High paying production jobs in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC with no degree

The best paid production occupations in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC run 2.4% below the national average (2024), so a Durham-Chapel Hill, NC salary is worth about 1.02× 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

OccupationMedian, Durham-Chapel Hill, NC · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$77,930
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,990 – $111,100980
2Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$61,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,140 – $75,800130
3Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$60,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,400 – $78,270580
4Machinists$50,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,690 – $71,480220
5Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$50,260
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,660 – $65,330630
6Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$49,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,640 – $90,350830
7Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$49,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,670 – $69,020290
8Print Binding and Finishing Workers$49,110
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,120 – $63,770130
9Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$45,930
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,880 – $60,660120
10Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing$45,430
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,980 – $48,310220
11Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers$43,950
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,730 – $57,950460
12Printing Press Operators$43,440
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,670 – $66,710250
13Production Workers, All Other$42,620
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,980 – $66,950810
14Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$41,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,200 – $59,800120
15Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$40,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,260 – $58,410110
16Helpers--Production Workers$40,290
High school diploma or equivalent
$25,650 – $47,730100
17Butchers and Meat Cutters$39,780
No formal educational credential
$28,640 – $55,040160
18Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$39,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,850 – $51,9502,590
19Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$37,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,100 – $49,440120
20Bakers$35,100
No formal educational credential
$21,390 – $44,920470
21Sewing Machine Operators$34,850
No formal educational credential
$28,130 – $44,250320
22Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$34,570
No formal educational credential
$28,430 – $40,330390

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

#	Occupation	MedianDurham-Chapel Hill, NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$77,930	$49,990 – $111,100	980
2	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,360	$47,140 – $75,800	130
3	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,080	$45,400 – $78,270	580
4	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,740	$38,690 – $71,480	220
5	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,260	$32,660 – $65,330	630
6	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,390	$36,640 – $90,350	830
7	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,280	$41,670 – $69,020	290
8	Print Binding and Finishing WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,110	$37,120 – $63,770	130
9	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,930	$38,880 – $60,660	120
10	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except SawingHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,430	$36,980 – $48,310	220
11	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and FinishersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,950	$26,730 – $57,950	460
12	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,440	$35,670 – $66,710	250
13	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,620	$30,980 – $66,950	810
14	Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$41,210	$36,200 – $59,800	120
15	Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,820	$29,260 – $58,410	110
16	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,290	$25,650 – $47,730	100
17	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$39,780	$28,640 – $55,040	160
18	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,000	$35,850 – $51,950	2,590
19	Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,650	$29,100 – $49,440	120
20	BakersNo formal educational credential	$35,100	$21,390 – $44,920	470
21	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$34,850	$28,130 – $44,250	320
22	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$34,570	$28,430 – $40,330	390

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC. 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC with no degree

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