Helpers--Production Workers salary

SOC 51-9198 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$39,070

per year, nationally

Middle half

$35,220–$45,990

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

165,700

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-8.9%

23,600 openings/yr

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.

$31,140$53,410

10th: $31,140
25th: $35,220
Median: $39,070
75th: $45,990
90th: $53,410

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where helpers--production 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	North Dakota	$46,170	89.0	220	0.49×
2	Montana	$46,110	94.6	220	0.41×
3	Iowa	$45,560	87.8	2,070	1.25×
4	Colorado	$45,550	103.1	1,350	0.44×
5	Washington	$45,450	107.0	3,620	0.96×
6	Oregon	$45,390	103.4	2,420	1.15×
7	Connecticut	$45,260	103.6	1,400	0.77×
8	Wisconsin	$45,100	94.1	2,900	0.92×
9	Nebraska	$45,020	90.1	700	0.64×
10	Minnesota	$44,720	98.6	2,570	0.82×
11	Rhode Island	$44,720	102.3	210	0.39×
12	Maryland	$44,680	105.0	1,650	0.56×
13	Hawaii	$44,380	110.0	230	0.34×
14	Maine	$44,120	97.0	470	0.70×
15	California	$43,970	110.7	16,730	0.86×
16	New York	$43,540	107.9	3,810	0.37×
17	New Hampshire	$42,740	104.2	690	0.94×
18	Alaska	$42,530	102.4	280	0.81×
19	Massachusetts	$42,280	105.8	1,790	0.46×
20	Indiana	$42,210	93.3	2,450	0.72×
21	Kentucky	$42,130	90.2	2,900	1.36×
22	Michigan	$41,660	96.2	3,610	0.77×
23	Illinois	$41,480	100.0	5,210	0.80×
24	Pennsylvania	$41,060	97.6	6,450	1.00×
25	Missouri	$40,580	90.8	6,250	2.00×
26	Wyoming	$40,200	92.7	280	0.93×
27	Nevada	$39,730	100.0	680	0.41×
28	Arizona	$39,680	100.7	1,350	0.39×
29	Ohio	$39,600	92.8	4,280	0.72×
30	Vermont	$39,540	98.0	270	0.84×
31	North Carolina	$39,410	94.3	4,350	0.83×
32	New Jersey	$39,290	108.8	4,450	0.97×
33	West Virginia	$39,190	89.5	670	0.89×
34	Delaware	$38,380	99.8	230	0.44×
35	Tennessee	$38,330	91.9	5,270	1.51×
36	Idaho	$38,240	95.5	1,140	1.25×
37	Florida	$37,950	103.4	5,010	0.47×
38	Virginia	$37,740	101.1	3,900	0.89×
39	Kansas	$37,320	90.1	1,430	0.93×
40	Utah	$37,110	98.9	1,000	0.54×
41	Texas	$36,610	97.1	30,470	2.03×
42	South Carolina	$36,610	93.7	1,950	0.79×
43	Louisiana	$36,400	88.2	3,710	1.80×
44	Georgia	$36,280	96.3	4,480	0.86×
45	Oklahoma	$36,240	87.8	2,200	1.21×
46	Alabama	$35,910	88.8	7,230	3.21×
47	New Mexico	$35,650	92.2	810	0.87×
48	Arkansas	$35,540	86.9	6,760	4.86×
49	Mississippi	$33,880	87.0	3,540	2.85×

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 helpers--production workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for helpers--production 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	Reading, PA	$54,550	97.1	340	1.81×
2	Albany, OR	$52,290	102.1	200	3.88×
3	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$52,050	91.7	200	0.48×
4	Oshkosh-Neenah, WI	$50,480	92.9	290	2.93×
5	Fargo, ND-MN	$50,190	90.9	80	0.53×
6	Fond du Lac, WI	$50,110	91.6	60	1.19×
7	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$49,920	107.8	230	1.05×
8	New Haven, CT	$49,900	104.6	320	1.07×
9	Lewiston, ID-WA	$49,680	91.2	70	2.33×
10	Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI	$49,020	96.0	90	1.05×
11	Pueblo, CO	$48,970	91.8	100	1.45×
12	Wausau, WI	$48,790	92.7	70	0.91×
13	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$48,690	102.7	500	0.78×
14	Green Bay, WI	$48,670	93.1	260	1.40×
15	Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	$48,520	87.1	420	4.70×
16	Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV	$48,470	94.2	420	3.68×
17	Napa, CA	$48,420	112.6	160	1.95×
18	Amarillo, TX	$48,370	91.8	270	2.06×
19	Joplin, MO-KS	$47,850	85.7	350	3.74×
20	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	$47,830	100.9	60	0.49×
21	Duluth, MN-WI	$47,760	88.8	70	0.51×
22	Sheboygan, WI	$47,720	94.0	100	1.56×
23	Ogden, UT	$47,440	100.3	120	0.42×
24	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$47,320	105.1	380	1.22×
25	Peoria, IL	$47,250	91.2	30	0.19×
26	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$47,210	99.6	220	0.47×
27	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$47,120	111.9	1,590	0.97×
28	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$46,980	111.1	2,080	0.94×
29	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$46,710	89.1	110	0.60×
30	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$46,630	103.7	50	0.33×
31	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$46,610	93.1	420	0.57×
32	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$46,460	105.6	50	0.51×
33	Lincoln, NE	$46,430	91.6	140	0.71×
34	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$46,410	95.4	1,170	1.00×
35	Redding, CA	$46,340	100.7	60	0.80×
36	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$46,290	115.6	1,480	0.58×
37	Billings, MT	$46,260	93.5	40	0.40×
38	Rome, GA	$46,240	90.2	100	2.15×
39	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$46,220	105.8	640	0.38×
40	Johnstown, PA	$46,180	85.9	90	1.85×

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 helpers--production workers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.