High paying production jobs in Boulder, CO

Every production occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Boulder, CO. 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 Boulder, CO run 5.2% above the national average (2024), so a Boulder, CO salary is worth about 0.95× 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 Boulder, CO

OccupationMedian, Boulder, CO · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$84,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,770 – $136,490950
2Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$74,270
High school diploma or equivalent
$53,760 – $85,490170
3Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$65,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,350 – $76,200260
4Machinists$63,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,770 – $103,170240
5Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$60,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,670 – $88,420790
6Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$58,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,840 – $83,660120
7Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers$55,220
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,210 – $74,450680
8Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$54,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,450 – $113,66070
9Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$53,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,070 – $84,160310
10Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$51,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,560 – $64,420190
11Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$50,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,440 – $64,950100
12Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing$49,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,060 – $69,48070
13Production Workers, All Other$49,180
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,620 – $68,23070
14Printing Press Operators$48,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,640 – $58,330190
15Food Processing Workers, All Other$48,850
No formal educational credential
$32,020 – $53,82060
16Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$47,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,650 – $62,8401,350
17Butchers and Meat Cutters$46,630
No formal educational credential
$34,730 – $60,600140
18Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$44,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,790 – $62,850100
19Sewing Machine Operators$43,740
No formal educational credential
$37,380 – $50,51070
20Food Batchmakers$43,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,750 – $46,860730
21Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$41,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,160 – $50,390480
22Bakers$40,660
No formal educational credential
$33,560 – $56,780380
23Print Binding and Finishing Workers$39,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,070 – $53,56080
24Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$39,430
No formal educational credential
$37,010 – $46,190160

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

#	Occupation	MedianBoulder, CO	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$84,880	$56,770 – $136,490	950
2	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$74,270	$53,760 – $85,490	170
3	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$65,040	$46,350 – $76,200	260
4	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,990	$48,770 – $103,170	240
5	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,400	$46,670 – $88,420	790
6	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,980	$47,840 – $83,660	120
7	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and FinishersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,220	$45,210 – $74,450	680
8	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,760	$41,450 – $113,660	70
9	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,340	$42,070 – $84,160	310
10	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,230	$43,560 – $64,420	190
11	Cabinetmakers and Bench CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,800	$41,440 – $64,950	100
12	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except SawingHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,860	$44,060 – $69,480	70
13	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,180	$38,620 – $68,230	70
14	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,910	$39,640 – $58,330	190
15	Food Processing Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$48,850	$32,020 – $53,820	60
16	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,610	$39,650 – $62,840	1,350
17	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$46,630	$34,730 – $60,600	140
18	Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,020	$38,790 – $62,850	100
19	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$43,740	$37,380 – $50,510	70
20	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,090	$39,750 – $46,860	730
21	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$41,820	$39,160 – $50,390	480
22	BakersNo formal educational credential	$40,660	$33,560 – $56,780	380
23	Print Binding and Finishing WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,530	$39,070 – $53,560	80
24	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$39,430	$37,010 – $46,190	160

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Boulder, CO. 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 Boulder, CO to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Boulder, CO

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