High paying production jobs in State College, PA

Every production occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in State College, PA. 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 State College, PA run 3.2% below the national average (2024), so a State College, PA salary is worth about 1.03× 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 State College, PA

OccupationMedian, State College, PA · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$66,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,480 – $93,830250
2Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$59,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,740 – $78,020110
3Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$51,030
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,560 – $64,950140
4Machinists$50,900
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,110 – $73,330120
5Production Workers, All Other$46,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,930 – $83,85050
6Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$45,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,330 – $58,590100
7Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$45,130
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,020 – $65,37030
8Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$45,100
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,910 – $60,13050
9Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$44,860
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,610 – $59,740230
10Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$44,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,770 – $58,780390
11Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$44,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $59,85040
12Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers$40,190
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,740 – $50,130350
13Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$39,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,000 – $58,52040
14Butchers and Meat Cutters$39,030
No formal educational credential
$28,770 – $52,80030
15Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$34,390
No formal educational credential
$26,500 – $38,020110
16Bakers$33,140
No formal educational credential
$22,260 – $43,63090

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

#	Occupation	MedianState College, PA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,730	$45,480 – $93,830	250
2	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,990	$47,740 – $78,020	110
3	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,030	$36,560 – $64,950	140
4	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,900	$37,110 – $73,330	120
5	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,750	$32,930 – $83,850	50
6	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,670	$33,330 – $58,590	100
7	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,130	$37,020 – $65,370	30
8	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,100	$36,910 – $60,130	50
9	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,860	$34,610 – $59,740	230
10	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,630	$34,770 – $58,780	390
11	Cabinetmakers and Bench CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,020	$31,200 – $59,850	40
12	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and FinishersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,190	$33,740 – $50,130	350
13	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,940	$33,000 – $58,520	40
14	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$39,030	$28,770 – $52,800	30
15	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$34,390	$26,500 – $38,020	110
16	BakersNo formal educational credential	$33,140	$22,260 – $43,630	90

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in State College, PA. 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 State College, PA to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in State College, PA

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