Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

51-9022 Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand

Grind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.

National estimates for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Industry profile for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Geographic profile for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand

National estimates for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
15,680	5.1 %	$ 17.30	$ 35,990	1.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 11.76	$ 14.31	$ 17.15	$ 18.71	$ 22.95
Annual Wage (2)	$ 24,470	$ 29,750	$ 35,670	$ 38,910	$ 47,730

Industry profile for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services	2,620	0.08	$ 13.68	$ 28,450
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing	1,680	0.42	$ 18.70	$ 38,900
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	1,260	0.46	$ 18.31	$ 38,080
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	950	0.29	$ 17.68	$ 36,770
Foundries	940	0.93	$ 16.29	$ 33,880

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Foundries	940	0.93	$ 16.29	$ 33,880
Ship and Boat Building	900	0.62	$ 17.07	$ 35,500
Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities	730	0.59	$ 17.65	$ 36,710
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	1,260	0.46	$ 18.31	$ 38,080
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing	1,680	0.42	$ 18.70	$ 38,900

Top paying industries for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	450	0.10	$ 23.86	$ 49,620
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	220	0.13	$ 21.75	$ 45,240
Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing	50	0.13	$ 21.55	$ 44,820
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors	160	0.02	$ 20.66	$ 42,970
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	240	0.07	$ 20.58	$ 42,800

Geographic profile for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

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

Map of employment of grinding and polishing workers, hand by state, May 2021

States with the highest employment level in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	3,310	0.20	1.80	$ 18.23	$ 37,920
Texas	1,160	0.09	0.85	$ 15.53	$ 32,300
Wisconsin	1,020	0.37	3.33	$ 16.61	$ 34,550
Florida	750	0.09	0.79	$ 16.15	$ 33,600
Michigan	740	0.18	1.63	$ 16.82	$ 34,980

Map of location quotient of grinding and polishing workers, hand by state, May 2021

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Rhode Island	250	0.55	4.97	$ 19.05	$ 39,620
Wisconsin	1,020	0.37	3.33	$ 16.61	$ 34,550
North Dakota	120	0.30	2.72	$ 16.52	$ 34,370
California	3,310	0.20	1.80	$ 18.23	$ 37,920
Arizona	560	0.20	1.75	$ 18.83	$ 39,160

Map of annual mean wages of grinding and polishing workers, hand by state, May 2021

Top paying states for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Connecticut	250	0.16	1.44	$ 22.72	$ 47,250
Maine	30	0.05	0.48	$ 21.50	$ 44,720
Maryland	60	0.02	0.20	$ 21.21	$ 44,120
New York	690	0.08	0.72	$ 21.13	$ 43,950
Oregon	60	0.03	0.27	$ 20.57	$ 42,790

Map of employment of grinding and polishing workers, hand by area, May 2021

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	1,710	0.30	2.69	$ 17.75	$ 36,920
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	760	0.09	0.79	$ 21.18	$ 44,050
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	490	0.23	2.09	$ 19.16	$ 39,850
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	340	0.22	2.02	$ 17.13	$ 35,620
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	280	0.20	1.80	$ 18.18	$ 37,810
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	270	0.49	4.45	$ 19.24	$ 40,020
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	250	0.11	1.00	$ 21.59	$ 44,900
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	240	0.22	2.02	$ 20.66	$ 42,970
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	200	0.08	0.71	$ 18.50	$ 38,470
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	200	0.08	0.74	$ 16.60	$ 34,520

Map of location quotient of grinding and polishing workers, hand by area, May 2021

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Appleton, WI	130	1.09	9.79	$ 15.18	$ 31,570
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	130	0.90	8.07	$ 14.91	$ 31,000
Wausau, WI	50	0.72	6.51	$ 16.74	$ 34,820
Gainesville, GA	60	0.62	5.58	$ 15.60	$ 32,450
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	270	0.49	4.45	$ 19.24	$ 40,020
Eau Claire, WI	30	0.39	3.51	$ 17.00	$ 35,360
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI	200	0.39	3.48	$ 16.60	$ 34,520
Fargo, ND-MN	50	0.38	3.38	$ 17.87	$ 37,180
Charleston-North Charleston, SC	110	0.32	2.89	$ 20.60	$ 42,850
Madison, WI	120	0.31	2.75	$ 16.44	$ 34,190

Map of annual mean wages of grinding and polishing workers, hand by area, May 2021

Top paying metropolitan areas for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Springfield, MA-CT	90	0.29	2.62	$ 25.40	$ 52,840
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	90	0.17	1.56	$ 22.39	$ 46,560
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	110	0.11	0.97	$ 21.93	$ 45,620
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	250	0.11	1.00	$ 21.59	$ 44,900
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	50	0.04	0.37	$ 21.58	$ 44,880
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	760	0.09	0.79	$ 21.18	$ 44,050
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	70	0.04	0.33	$ 21.04	$ 43,770
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	240	0.22	2.02	$ 20.66	$ 42,970
Charleston-North Charleston, SC	110	0.32	2.89	$ 20.60	$ 42,850
Columbus, OH	40	0.04	0.36	$ 20.49	$ 42,630

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area	80	0.59	5.31	$ 12.04	$ 25,040
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area	80	0.39	3.52	$ 16.00	$ 33,280
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area	80	0.30	2.69	$ 14.92	$ 31,020
Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	70	0.55	4.97	$ 15.78	$ 32,820
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area	70	0.48	4.34	$ 16.64	$ 34,610

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area	80	0.59	5.31	$ 12.04	$ 25,040
Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	70	0.55	4.97	$ 15.78	$ 32,820
North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area	60	0.50	4.45	$ 14.88	$ 30,960
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area	70	0.48	4.34	$ 16.64	$ 34,610
Nevada nonmetropolitan area	40	0.40	3.60	$ 16.11	$ 33,500

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
North Georgia nonmetropolitan area	40	0.26	2.38	$ 18.75	$ 38,990
Northern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area	40	0.24	2.20	$ 17.46	$ 36,330
Southern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area	50	0.26	2.31	$ 17.19	$ 35,760
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous)	60	0.21	1.86	$ 17.16	$ 35,700
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area	(8)	(8)	(8)	$ 17.00	$ 35,350

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