High paying production jobs in Corpus Christi, TX with no degree

The best paid production occupations in Corpus Christi, TX 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 Corpus Christi, TX run 7.3% below the national average (2024), so a Corpus Christi, TX salary is worth about 1.08× 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 Corpus Christi, TX

OccupationMedian, Corpus Christi, TX · Employed

1Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$91,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,190 – $100,150450
2Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers$78,630
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,750 – $113,140820
3First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$76,560
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,870 – $141,440710
4Machinists$71,590
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,790 – $100,140300
5Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$59,450
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,380 – $76,1201,280
6Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$54,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,100 – $79,730120
7Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$53,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,870 – $80,27080
8Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$48,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,860 – $101,920660
9Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$45,260
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,550 – $59,440190
10Butchers and Meat Cutters$44,000
No formal educational credential
$24,000 – $59,200140
11Production Workers, All Other$41,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,170 – $76,790110
12Food Processing Workers, All Other$38,080
No formal educational credential
$31,010 – $47,81060
13Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$38,020
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,920 – $55,410440
14Helpers--Production Workers$36,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,350 – $50,500300
15Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$36,370
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,610 – $50,580150
16Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$36,270
No formal educational credential
$22,280 – $36,310180
17Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians$30,930
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,960 – $38,92060
18Bakers$30,750
No formal educational credential
$22,750 – $44,520230
19Sewing Machine Operators$30,300
No formal educational credential
$21,390 – $39,270100
20Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$27,960
No formal educational credential
$21,790 – $34,970310

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

#	Occupation	MedianCorpus Christi, TX	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$91,560	$44,190 – $100,150	450
2	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and GaugersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,630	$56,750 – $113,140	820
3	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,560	$41,870 – $141,440	710
4	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,590	$42,790 – $100,140	300
5	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,450	$38,380 – $76,120	1,280
6	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,700	$38,100 – $79,730	120
7	Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,890	$33,870 – $80,270	80
8	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,210	$33,860 – $101,920	660
9	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,260	$32,550 – $59,440	190
10	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$44,000	$24,000 – $59,200	140
11	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$41,490	$26,170 – $76,790	110
12	Food Processing Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$38,080	$31,010 – $47,810	60
13	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,020	$27,920 – $55,410	440
14	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,610	$29,350 – $50,500	300
15	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,370	$29,610 – $50,580	150
16	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNo formal educational credential	$36,270	$22,280 – $36,310	180
17	Ophthalmic Laboratory TechniciansHigh school diploma or equivalent	$30,930	$28,960 – $38,920	60
18	BakersNo formal educational credential	$30,750	$22,750 – $44,520	230
19	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$30,300	$21,390 – $39,270	100
20	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$27,960	$21,790 – $34,970	310

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Corpus Christi, TX. 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 Corpus Christi, TX to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Corpus Christi, TX with no degree

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