High paying production jobs in Merced, CA with no degree

The best paid production occupations in Merced, CA 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 Merced, CA run 1.7% below the national average (2024), so a Merced, CA 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 Merced, CA

OccupationMedian, Merced, CA · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$78,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,720 – $120,850400
2Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$76,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,720 – $97,180110
3Production Workers, All Other$63,550
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,140 – $68,840160
4Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$61,920
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,410 – $83,140270
5Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$57,250
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,190 – $62,06050
6Printing Press Operators$50,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,740 – $62,32090
7Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$50,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,330 – $62,530310
8Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$49,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,420 – $82,190220
9Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$49,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,490 – $64,00040
10Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$48,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,180 – $70,99060
11Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$47,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,310 – $63,100310
12Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders$47,540
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,460 – $62,98080
13Machinists$47,130
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,500 – $69,15040
14Food Batchmakers$45,760
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,760 – $67,420170
15Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$45,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,060 – $64,010620
16Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$45,130
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,250 – $66,15040
17Bakers$42,900
No formal educational credential
$35,070 – $53,550110
18Food Processing Workers, All Other$42,430
No formal educational credential
$34,320 – $64,76060
19Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders$42,130
No formal educational credential
$37,640 – $56,83060
20Sewing Machine Operators$40,630
No formal educational credential
$37,710 – $47,36030
21Butchers and Meat Cutters$39,130
No formal educational credential
$34,420 – $63,030170
22Helpers--Production Workers$38,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,900 – $58,640140
23Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$36,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,550 – $50,70050
24Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$35,070
No formal educational credential
$34,630 – $43,290370

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

#	Occupation	MedianMerced, CA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,490	$48,720 – $120,850	400
2	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,790	$47,720 – $97,180	110
3	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,550	$35,140 – $68,840	160
4	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,920	$39,410 – $83,140	270
5	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,250	$39,190 – $62,060	50
6	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,640	$37,740 – $62,320	90
7	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,340	$43,330 – $62,530	310
8	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,940	$37,420 – $82,190	220
9	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,200	$44,490 – $64,000	40
10	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,890	$40,180 – $70,990	60
11	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,640	$36,310 – $63,100	310
12	Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,540	$43,460 – $62,980	80
13	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,130	$38,500 – $69,150	40
14	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,760	$37,760 – $67,420	170
15	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,280	$35,060 – $64,010	620
16	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,130	$35,250 – $66,150	40
17	BakersNo formal educational credential	$42,900	$35,070 – $53,550	110
18	Food Processing Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$42,430	$34,320 – $64,760	60
19	Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and TendersNo formal educational credential	$42,130	$37,640 – $56,830	60
20	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$40,630	$37,710 – $47,360	30
21	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$39,130	$34,420 – $63,030	170
22	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,880	$37,900 – $58,640	140
23	Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,820	$36,550 – $50,700	50
24	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNo formal educational credential	$35,070	$34,630 – $43,290	370

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Merced, CA. 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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High paying production jobs in Merced, CA with no degree

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