High paying production jobs in Ames, IA

Every production occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Ames, IA. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single production job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Ames, IA run 11.2% below the national average (2024), so a Ames, IA salary is worth about 1.13× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find production jobs in Ames, IA

OccupationMedian, Ames, IA · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$74,160
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,470 – $99,010300
2Production Workers, All Other$70,690
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,140 – $82,16070
3Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$69,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,340 – $69,09060
4Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$62,300
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,960 – $76,68080
5Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$61,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,100 – $79,010240
6Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$61,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,270 – $88,38070
7Machinists$60,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$53,120 – $74,06060
8Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$58,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,620 – $67,110170
9Prepress Technicians and Workers$54,460
Postsecondary nondegree award
$47,360 – $63,52040
10Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$52,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,970 – $63,590110
11Food Batchmakers$50,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,380 – $60,190110
12Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$49,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,670 – $57,510190
13Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$49,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,940 – $59,840470
14Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$48,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,760 – $56,280280
15Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$47,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,650 – $57,29050
16Printing Press Operators$46,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,330 – $72,720150
17Food Processing Workers, All Other$43,520
No formal educational credential
$29,570 – $48,58050
18Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers$39,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,080 – $51,71090
19Helpers--Production Workers$39,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,270 – $52,43050
20Bakers$36,520
No formal educational credential
$22,360 – $48,61090
21Butchers and Meat Cutters$36,110
No formal educational credential
$31,080 – $42,950160
22Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$34,790
No formal educational credential
$29,750 – $40,45040

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianAmes, IA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,160	$46,470 – $99,010	300
2	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$70,690	$39,140 – $82,160	70
3	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,090	$40,340 – $69,090	60
4	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,300	$46,960 – $76,680	80
5	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,820	$44,100 – $79,010	240
6	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,730	$44,270 – $88,380	70
7	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,200	$53,120 – $74,060	60
8	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,560	$40,620 – $67,110	170
9	Prepress Technicians and WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$54,460	$47,360 – $63,520	40
10	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,020	$33,970 – $63,590	110
11	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,950	$36,380 – $60,190	110
12	Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,670	$46,670 – $57,510	190
13	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,360	$37,940 – $59,840	470
14	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,250	$36,760 – $56,280	280
15	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,330	$39,650 – $57,290	50
16	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,850	$33,330 – $72,720	150
17	Food Processing Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$43,520	$29,570 – $48,580	50
18	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and FinishersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,080	$39,080 – $51,710	90
19	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,070	$30,270 – $52,430	50
20	BakersNo formal educational credential	$36,520	$22,360 – $48,610	90
21	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$36,110	$31,080 – $42,950	160
22	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$34,790	$29,750 – $40,450	40

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Ames, IA. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Ames, IA to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Ames, IA

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