• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

51-4041 Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures. Machinists who primarily program or operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment are classified in “Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators and Programmers” (51-9160).

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National estimates for Machinists
Industry profile for Machinists
Geographic profile for Machinists

National estimates for Machinists:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Machinists:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
333,220	0.9 %	$ 23.57	$ 49,020	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Machinists:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 14.53	$ 18.16	$ 22.95	$ 28.87	$ 32.81
Annual Wage (2)	$ 30,220	$ 37,770	$ 47,730	$ 60,040	$ 68,250

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Industry profile for Machinists:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Machinists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	79,360	24.42	$ 22.67	$ 47,150
Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)	33,300	4.75	$ 22.98	$ 47,800
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	23,370	14.60	$ 22.96	$ 47,760
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	23,090	5.17	$ 21.92	$ 45,590
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	19,030	4.05	$ 27.29	$ 56,770

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Machinists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing	79,360	24.42	$ 22.67	$ 47,150
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing	23,370	14.60	$ 22.96	$ 47,760
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing	7,360	8.30	$ 23.60	$ 49,100
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)	23,090	5.17	$ 21.92	$ 45,590
Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing	950	4.79	$ 22.75	$ 47,320

Top paying industries for Machinists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	460	0.12	$ 45.78	$ 95,220
Scheduled Air Transportation	60	0.02	$ 45.68	$ 95,010
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	860	0.02	$ 43.74	$ 90,990
Rail Transportation	4,730	2.15	$ 37.33	$ 77,650
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	1,650	1.60	$ 36.97	$ 76,910

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Geographic profile for Machinists:

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

States with the highest employment level in Machinists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Ohio	30,260	5.82	2.46	$ 21.42	$ 44,560
California	29,810	1.80	0.76	$ 25.02	$ 52,040
Michigan	22,100	5.44	2.30	$ 22.36	$ 46,510
Texas	21,610	1.77	0.75	$ 23.95	$ 49,810
Illinois	20,510	3.65	1.54	$ 23.64	$ 49,160

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Machinists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Indiana	19,240	6.45	2.73	$ 23.66	$ 49,220
Ohio	30,260	5.82	2.46	$ 21.42	$ 44,560
Connecticut	8,620	5.48	2.32	$ 26.80	$ 55,750
Michigan	22,100	5.44	2.30	$ 22.36	$ 46,510
South Carolina	10,510	5.08	2.15	$ 19.46	$ 40,480

Top paying states for Machinists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	320	0.49	0.21	$ 41.15	$ 85,600
Alaska	140	0.48	0.20	$ 34.10	$ 70,920
Hawaii	250	0.46	0.19	$ 34.02	$ 70,760
Washington	6,850	2.14	0.90	$ 28.89	$ 60,080
Maryland	1,780	0.70	0.30	$ 28.76	$ 59,810

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Machinists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	13,990	3.31	1.40	$ 24.63	$ 51,220
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	12,140	2.12	0.90	$ 23.76	$ 49,420
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	8,470	4.70	1.99	$ 23.56	$ 49,000
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	7,400	2.56	1.08	$ 24.26	$ 50,460
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	7,190	7.46	3.15	$ 21.47	$ 44,650
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	7,020	3.85	1.63	$ 26.07	$ 54,230
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	5,620	0.65	0.27	$ 27.14	$ 56,450
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	5,110	1.98	0.84	$ 27.52	$ 57,230
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	5,040	1.40	0.59	$ 23.43	$ 48,730
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	4,810	4.70	1.99	$ 23.13	$ 48,120

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Machinists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Rockford, IL	2,860	21.64	9.15	$ 22.29	$ 46,360
Columbus, IN	800	16.51	6.98	$ 20.48	$ 42,610
Jackson, MI	750	13.77	5.82	$ 21.30	$ 44,300
Staunton-Waynesboro, VA	590	12.73	5.38	(8)	(8)
Elmira, NY	380	11.64	4.92	$ 22.95	$ 47,730
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI	640	11.50	4.86	$ 20.37	$ 42,360
Monroe, MI	400	11.10	4.69	$ 32.00	$ 66,560
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC	4,340	11.06	4.68	$ 18.16	$ 37,770
Sumter, SC	390	10.97	4.64	$ 19.06	$ 39,650
Fort Wayne, IN	2,200	10.52	4.45	$ 22.55	$ 46,910