High paying production jobs in Bowling Green, KY

Every production occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Bowling Green, KY. 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 Bowling Green, KY run 9.8% below the national average (2024), so a Bowling Green, KY salary is worth about 1.11× 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 Bowling Green, KY

OccupationMedian, Bowling Green, KY · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$73,540
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,160 – $104,980690
2Tool and Die Makers$69,790
Postsecondary nondegree award
$49,000 – $83,220180
3Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$60,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,440 – $103,380190
4Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers$58,800
Postsecondary nondegree award
$56,230 – $86,76030
5Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$57,620
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,710 – $60,510220
6Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$56,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,590 – $61,590160
7Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$53,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,710 – $59,820400
8Machinists$51,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,050 – $66,180260
9Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$48,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,410 – $57,290100
10Food Batchmakers$48,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,690 – $55,050310
11Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$46,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,170 – $55,510480
12Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$45,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,520 – $63,92060
13Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$45,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,930 – $57,930240
14Printing Press Operators$45,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,670 – $58,27090
15Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$44,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,570 – $83,470430
16Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$43,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,030 – $60,950660
17Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$42,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,500 – $58,4002,030
18Helpers--Production Workers$40,350
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,350 – $52,010300
19Bakers$33,990
No formal educational credential
$25,500 – $47,100110
20Butchers and Meat Cutters$33,340
No formal educational credential
$22,790 – $45,24060
21Sewing Machine Operators$32,230
No formal educational credential
$26,430 – $46,67050
22Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$28,390
No formal educational credential
$21,880 – $33,64090
23Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials$27,790
No formal educational credential
$24,660 – $31,16050

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

#	Occupation	MedianBowling Green, KY	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,540	$48,160 – $104,980	690
2	Tool and Die MakersPostsecondary nondegree award	$69,790	$49,000 – $83,220	180
3	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,830	$41,440 – $103,380	190
4	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool ProgrammersPostsecondary nondegree award	$58,800	$56,230 – $86,760	30
5	Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,620	$46,710 – $60,510	220
6	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,390	$38,590 – $61,590	160
7	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,630	$42,710 – $59,820	400
8	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,730	$40,050 – $66,180	260
9	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,840	$35,410 – $57,290	100
10	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,670	$34,690 – $55,050	310
11	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,330	$40,170 – $55,510	480
12	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,650	$33,520 – $63,920	60
13	Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,490	$39,930 – $57,930	240
14	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,100	$30,670 – $58,270	90
15	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,790	$29,570 – $83,470	430
16	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,720	$34,030 – $60,950	660
17	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,940	$33,500 – $58,400	2,030
18	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,350	$40,350 – $52,010	300
19	BakersNo formal educational credential	$33,990	$25,500 – $47,100	110
20	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$33,340	$22,790 – $45,240	60
21	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$32,230	$26,430 – $46,670	50
22	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$28,390	$21,880 – $33,640	90
23	Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related MaterialsNo formal educational credential	$27,790	$24,660 – $31,160	50

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Bowling Green, KY. 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 Bowling Green, KY to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Bowling Green, KY

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