Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

51-5111 Prepress Technicians and Workers

Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting. May produce printing plates.

National estimates for Prepress Technicians and Workers
Industry profile for Prepress Technicians and Workers
Geographic profile for Prepress Technicians and Workers

National estimates for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
25,840	2.5 %	$ 21.06	$ 43,800	0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 14.00	$ 16.43	$ 20.49	$ 23.54	$ 29.31
Annual Wage (2)	$ 29,110	$ 34,180	$ 42,610	$ 48,960	$ 60,960

Industry profile for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Printing and Related Support Activities	16,120	4.38	$ 20.86	$ 43,390
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	1,870	0.72	$ 21.30	$ 44,300
Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services	960	0.22	$ 20.00	$ 41,590
Plastics Product Manufacturing	650	0.11	$ 20.26	$ 42,140
Employment Services	370	0.01	$ 15.03	$ 31,260

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Printing and Related Support Activities	16,120	4.38	$ 20.86	$ 43,390
Converted Paper Product Manufacturing	1,870	0.72	$ 21.30	$ 44,300
Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media	30	0.31	$ 22.28	$ 46,340
Sound Recording Industries	50	0.28	$ 23.71	$ 49,320
Specialized Design Services	350	0.26	$ 26.68	$ 55,480

Top paying industries for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	200	0.01	$ 43.92	$ 91,340
Scientific Research and Development Services	30	(7)	$ 31.40	$ 65,300
Elementary and Secondary Schools	40	(7)	$ 30.45	$ 63,340
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	(8)	(8)	$ 29.10	$ 60,540
Other Personal Services	50	0.02	$ 27.93	$ 58,090

Geographic profile for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

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

Map of employment of prepress technicians and workers by state, May 2021

States with the highest employment level in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	2,570	0.16	0.85	$ 22.79	$ 47,390
Wisconsin	1,690	0.61	3.34	$ 20.92	$ 43,520
Ohio	1,440	0.28	1.51	$ 20.09	$ 41,800
Illinois	1,270	0.23	1.23	$ 21.91	$ 45,560
New Jersey	1,250	0.32	1.77	$ 26.23	$ 54,550

Map of location quotient of prepress technicians and workers by state, May 2021

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wisconsin	1,690	0.61	3.34	$ 20.92	$ 43,520
Kansas	660	0.50	2.70	$ 16.84	$ 35,030
Tennessee	1,180	0.40	2.16	$ 17.23	$ 35,830
Minnesota	1,020	0.37	2.03	$ 22.89	$ 47,600
New Jersey	1,250	0.32	1.77	$ 26.23	$ 54,550

Map of annual mean wages of prepress technicians and workers by state, May 2021

Top paying states for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	190	0.29	1.59	$ 43.37	$ 90,210
Delaware	30	0.08	0.43	$ 26.72	$ 55,580
New Jersey	1,250	0.32	1.77	$ 26.23	$ 54,550
New York	1,220	0.14	0.77	$ 24.69	$ 51,360
Massachusetts	570	0.17	0.92	$ 23.98	$ 49,880

Map of employment of prepress technicians and workers by area, May 2021

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

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	1,690	0.19	1.06	$ 27.05	$ 56,260
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	1,510	0.26	1.44	$ 22.54	$ 46,890
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	1,090	0.26	1.41	$ 21.83	$ 45,410
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	770	0.42	2.30	$ 23.80	$ 49,500
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	740	0.25	1.38	$ 27.40	$ 56,990
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	510	0.14	0.77	$ 20.50	$ 42,640
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	470	0.18	0.96	$ 24.10	$ 50,120
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI	470	0.59	3.23	$ 22.15	$ 46,070
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	450	0.18	0.96	$ 20.19	$ 41,990
St. Louis, MO-IL	440	0.34	1.87	$ 20.11	$ 41,820

Map of location quotient of prepress technicians and workers by area, May 2021

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI	270	3.05	16.65	$ 20.82	$ 43,310
Lawrence, KS	100	2.22	12.13	$ 16.88	$ 35,110
Green Bay, WI	190	1.17	6.40	$ 21.30	$ 44,300
Appleton, WI	120	1.03	5.63	$ 20.15	$ 41,920
Dalton, GA	60	0.97	5.30	$ 15.75	$ 32,770
Leominster-Gardner, MA	40	0.89	4.83	$ 21.41	$ 44,540
Morristown, TN	40	0.86	4.67	$ 17.44	$ 36,260
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN	50	0.68	3.73	$ 17.16	$ 35,690
Jackson, TN	40	0.61	3.30	$ 17.00	$ 35,370
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI	470	0.59	3.23	$ 22.15	$ 46,070

Map of annual mean wages of prepress technicians and workers by area, May 2021

Top paying metropolitan areas for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	740	0.25	1.38	$ 27.40	$ 56,990
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,690	0.19	1.06	$ 27.05	$ 56,260
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	220	0.10	0.52	$ 26.64	$ 55,420
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	90	0.26	1.42	$ 26.43	$ 54,980
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	40	0.04	0.22	$ 25.93	$ 53,930
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	60	0.18	0.99	$ 25.91	$ 53,900
Trenton, NJ	40	0.17	0.94	$ 25.87	$ 53,810
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	420	0.16	0.89	$ 24.76	$ 51,500
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	470	0.18	0.96	$ 24.10	$ 50,120
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	190	0.13	0.73	$ 23.96	$ 49,830

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area	230	0.61	3.32	$ 15.09	$ 31,380
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area	180	0.86	4.71	$ 13.76	$ 28,610
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous)	160	0.50	2.75	$ 18.27	$ 37,990
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	120	0.63	3.42	$ 20.88	$ 43,440
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	100	0.49	2.70	$ 21.11	$ 43,900

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area	180	0.86	4.71	$ 13.76	$ 28,610
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	120	0.63	3.42	$ 20.88	$ 43,440
Kansas nonmetropolitan area	230	0.61	3.32	$ 15.09	$ 31,380
South Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area	50	0.52	2.82	$ 16.52	$ 34,360
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous)	160	0.50	2.75	$ 18.27	$ 37,990

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Prepress Technicians and Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	100	0.49	2.70	$ 21.11	$ 43,900
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	120	0.63	3.42	$ 20.88	$ 43,440
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	60	0.42	2.31	$ 20.62	$ 42,890
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area	50	0.21	1.13	$ 20.59	$ 42,820
Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area	40	0.28	1.50	$ 20.14	$ 41,880

About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.

Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022