• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

51-9111 Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.

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National estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Industry profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Geographic profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

National estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
358,640	1.1 %	$ 17.67	$ 36,750	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 12.00	$ 14.06	$ 17.29	$ 20.22	$ 23.38
Annual Wage (2)	$ 24,960	$ 29,250	$ 35,960	$ 42,050	$ 48,620

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Industry profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	34,230	10.89	$ 18.90	$ 39,310
Other Food Manufacturing	32,740	13.97	$ 17.91	$ 37,250
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing	29,500	17.25	$ 17.36	$ 36,110
Employment Services	27,680	0.79	$ 14.19	$ 29,520
Animal Slaughtering and Processing	25,690	4.94	$ 16.26	$ 33,810

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing	29,500	17.25	$ 17.36	$ 36,110
Tobacco Manufacturing	1,740	16.16	$ 23.54	$ 48,960
Other Food Manufacturing	32,740	13.97	$ 17.91	$ 37,250
Dairy Product Manufacturing	21,320	13.91	$ 19.20	$ 39,930
Chemical Manufacturing (3255 and 3256 only)	19,830	11.21	$ 17.07	$ 35,500

Top paying industries for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing	130	0.16	$ 26.63	$ 55,390
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills	1,000	1.14	$ 24.18	$ 50,300
Tobacco Manufacturing	1,740	16.16	$ 23.54	$ 48,960
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	100	0.01	$ 23.04	$ 47,920
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	1,140	1.10	$ 22.37	$ 46,520

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Geographic profile for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

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

States with the highest employment level in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	43,070	2.61	1.02	$ 19.10	$ 39,730
Illinois	22,190	3.95	1.55	$ 17.69	$ 36,780
Texas	19,430	1.59	0.62	$ 15.90	$ 33,070
Pennsylvania	18,870	3.38	1.33	$ 18.95	$ 39,410
Wisconsin	18,710	6.79	2.67	$ 18.31	$ 38,090

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wisconsin	18,710	6.79	2.67	$ 18.31	$ 38,090
Kentucky	9,410	5.12	2.01	$ 18.48	$ 38,430
Iowa	7,010	4.72	1.86	$ 17.00	$ 35,370
Kansas	6,080	4.54	1.78	$ 16.42	$ 34,150
Idaho	3,300	4.36	1.71	$ 16.33	$ 33,970

Top paying states for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Wyoming	320	1.23	0.48	$ 23.72	$ 49,340
New Hampshire	820	1.29	0.51	$ 21.12	$ 43,940
Missouri	8,080	2.96	1.16	$ 19.79	$ 41,170
Colorado	4,790	1.83	0.72	$ 19.45	$ 40,460
California	43,070	2.61	1.02	$ 19.10	$ 39,730

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

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	18,280	2.11	0.83	$ 17.26	$ 35,890
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	16,810	3.97	1.56	$ 17.98	$ 37,400
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	13,800	2.41	0.95	$ 18.50	$ 38,470
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	6,690	1.86	0.73	$ 16.57	$ 34,460
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	6,570	2.48	0.97	$ 18.81	$ 39,120
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,170	2.39	0.94	$ 17.51	$ 36,430
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	5,840	5.70	2.24	$ 18.65	$ 38,790
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	5,100	2.27	0.89	$ 22.17	$ 46,120
St. Louis, MO-IL	4,420	3.46	1.36	$ 21.70	$ 45,130
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	4,400	1.79	0.70	$ 14.80	$ 30,780

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Sheboygan, WI	1,010	17.47	6.86	$ 19.01	$ 39,540
Gettysburg, PA	520	16.27	6.39	$ 19.26	$ 40,060
Twin Falls, ID	690	14.98	5.89	$ 16.00	$ 33,290
Merced, CA	960	13.32	5.23	$ 18.36	$ 38,180
Kankakee, IL	550	13.10	5.14	$ 17.90	$ 37,230
Owensboro, KY	650	13.03	5.12	$ 18.85	$ 39,210
Wausau, WI	860	12.67	4.98	$ 19.92	$ 41,420
St. Joseph, MO-KS	660	12.54	4.93	$ 18.64	$ 38,770
Harrisonburg, VA	760	12.32	4.84	$ 21.67	$ 45,070
Napa, CA	830	12.02	4.72	$ 21.41	$ 44,520