First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers salary
SOC 51-1011 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $47,130
- 25th
- $58,630
- Median
- $74,450
- 75th
- $91,680
- 90th
- $108,750
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where first-line supervisors of production and operating workers earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | $90,390 | 92.7 | 1,470 | 1.21× |
| 2 | Connecticut | $83,150 | 103.6 | 9,150 | 1.25× |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $81,650 | 102.3 | 2,660 | 1.22× |
| 4 | New Jersey | $81,110 | 108.8 | 15,040 | 0.81× |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $80,030 | 109.9 | 350 | 0.11× |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $79,920 | 105.8 | 12,390 | 0.79× |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $79,310 | 104.2 | 3,000 | 1.01× |
| 8 | Washington | $79,310 | 107.0 | 14,500 | 0.94× |
| 9 | Delaware | $79,100 | 99.8 | 1,450 | 0.69× |
| 10 | Maine | $78,970 | 97.0 | 2,970 | 1.07× |
| 11 | Colorado | $78,890 | 103.1 | 9,580 | 0.77× |
| 12 | New York | $78,580 | 107.9 | 20,830 | 0.50× |
| 13 | Minnesota | $78,550 | 98.6 | 13,380 | 1.05× |
| 14 | Maryland | $78,520 | 105.0 | 6,100 | 0.51× |
| 15 | Alaska | $77,960 | 102.4 | 1,110 | 0.79× |
| 16 | Louisiana | $77,520 | 88.2 | 9,350 | 1.12× |
| 17 | South Carolina | $77,500 | 93.7 | 14,570 | 1.46× |
| 18 | California | $76,840 | 110.7 | 48,550 | 0.62× |
| 19 | North Dakota | $76,350 | 89.0 | 1,650 | 0.89× |
| 20 | Vermont | $75,540 | 98.0 | 1,000 | 0.76× |
| 21 | Arizona | $75,330 | 100.7 | 8,720 | 0.62× |
| 22 | Illinois | $75,200 | 100.0 | 29,640 | 1.12× |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $74,990 | 97.6 | 28,900 | 1.10× |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $74,840 | 94.1 | 25,500 | 2.00× |
| 25 | Iowa | $74,750 | 87.8 | 10,130 | 1.50× |
| 26 | Kansas | $74,480 | 90.1 | 7,980 | 1.28× |
| 27 | Virginia | $74,150 | 101.1 | 13,530 | 0.76× |
| 28 | Indiana | $73,950 | 93.3 | 26,870 | 1.94× |
| 29 | Oregon | $73,580 | 103.4 | 8,180 | 0.96× |
| 30 | Missouri | $73,210 | 90.8 | 15,430 | 1.21× |
| 31 | Alabama | $73,060 | 88.8 | 20,670 | 2.26× |
| 32 | South Dakota | $73,040 | 88.6 | 1,930 | 0.97× |
| 33 | Kentucky | $72,490 | 90.2 | 13,820 | 1.60× |
| 34 | Nebraska | $72,200 | 90.1 | 6,040 | 1.36× |
| 35 | Michigan | $72,170 | 96.2 | 26,650 | 1.40× |
| 36 | Ohio | $72,160 | 92.8 | 31,980 | 1.33× |
| 37 | Hawaii | $71,990 | 110.0 | 1,500 | 0.55× |
| 38 | Utah | $71,220 | 98.9 | 9,040 | 1.20× |
| 39 | Idaho | $70,890 | 95.5 | 3,900 | 1.05× |
| 40 | Texas | $70,140 | 97.1 | 58,930 | 0.97× |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $70,000 | 87.8 | 9,570 | 1.29× |
| 42 | North Carolina | $69,640 | 94.3 | 22,240 | 1.04× |
| 43 | Georgia | $69,170 | 96.3 | 26,190 | 1.24× |
| 44 | West Virginia | $68,990 | 89.5 | 3,120 | 1.03× |
| 45 | Montana | $68,760 | 94.6 | 1,860 | 0.84× |
| 46 | Mississippi | $68,720 | 87.0 | 8,230 | 1.63× |
| 47 | Nevada | $68,270 | 100.0 | 3,600 | 0.54× |
| 48 | Tennessee | $65,310 | 91.9 | 18,960 | 1.33× |
| 49 | New Mexico | $64,640 | 92.2 | 2,520 | 0.67× |
| 50 | Florida | $63,950 | 103.4 | 27,710 | 0.64× |
| 51 | Arkansas | $63,090 | 86.9 | 11,000 | 1.95× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where first-line supervisors of production and operating workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for first-line supervisors of production and operating workers
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $115,340 | 105.6 | 500 | 1.23× |
| 2 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | $105,690 | 100.4 | 1,000 | 1.83× |
| 3 | Lexington Park, MD | $99,980 | 100.8 | 130 | 0.43× |
| 4 | Baton Rouge, LA | $95,810 | 90.8 | 2,270 | 1.28× |
| 5 | Lake Charles, LA | $92,560 | 85.9 | 750 | 1.70× |
| 6 | Spartanburg, SC | $92,070 | 91.1 | 2,380 | 3.33× |
| 7 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $91,500 | 115.6 | 5,050 | 0.49× |
| 8 | Decatur, IL | $91,450 | 88.4 | 350 | 1.79× |
| 9 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $89,970 | 110.4 | 2,440 | 0.50× |
| 10 | Paducah, KY-IL | $87,030 | 86.1 | 290 | 1.35× |
| 11 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $87,000 | 99.6 | 1,410 | 0.72× |
| 12 | Fairbanks-College, AK | $85,650 | 103.2 | 70 | 0.46× |
| 13 | Boulder, CO | $84,880 | 105.2 | 950 | 1.14× |
| 14 | Decatur, AL | $84,270 | 87.2 | 950 | 3.57× |
| 15 | Greenville, NC | $84,260 | 88.4 | 300 | 0.86× |
| 16 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $84,160 | 102.7 | 3,880 | 1.49× |
| 17 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $84,010 | 101.6 | 240 | 1.15× |
| 18 | Kokomo, IN | $83,500 | 89.6 | 260 | 1.67× |
| 19 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $82,990 | 106.9 | 1,570 | 0.90× |
| 20 | Portland-South Portland, ME | $82,740 | 101.9 | 1,550 | 1.24× |
| 21 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $82,660 | 108.3 | 8,060 | 0.69× |
| 22 | Billings, MT | $82,280 | 93.5 | 410 | 1.00× |
| 23 | Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | $82,170 | 86.5 | 670 | 2.05× |
| 24 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $82,060 | 97.5 | 440 | 2.47× |
| 25 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $81,790 | 112.6 | 19,220 | 0.47× |
| 26 | Savannah, GA | $81,370 | 95.2 | 1,100 | 1.28× |
| 27 | Gulfport-Biloxi, MS | $81,260 | 90.0 | 1,010 | 1.48× |
| 28 | Barnstable Town, MA | $80,960 | 98.4 | 180 | 0.43× |
| 29 | Yuba City, CA | $80,860 | 104.2 | 130 | 0.61× |
| 30 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $80,860 | 90.0 | 1,290 | 1.83× |
| 31 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $80,700 | 101.1 | 780 | 1.06× |
| 32 | Vallejo, CA | $80,600 | 108.5 | 550 | 0.89× |
| 33 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $80,460 | 111.1 | 6,760 | 0.75× |
| 34 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $80,290 | 100.9 | 360 | 0.69× |
| 35 | Vineland, NJ | $80,260 | 96.0 | 500 | 1.85× |
| 36 | Albany, OR | $80,230 | 102.1 | 460 | 2.24× |
| 37 | Midland, TX | $80,170 | 95.8 | 430 | 0.82× |
| 38 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $79,990 | 101.0 | 1,530 | 0.89× |
| 39 | Brunswick-St. Simons, GA | $79,910 | 87.7 | 190 | 0.92× |
| 40 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $79,860 | 105.8 | 4,520 | 0.65× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where first-line supervisors of production and operating workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.