Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

51-4041 Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments. Include 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, shop mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area 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)
368,740 1.2 % $16.30 $33,900 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.78 $12.42 $15.91 $19.78 $23.36
Annual Wage (2) $20,340 $25,840 $33,090 $41,140 $48,590

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Machine shops and threaded product mfg. 69,790 $16.01 $33,310 1 83
Metalworking machinery manufacturing 27,300 $16.95 $35,270 2 58
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 18,930 $16.84 $35,020 3 60
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing 15,920 $16.29 $33,880 4 75
Employment services 15,870 $10.85 $22,570 5 150

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Spectator sports 220 $31.38 $65,270 97 1
Natural gas distribution (6) $27.11 $56,400 (6) 2
Power generation and supply 1,000 $26.22 $54,550 55 3
Local government (OES designation) 450 $24.05 $50,020 76 4
Coal mining 50 $23.67 $49,230 128 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Michigan 23,280 $17.87 $37,180 0.537% 353
Ohio 28,100 $16.31 $33,920 0.526% 404
Connecticut 8,520 $17.29 $35,960 0.519% 381
Wisconsin 13,740 $16.94 $35,240 0.511% 360
Indiana 14,250 $16.03 $33,350 0.499% 376

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 90 $26.43 $54,980 0.015% 150
Hawaii 270 $23.02 $47,880 0.049% 154
Alaska 250 $20.68 $43,020 0.086% 230
Delaware 580 $20.31 $42,230 0.144% 187
Washington 5,350 $18.93 $39,370 0.209% 359

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Sheboygan, WI MSA 830 $16.92 $35,200 1.444%
Elmira, NY MSA 550 $15.72 $32,710 1.403%
Decatur, AL MSA 530 $15.03 $31,260 0.999%
Anniston, AL MSA 440 $15.88 $33,030 0.961%
Jackson, MI MSA 540 $16.85 $35,040 0.957%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Honolulu, HI MSA 220 $23.53 $48,950 0.055%
Bremerton, WA PMSA 220 $22.45 $46,700 0.299%
San Jose, CA PMSA 2,470 $21.80 $45,350 0.281%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 1,200 $21.76 $45,250 0.123%
Wilmington-Newark, DE-MD PMSA 430 $21.34 $44,400 0.141%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 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 mean 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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004