Highest Paying Manufacturing Jobs

The highest paying manufacturing and production job is power plant operator, with a median salary of $102,040 a year, followed by petroleum pump system operator, refinery operator, and gauger ($96,710) and stationary engineer and boiler operator ($78,620). All 57 manufacturing and production jobs below are ranked by median pay from the latest BLS wage survey (May 2025).

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#1 Power plant operator $102,040 median a year #2 Petroleum pump system operator, refinery operator, and gauger $96,710 median a year #3 Stationary engineer and boiler operator $78,620 median a year

Highest Paying Manufacturing Jobs, ranked

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#	Job	Median	Hourly	Top 10%	Education	Workers
1	Power plant operator Production	$102,040	$49.06	$131,940	High school diploma	29,320
2	Petroleum pump system operator, refinery operator, and gauger Production	$96,710	$46.50	$115,880	High school diploma	33,160
3	Stationary engineer and boiler operator Production	$78,620	$37.80	$125,390	High school diploma	28,250
4	First-line supervisor of production and operating workers Production	$74,450	$35.79	$108,750	High school diploma	673,430
5	Computer numerically controlled tool programmer Production	$68,120	$32.75	$100,320	Certificate	28,500
6	Aircraft structure, surface, rigging, and systems assembler Production	$65,380	$31.43	$107,500	High school diploma	34,020
7	Tool and die maker Production	$64,050	$30.79	$92,680	Certificate	56,930
8	Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operator Production	$60,020	$28.86	$91,060	High school diploma	128,490
9	Machinist Production	$58,750	$28.24	$80,010	High school diploma	287,050
10	Chemical equipment operator and tender Production	$58,040	$27.90	$92,250	High school diploma	139,630
11	Tire builder Production	$57,390	$27.59	$74,680	High school diploma	20,770
12	Welder Production	$53,750	$25.84	$77,530	High school diploma	416,210
13	Engine and other machine assembler Production	$53,710	$25.82	$77,750	High school diploma	34,000
14	Jeweler and precious stone and metal worker Production	$52,540	$25.26	$87,540	High school diploma	22,440
15	Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$51,610	$24.81	$79,750	High school diploma	60,100
16	Semiconductor processing technician Production	$51,430	$24.73	$82,540	High school diploma	31,460
17	Structural metal fabricator and fitter Production	$51,330	$24.68	$72,280	High school diploma	52,360
18	Computer numerically controlled tool operator Production	$50,690	$24.37	$73,890	High school diploma	169,450
19	Paper goods machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$50,270	$24.17	$70,320	High school diploma	96,130
20	Rolling machine setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$50,140	$24.10	$70,310	High school diploma	25,250
21	Dental laboratory technician Production	$49,610	$23.85	$76,940	High school diploma	34,410
22	Mixing and blending machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$48,990	$23.55	$70,200	High school diploma	94,920
23	Prepress technician and worker Production	$48,690	$23.41	$66,080	Certificate	23,840
24	Inspector, tester, sorter, sampler, and weigher Production	$48,570	$23.35	$77,860	High school diploma	597,370
25	Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$48,540	$23.34	$69,240	High school diploma	26,000
26	Coating, painting, and spraying machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$48,250	$23.20	$74,730	High school diploma	158,740
27	Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$47,920	$23.04	$66,540	High school diploma	31,600
28	Extruding and drawing machine setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$47,720	$22.94	$63,710	High school diploma	60,840
29	Multiple machine tool setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$47,180	$22.68	$74,450	High school diploma	124,590
30	Cabinetmaker and bench carpenter Production	$46,680	$22.44	$63,720	High school diploma	77,170
31	Cutting and slicing machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$46,570	$22.39	$61,120	High school diploma	44,980
32	Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$46,550	$22.38	$62,600	High school diploma	67,000
33	Upholsterer Production	$46,340	$22.28	$63,770	High school diploma	20,140
34	Cutting, punching, and press machine setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$46,330	$22.27	$65,510	High school diploma	171,200
35	Molder, shaper, and caster Production	$46,170	$22.20	$61,530	High school diploma	33,190
36	Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assembler Production	$45,850	$22.04	$62,950	High school diploma	246,970
37	Printing press operator Production	$45,780	$22.01	$63,520	High school diploma	144,260
38	Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$45,760	$22.00	$63,450	High school diploma	58,770
39	Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operator and tender Production	$44,810	$21.54	$62,680	No formal education	20,370
40	Miscellaneous assembler and fabricator Production	$44,650	$21.47	$64,880	High school diploma	1,405,030
41	Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$44,350	$21.32	$61,600	High school diploma	150,470
42	Plating machine setter, operator, and tender, metal and plastic Production	$43,960	$21.14	$60,370	High school diploma	32,410
43	Woodworking machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$43,380	$20.86	$56,830	High school diploma	61,420
44	Packaging and filling machine operator and tender Production	$43,220	$20.78	$60,030	High school diploma	379,060
45	Sawing machine setter, operator, and tender, wood Production	$42,770	$20.56	$58,170	High school diploma	40,850
46	Food batchmaker Production	$42,290	$20.33	$58,940	High school diploma	174,520
47	Print binding and finishing worker Production	$42,290	$20.33	$59,150	High school diploma	33,180
48	Food cooking machine operator and tender Production	$41,590	$20.00	$54,410	High school diploma	31,250
49	Butcher and meat cutter Production	$40,140	$19.30	$58,110	No formal education	136,430
50	Slaughterer and meat packer Production	$40,130	$19.29	$51,090	No formal education	69,950
51	Production worker helper Production	$39,070	$18.78	$53,410	High school diploma	165,700
52	Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setter, operator, and tender Production	$38,670	$18.59	$49,420	High school diploma	22,020
53	Meat, poultry, and fish cutter and trimmer Production	$38,300	$18.41	$48,150	No formal education	145,700
54	Baker Production	$37,160	$17.86	$49,020	No formal education	236,200
55	Sewing machine operator Production	$36,670	$17.63	$47,840	No formal education	104,880
56	Presser, textile, garment, and related material Production	$35,060	$16.85	$43,050	No formal education	26,120
57	Laundry and dry-cleaning worker Production	$34,890	$16.78	$43,190	No formal education	198,040

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Game Which job pays more? Guess which of two jobs earns more, keep your streak going, and play the daily 10. Game Guess the Salary Drag the slider to guess what a job pays, score up to 100, and play five new jobs a day. After tax Take-home pay calculator See what any of these salaries leaves after federal and state tax.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published 2026), and Employment Projections education and training assignments (2025). Salaries are yearly medians before tax for wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. The median for all US jobs is $50,980. Jobs with fewer than 20,000 workers nationally are not listed.

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About the Highest Paying Jobs

Highest Paying Jobs ranks 515 US jobs by what they actually pay, using the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025, published 2026). Filter the list by field, by the education a job needs to start, or by a minimum salary, and sort it by median pay, average pay, what the top 10% earn, hourly wage or the number of people in the job. Ready-made rankings answer the common questions: the highest paying jobs without a degree, with only a high school diploma, with an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree, entry-level and trade jobs, the best-paid jobs in healthcare, tech, engineering and ten other fields, and the highest paying jobs in each of the 50 states and Washington DC. Every job links to its own salary page with hourly pay, the full pay range and pay by state.

How to use it

1 Start with the full ranking, or pick a ready-made list such as jobs without a degree, a field or your state.
2 Narrow it down with the field, education and minimum pay filters, or search for a job.
3 Sort by median salary, top 10% pay, hourly wage or most workers.
4 Open any job to see its pay range, hourly and monthly pay and salary in every state.

Frequently asked questions

What is the highest paying manufacturing and production job?

Power plant operator pays the most, with a median salary of $102,040 a year. The top three are power plant operator ($102,040), petroleum pump system operator, refinery operator, and gauger ($96,710), stationary engineer and boiler operator ($78,620).

How many manufacturing and production jobs pay over $100,000?

1 of the 57 manufacturing and production jobs have a median salary of $100,000 or more a year.

Which well-paid manufacturing and production job has the most openings?

First-line supervisor of production and operating workers employs the most people among the best-paid manufacturing and production jobs, with about 673,430 workers and a median salary of $74,450. More people in a job usually means more openings each year.

Which manufacturing and production job pays the most per hour?

Power plant operator has the highest median hourly wage, $49.06 an hour. Some jobs, such as teachers, are paid by the year only and have no hourly figure.

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