.58 7.44 $ 20.46 $ 42,560
Green Bay, WI 990 6.04 5.24 $ 20.10 $ 41,810
Dalton, GA 320 5.34 4.63 $ 11.69 $ 24,300
Appleton, WI 550 4.71 4.09 $ 24.16 $ 50,260
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN 320 4.52 3.92 $ 17.90 $ 37,240
Bowling Green, KY 300 4.47 3.88 $ 18.40 $ 38,260
Ames, IA 180 4.22 3.66 $ 20.19 $ 41,990
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 3,110 3.87 3.36 $ 19.11 $ 39,740