High paying production jobs in Wilmington, NC with no degree

The best paid production occupations in Wilmington, 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 Wilmington, NC run 3.6% below the national average (2024), so a Wilmington, NC salary is worth about 1.04× 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 Wilmington, NC

OccupationMedian, Wilmington, NC · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$72,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,540 – $129,990590
2Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$63,550
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,830 – $63,550100
3Machinists$62,810
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,700 – $79,090180
4Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$60,190
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,960 – $72,900170
5Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$57,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,390 – $86,280370
6Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$56,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,350 – $69,600130
7Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$55,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,390 – $68,640260
8Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$50,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,100 – $58,080130
9Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$47,520
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,050 – $65,400100
10Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$45,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,990 – $62,770180
11Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$38,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$25,230 – $48,650150
12Butchers and Meat Cutters$38,790
No formal educational credential
$31,380 – $51,370150
13Printing Press Operators$38,780
High school diploma or equivalent
$25,900 – $55,78090
14Helpers--Production Workers$38,440
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,720 – $48,61060
15Production Workers, All Other$37,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,740 – $57,590270
16Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$36,640
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,500 – $52,530930
17Bakers$34,430
No formal educational credential
$22,340 – $44,320350
18Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$31,200
No formal educational credential
$27,040 – $34,510230
19Sewing Machine Operators$28,510
No formal educational credential
$27,330 – $43,750110

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

#	Occupation	MedianWilmington, NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$72,310	$42,540 – $129,990	590
2	Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,550	$35,830 – $63,550	100
3	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,810	$38,700 – $79,090	180
4	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,190	$44,960 – $72,900	170
5	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,840	$36,390 – $86,280	370
6	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,990	$48,350 – $69,600	130
7	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,340	$38,390 – $68,640	260
8	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,390	$38,100 – $58,080	130
9	Cabinetmakers and Bench CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,520	$35,050 – $65,400	100
10	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,320	$28,990 – $62,770	180
11	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,850	$25,230 – $48,650	150
12	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$38,790	$31,380 – $51,370	150
13	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,780	$25,900 – $55,780	90
14	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,440	$29,720 – $48,610	60
15	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,940	$29,740 – $57,590	270
16	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,640	$30,500 – $52,530	930
17	BakersNo formal educational credential	$34,430	$22,340 – $44,320	350
18	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$31,200	$27,040 – $34,510	230
19	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$28,510	$27,330 – $43,750	110

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

High paying production jobs in Wilmington, NC with no degree

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