Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

51-4041 Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments. 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.


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)
368,510 1.0 % $19.48 $40,520 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $11.73 $14.99 $18.86 $23.17 $28.49
Annual Wage (2) $24,390 $31,180 $39,220 $48,190 $59,260


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)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing 92,020 27.80 $18.65 $38,780
Employment Services 23,740 0.80 $16.31 $33,920
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing 21,750 13.39 $19.27 $40,080
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 21,590 4.56 $21.62 $44,980
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing 19,950 4.55 $20.29 $42,210

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Machine Shops; Turned Product; and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing 92,020 27.80 $18.65 $38,780
Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing 21,750 13.39 $19.27 $40,080
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing 7,630 8.03 $21.22 $44,130
Industrial Machinery Manufacturing 7,060 6.97 $19.68 $40,920
Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing 15,060 6.45 $19.40 $40,360

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution 130 0.12 $35.72 $74,290
Elementary and Secondary Schools 70 (7) $31.52 $65,560
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 560 0.14 $31.19 $64,880
Local Government (OES Designation) 1,070 0.02 $30.67 $63,790
Spectator Sports 80 0.07 $29.66 $61,690


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)
Texas 30,600 2.97 1.03 $18.71 $38,910
California 29,900 2.13 0.74 $19.98 $41,550
Ohio 28,110 5.65 1.97 $18.70 $38,890
Illinois 25,090 4.50 1.57 $19.27 $40,080
Michigan 24,750 6.46 2.25 $21.10 $43,890




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)
Michigan 24,750 6.46 2.25 $21.10 $43,890
Wisconsin 15,020 5.68 1.98 $19.62 $40,800
Ohio 28,110 5.65 1.97 $18.70 $38,890
Indiana 14,060 5.10 1.77 $18.20 $37,850
Connecticut 8,180 5.08 1.77 $20.46 $42,560




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 220 0.34 0.12 $32.55 $67,710
Hawaii 220 0.37 0.13 $29.45 $61,260
Alaska 150 0.48 0.17 $27.18 $56,530
Washington 4,800 1.77 0.61 $23.96 $49,840
Delaware 510 1.26 0.44 $23.76 $49,430





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-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 14,350 4.01 1.39 $19.95 $41,490
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 12,950 5.08 1.77 $19.49 $40,550
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 8,980 2.35 0.82 $18.05 $37,550
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 8,210 7.91 2.75 $22.95 $47,740
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 7,080 7.24 2.52 $18.37 $38,210
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 6,870 4.01 1.40 $21.35 $44,400
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 5,220 6.54 2.28 $21.17 $44,040
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 5,050 3.65 1.27 $19.78 $41,140
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 4,910 5.07 1.76 $19.30 $40,140
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 4,090 2.00 0.70 $17.89 $37,200




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)
Rockford, IL 2,650 19.12 6.65 $16.74 $34,820
Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 760 13.07 4.55 $19.01 $39,540
Jackson, MI 670 13.01 4.53 $15.96 $33,190
Monroe, MI 450 12.57 4.38 $26.90 $55,960
Odessa, TX 730 11.78 4.10 $19.60 $40,780
Anniston-Oxford, AL 490 10.87 3.78 $19.88 $41,350
Sumter, SC 350 10.66 3.71 $15.14 $31,480
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI 590 10.33 3.60 $14.54 $30,250
Holland-Grand Haven, MI 950 9.50 3.31 $16.16 $33,600
Racine, WI 670 9.30 3.24 $17.36 $36,100




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)
Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 190 2.37 0.82 $30.09 $62,590
Honolulu, HI 200 0.46 0.16 $29.45 $61,260
Lansing-East Lansing, MI 1,260 6.40 2.23 $27.04 $56,240
Monroe, MI 450 12.57 4.38 $26.90 $55,960
Anchorage, AK 60 0.37 0.13 $26.28 $54,670
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 2,570 1.88 0.65 $25.92 $53,910
Peabody, MA NECTA Division 570 5.72 1.99 $25.83 $53,720
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 140 1.22 0.42 $25.31 $52,640
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 180 1.07 0.37 $25.28 $52,580
Portsmouth, NH-ME 150 2.77 0.96 $25.11 $52,240

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)
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 2,640 13.29 4.63 $16.61 $34,560
Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area 2,110 7.94 2.76 $16.54 $34,400
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 2,030 9.20 3.20 $17.75 $36,910
Eastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 1,740 11.12 3.87 $19.03 $39,580
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area 1,580 10.83 3.77 $15.97 $33,220

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)
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 2,640 13.29 4.63 $16.61 $34,560
Eastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 1,740 11.12 3.87 $19.03 $39,580
Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area 1,580 10.83 3.77 $15.97 $33,220
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 2,030 9.20 3.20 $17.75 $36,910
East Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 930 9.11 3.17 $16.70 $34,730

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)
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 60 0.77 0.27 $27.08 $56,320
St. Mary's County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $26.13 $54,360
North Central Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 40 1.61 0.56 $25.58 $53,200
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area 150 3.10 1.08 $24.30 $50,530
South Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 1,120 9.00 3.13 $23.44 $48,760


About May 2011 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 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.

(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 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012