High paying production jobs in Burlington, NC with no experience

The best paid production occupations in Burlington, NC that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. 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 Burlington, NC run 6.8% below the national average (2024), so a Burlington, NC salary is worth about 1.07× 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 Burlington, NC

OccupationMedian, Burlington, NC · Employed

1Tool and Die Makers$78,140
Postsecondary nondegree award
$49,390 – $78,14040
2Machinists$56,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,590 – $72,390110
3Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$50,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,810 – $64,790120
4Printing Press Operators$48,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,330 – $67,35090
5Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$47,110
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,080 – $61,07050
6Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$46,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,470 – $58,5901,090
7Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$46,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,990 – $58,990110
8Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$45,310
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,930 – $63,43030
9Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$42,480
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,280 – $51,87070
10Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$39,930
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,100 – $48,15030
11Food Processing Workers, All Other$39,800
No formal educational credential
$36,550 – $47,29050
12Tire Builders$39,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,830 – $46,99040
13Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$38,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,210 – $57,13040
14Butchers and Meat Cutters$37,480
No formal educational credential
$29,990 – $45,45050
15Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood$37,090
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,220 – $48,32040
16Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$36,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,080 – $57,780380
17Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other$36,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,150 – $47,580120
18Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$36,040
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,800 – $46,790130
19Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$35,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,040 – $38,680170
20Bakers$35,950
No formal educational credential
$23,690 – $41,740180
21Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$35,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,820 – $45,48060
22Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders$35,400
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,840 – $44,840110
23Production Workers, All Other$35,140
High school diploma or equivalent
$23,620 – $45,420350
24Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$33,540
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,250 – $43,570240
25Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$30,690
No formal educational credential
$27,510 – $35,930140
26Food Batchmakers$30,470
High school diploma or equivalent
$22,320 – $39,01040
27Sewing Machine Operators$29,570
No formal educational credential
$23,380 – $39,000180

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

#	Occupation	MedianBurlington, NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Tool and Die MakersPostsecondary nondegree award	$78,140	$49,390 – $78,140	40
2	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,460	$37,590 – $72,390	110
3	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$50,740	$38,810 – $64,790	120
4	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,650	$33,330 – $67,350	90
5	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,110	$37,080 – $61,070	50
6	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,650	$30,470 – $58,590	1,090
7	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,530	$36,990 – $58,990	110
8	Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,310	$37,930 – $63,430	30
9	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,480	$35,280 – $51,870	70
10	Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,930	$36,100 – $48,150	30
11	Food Processing Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$39,800	$36,550 – $47,290	50
12	Tire BuildersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,720	$38,830 – $46,990	40
13	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$38,050	$32,210 – $57,130	40
14	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$37,480	$29,990 – $45,450	50
15	Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, WoodHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,090	$35,220 – $48,320	40
16	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,980	$28,080 – $57,780	380
17	Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,380	$26,150 – $47,580	120
18	Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,040	$31,800 – $46,790	130
19	Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,980	$29,040 – $38,680	170
20	BakersNo formal educational credential	$35,950	$23,690 – $41,740	180
21	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,890	$27,820 – $45,480	60
22	Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,400	$30,840 – $44,840	110
23	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,140	$23,620 – $45,420	350
24	Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$33,540	$28,250 – $43,570	240
25	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$30,690	$27,510 – $35,930	140
26	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$30,470	$22,320 – $39,010	40
27	Sewing Machine OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$29,570	$23,380 – $39,000	180

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

High paying production jobs in Burlington, NC with no experience

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