Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
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) |
| 145,290 |
1.2 % |
$ 19.77 |
$ 41,120 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Printing Press Operators:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 13.41 |
$ 14.50 |
$ 18.16 |
$ 22.91 |
$ 28.76 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 27,890 |
$ 30,160 |
$ 37,770 |
$ 47,640 |
$ 59,830 |
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 |
83,600 |
22.71 |
$ 20.07 |
$ 41,740 |
| Converted Paper Product Manufacturing |
11,490 |
4.40 |
$ 21.82 |
$ 45,380 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services |
7,150 |
1.64 |
$ 16.91 |
$ 35,160 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
6,840 |
2.76 |
$ 19.79 |
$ 41,170 |
| Plastics Product Manufacturing |
4,750 |
0.81 |
$ 19.93 |
$ 41,450 |
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 |
83,600 |
22.71 |
$ 20.07 |
$ 41,740 |
| Converted Paper Product Manufacturing |
11,490 |
4.40 |
$ 21.82 |
$ 45,380 |
| Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media |
410 |
3.90 |
$ 17.15 |
$ 35,680 |
| Textile and Fabric Finishing and Fabric Coating Mills |
700 |
2.91 |
$ 15.20 |
$ 31,610 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
6,840 |
2.76 |
$ 19.79 |
$ 41,170 |
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) |
550 |
0.03 |
$ 50.70 |
$ 105,450 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing |
40 |
0.01 |
$ 33.72 |
$ 70,140 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations |
80 |
0.02 |
$ 30.13 |
$ 62,670 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 28.57 |
$ 59,430 |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only) |
390 |
0.08 |
$ 27.20 |
$ 56,580 |
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 |
12,240 |
0.74 |
0.72 |
$ 21.19 |
$ 44,060 |
| Illinois |
9,330 |
1.66 |
1.61 |
$ 19.50 |
$ 40,560 |
| Texas |
8,460 |
0.69 |
0.67 |
$ 18.89 |
$ 39,290 |
| Ohio |
7,980 |
1.53 |
1.49 |
$ 18.97 |
$ 39,450 |
| Pennsylvania |
7,390 |
1.32 |
1.28 |
$ 20.55 |
$ 42,740 |
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 |
7,310 |
2.66 |
2.57 |
$ 21.42 |
$ 44,560 |
| Minnesota |
6,250 |
2.29 |
2.22 |
$ 21.23 |
$ 44,160 |
| Kansas |
2,600 |
1.94 |
1.88 |
$ 18.22 |
$ 37,890 |
| Nebraska |
1,760 |
1.84 |
1.78 |
$ 18.60 |
$ 38,700 |
| Kentucky |
3,170 |
1.73 |
1.67 |
$ 18.01 |
$ 37,460 |
Top paying states for Printing Press Operators:
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 |
7,790 |
1.84 |
1.79 |
$ 19.64 |
$ 40,840 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,990 |
1.05 |
1.02 |
$ 20.93 |
$ 43,540 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
5,740 |
0.66 |
0.64 |
$ 24.22 |
$ 50,370 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
4,240 |
2.33 |
2.26 |
$ 21.97 |
$ 45,700 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,680 |
1.02 |
0.99 |
$ 20.76 |
$ 43,180 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,990 |
1.13 |
1.09 |
$ 21.58 |
$ 44,880 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
2,700 |
1.04 |
1.01 |
$ 19.45 |
$ 40,450 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI |
2,420 |
3.08 |
2.99 |
$ 22.14 |
$ 46,050 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN |
2,040 |
1.99 |
1.93 |
$ 19.12 |
$ 39,770 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,990 |
0.68 |
0.66 |
$ 27.33 |
$ 56,850 |
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 |
470 |
10.31 |
10.00 |
$ 17.62 |
$ 36,660 |
| Mankato-North Mankato, MN |
360 |
6.98 |
6.76 |
$ 21.72 |
$ 45,170 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, WI |
580 |
6.47 |
6.27 |
$ 22.01 |
$ 45,770 |
| Green Bay, WI |
1,040 |
6.32 |
6.13 |
$ 21.59 |
$ 44,900 |
| Ames, IA |
200 |
4.59 |
4.45 |
$ 19.29 |
$ 40,120 |
| Dalton, GA |
280 |
4.54 |
4.40 |
$ 16.31 |
$ 33,920 |
| Walla Walla, WA |
120 |
4.52 |
4.38 |
$ 18.75 |
$ 39,010 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN |
320 |
4.40 |
4.27 |
$ 18.91 |
$ 39,330 |
| Gettysburg, PA |
130 |
4.11 |
3.99 |
$ 21.18 |
$ 44,040 |
| Harrisonburg, VA |
230 |
3.77 |
3.66 |
$ 18.36 |
$ 38,190 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Printing Press Operators:
| 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 |
1,990 |
0.68 |
0.66 |
$ 27.33 |
$ 56,850 |
| Dover-Durham, NH-ME |
100 |
2.03 |
1.97 |
$ 24.87 |
$ 51,730 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
5,740 |
0.66 |
0.64 |
$ 24.22 |
$ 50,370 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,520 |
0.79 |
0.77 |
$ 24.21 |
$ 50,360 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,220 |
0.55 |
0.53 |
$ 24.02 |
$ 49,960 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
430 |
0.41 |
0.39 |
$ 23.98 |
$ 49,880 |
| Napa, CA |
70 |
1.06 |
1.03 |
$ 23.96 |
$ 49,830 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
450 |
1.07 |
1.03 |
$ 23.24 |
$ 48,350 |
| Springfield, MA-CT |
400 |
1.29 |
1.25 |
$ 23.00 |
$ 47,850 |
| Wausau, WI |
100 |
1.53 |
1.49 |
$ 22.75 |
$ 47,330 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Printing Press Operators:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Printing Press Operators:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Printing Press Operators:
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.
(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
United States Department of Labor
