High paying production jobs in Owensboro, KY

Every production occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Owensboro, 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 Owensboro, KY run 11.4% below the national average (2024), so a Owensboro, KY 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 Owensboro, KY

OccupationMedian, Owensboro, KY · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$69,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,950 – $100,640360
2Tool and Die Makers$63,720
Postsecondary nondegree award
$36,370 – $70,08080
3Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$63,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,100 – $65,28060
4Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$61,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,320 – $64,300980
5Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$57,810
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,680 – $75,87070
6Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$51,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,160 – $60,170410
7Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$49,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,140 – $63,590320
8Machinists$47,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,410 – $75,24090
9Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$44,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,190 – $60,97030
10Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$44,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,790 – $81,33030
11Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$39,970
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,760 – $51,830170
12Helpers--Production Workers$38,150
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,820 – $42,23080
13Food Batchmakers$37,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,090 – $63,400370
14Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$36,430
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,280 – $48,15060
15Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$36,030
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,450 – $54,180380
16Butchers and Meat Cutters$35,370
No formal educational credential
$22,770 – $44,69050
17Production Workers, All Other$33,430
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,450 – $42,46060
18Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$27,500
No formal educational credential
$23,570 – $39,42040
19Sewing Machine Operators$25,980
No formal educational credential
$22,690 – $34,790150

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

#	Occupation	MedianOwensboro, KY	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,320	$45,950 – $100,640	360
2	Tool and Die MakersPostsecondary nondegree award	$63,720	$36,370 – $70,080	80
3	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,700	$47,100 – $65,280	60
4	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,250	$42,320 – $64,300	980
5	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,810	$31,680 – $75,870	70
6	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,700	$40,160 – $60,170	410
7	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,390	$34,140 – $63,590	320
8	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,170	$38,410 – $75,240	90
9	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,820	$37,190 – $60,970	30
10	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,340	$33,790 – $81,330	30
11	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,970	$29,760 – $51,830	170
12	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,150	$33,820 – $42,230	80
13	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,090	$29,090 – $63,400	370
14	Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,430	$28,280 – $48,150	60
15	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,030	$30,450 – $54,180	380
16	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$35,370	$22,770 – $44,690	50
17	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$33,430	$29,450 – $42,460	60
18	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$27,500	$23,570 – $39,420	40
19	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$25,980	$22,690 – $34,790	150

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

High paying production jobs in Owensboro, KY

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