Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

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.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
386,520 1.3 % $14.86 $30,910 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.48 $10.84 $13.60 $17.77 $22.90
Annual Wage (2) $19,720 $22,540 $28,290 $36,970 $47,620


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Employment Services 66,270 1.83 $12.71 $26,430
Beverage Manufacturing 26,700 11.75 $18.05 $37,550
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 24,630 8.68 $15.38 $31,990
Other Food Manufacturing 23,050 11.24 $15.27 $31,750
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 22,520 4.58 $13.62 $28,340

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Tobacco Manufacturing 2,190 16.83 $20.46 $42,560
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing 22,360 13.36 $15.26 $31,740
Dairy Product Manufacturing 17,530 12.52 $16.86 $35,080
Beverage Manufacturing 26,700 11.75 $18.05 $37,550
Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing 12,410 11.59 $15.09 $31,390

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 40 (7) $26.24 $54,580
Building Material and Supplies Dealers 60 0.01 $23.05 $47,940
Local Government (OES Designation) 240 (7) $21.04 $43,750
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing 150 0.18 $20.65 $42,950
Tobacco Manufacturing 2,190 16.83 $20.46 $42,560


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 50,440 3.16 1.15 $14.46 $30,080
Texas 22,220 1.89 0.69 $13.67 $28,430
Illinois 20,000 3.39 1.23 $15.65 $32,560
Pennsylvania 18,800 3.27 1.19 $15.78 $32,820
Ohio 17,460 3.27 1.19 $16.25 $33,790




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

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Wisconsin 16,790 5.98 2.17 $15.64 $32,530
Vermont 1,500 4.91 1.78 $16.00 $33,270
Kentucky 8,880 4.75 1.73 $15.64 $32,530
Kansas 6,160 4.48 1.63 $16.52 $34,360
Nebraska 4,080 4.22 1.53 $14.88 $30,950




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Wyoming 250 0.89 0.32 $20.48 $42,610
Connecticut 2,730 1.64 0.59 $16.85 $35,050
New Hampshire 1,180 1.83 0.67 $16.80 $34,950
Kansas 6,160 4.48 1.63 $16.52 $34,360
Ohio 17,460 3.27 1.19 $16.25 $33,790





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 13,610 3.74 1.36 $15.87 $33,010
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 12,870 3.05 1.11 $14.25 $29,640
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 10,740 1.63 0.59 $13.65 $28,380
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 8,870 3.47 1.26 $14.84 $30,870
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 6,390 3.35 1.22 $15.21 $31,640
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 5,570 5.34 1.94 $17.02 $35,390
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 4,930 2.03 0.74 $13.17 $27,390
Newark, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 4,850 4.19 1.52 $14.58 $30,320
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 4,550 1.55 0.56 $15.44 $32,100
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 4,510 2.88 1.05 $12.49 $25,970




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

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rocky Mount, NC 1,130 20.82 7.56 $13.51 $28,100
Danville, IL 460 17.55 6.38 $17.66 $36,740
Yakima, WA 1,480 17.36 6.31 $14.23 $29,600
Logan, UT-ID 820 15.17 5.51 $16.02 $33,320
Gettysburg, PA 490 15.11 5.49 $15.46 $32,150
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ 820 13.68 4.97 $12.97 $26,980
Gainesville, GA 1,070 13.12 4.77 $12.13 $25,220
St. Joseph, MO-KS 680 12.83 4.66 $15.72 $32,690
Bowling Green, KY 900 12.45 4.52 $18.55 $38,590
Sheboygan, WI 720 12.26 4.45 $17.39 $36,160




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Albany, GA 360 6.18 2.24 $24.35 $50,640
Battle Creek, MI (8) (8) (8) $24.05 $50,020
Cedar Rapids, IA 570 3.99 1.45 $22.12 $46,000
Fort Collins, CO 550 3.69 1.34 $21.17 $44,030
Syracuse, NY 900 2.97 1.08 $20.15 $41,920
Columbus, OH 2,600 2.54 0.92 $19.71 $40,990
Williamsport, PA 200 3.80 1.38 $19.64 $40,840
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 40 0.93 0.34 $19.57 $40,710
Lake Charles, LA 180 1.71 0.62 $19.56 $40,690
Savannah, GA 320 1.92 0.70 $19.52 $40,600

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 2,590 12.43 4.51 $14.16 $29,460
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 2,550 10.08 3.66 $16.90 $35,160
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 1,720 5.21 1.89 $14.52 $30,200
Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 1,660 7.27 2.64 $14.74 $30,650
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,570 6.31 2.29 $16.73 $34,790

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area 580 19.75 7.18 $16.38 $34,070
Southwest Idaho nonmetropolitan area 320 16.71 6.07 $15.87 $33,010
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 2,590 12.43 4.51 $14.16 $29,460
East Washington nonmetropolitan area 680 11.53 4.19 $15.67 $32,600
Southwest Kansas nonmetropolitan area 880 11.41 4.15 $15.32 $31,870

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 40 0.67 0.24 $34.91 $72,610
Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 180 1.61 0.58 $23.18 $48,210
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 70 0.59 0.22 $21.52 $44,760
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $20.24 $42,110
Southwest Washington nonmetropolitan area 200 3.04 1.11 $19.21 $39,950


About May 2016 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2016 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2017