High paying production jobs in Bellingham, WA with no degree

The best paid production occupations in Bellingham, WA that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Bellingham, WA run 3.3% above the national average (2024), so a Bellingham, WA salary is worth about 0.97× 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 Bellingham, WA

OccupationMedian, Bellingham, WA · Employed

1Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers$105,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$82,410 – $112,950380
2Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$81,430
High school diploma or equivalent
$64,150 – $101,30080
3First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$75,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$52,000 – $140,990650
4Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators$73,920
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,230 – $74,88030
5Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$63,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,910 – $80,970320
6Machinists$59,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,330 – $109,980150
7Dental Laboratory Technicians$59,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,810 – $80,67030
8Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$59,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,510 – $67,65030
9Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$55,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,580 – $66,67050
10Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$53,690
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,130 – $83,340100
11Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$51,580
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,370 – $65,04050
12Butchers and Meat Cutters$50,970
No formal educational credential
$37,070 – $62,33090
13Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing$50,220
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,990 – $55,810210
14Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$49,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,280 – $82,790270
15Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers$49,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,440 – $64,17090
16Printing Press Operators$48,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,970 – $65,18040
17Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$48,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,270 – $74,64060
18Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$47,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,880 – $59,730960
19Food Batchmakers$45,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,140 – $52,000310
20Bakers$45,210
No formal educational credential
$36,010 – $56,880240
21Helpers--Production Workers$45,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,500 – $55,25070
22Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood$43,290
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,360 – $59,590110
23Sewing Machine Operators$39,650
No formal educational credential
$37,800 – $51,08050
24Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$39,320
No formal educational credential
$36,580 – $41,920210
25Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$39,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,030 – $46,780370
26Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$38,340
No formal educational credential
$37,830 – $47,260350

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

#	Occupation	MedianBellingham, WA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and GaugersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$105,640	$82,410 – $112,950	380
2	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$81,430	$64,150 – $101,300	80
3	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$75,200	$52,000 – $140,990	650
4	Fiberglass Laminators and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,920	$45,230 – $74,880	30
5	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,720	$49,910 – $80,970	320
6	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,910	$46,330 – $109,980	150
7	Dental Laboratory TechniciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,660	$38,810 – $80,670	30
8	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,380	$41,510 – $67,650	30
9	Cabinetmakers and Bench CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,880	$45,580 – $66,670	50
10	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,690	$42,130 – $83,340	100
11	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,580	$39,370 – $65,040	50
12	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$50,970	$37,070 – $62,330	90
13	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except SawingHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,220	$43,990 – $55,810	210
14	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,230	$40,280 – $82,790	270
15	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and FinishersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,020	$39,440 – $64,170	90
16	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,420	$38,970 – $65,180	40
17	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,280	$38,270 – $74,640	60
18	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,850	$38,880 – $59,730	960
19	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,470	$37,140 – $52,000	310
20	BakersNo formal educational credential	$45,210	$36,010 – $56,880	240
21	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,080	$35,500 – $55,250	70
22	Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, WoodHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,290	$39,360 – $59,590	110
23	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$39,650	$37,800 – $51,080	50
24	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$39,320	$36,580 – $41,920	210
25	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,090	$36,030 – $46,780	370
26	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNo formal educational credential	$38,340	$37,830 – $47,260	350

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

High paying production jobs in Bellingham, WA with no degree

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