Conveyor Operators and Tenders salary

SOC 53-7011 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$42,420

per year, nationally

Middle half

$38,180–$48,530

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

22,930

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-3.4%

2,600 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.

$36,180$59,470

10th: $36,180
25th: $38,180
Median: $42,420
75th: $48,530
90th: $59,470

Getting in

Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential
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 conveyor operators and tenders 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	West Virginia	$62,830	89.5	580	5.59×
2	Iowa	$56,900	87.8	590	2.57×
3	Maryland	$56,120	105.0	30	0.08×
4	Alabama	$55,970	88.8	210	0.67×
5	Louisiana	$54,590	88.2	210	0.73×
6	Wyoming	$52,480	92.7	120	2.94×
7	New Jersey	$50,750	108.8	210	0.33×
8	Utah	$48,620	98.9	140	0.53×
9	North Dakota	$47,770	89.0	80	1.27×
10	Indiana	$46,300	93.3	610	1.29×
11	Pennsylvania	$45,130	97.6	450	0.50×
12	South Dakota	$44,890	88.6	500	7.35×
13	Kentucky	$44,800	90.2	780	2.65×
14	Illinois	$44,290	100.0	480	0.53×
15	Missouri	$44,100	90.8	290	0.68×
16	Washington	$43,480	107.0	640	1.22×
17	Oregon	$43,410	103.4	390	1.36×
18	Nebraska	$43,360	90.1	1,180	7.81×
19	California	$43,150	110.7	2,460	0.91×
20	Massachusetts	$43,150	105.8	170	0.32×
21	Minnesota	$43,000	98.6	460	1.06×
22	Hawaii	$42,880	110.0	—	—
23	New York	$42,670	107.9	720	0.50×
24	Idaho	$40,750	95.5	240	1.90×
25	Texas	$40,650	97.1	2,380	1.15×
26	Georgia	$40,630	96.3	600	0.83×
27	Colorado	$40,480	103.1	370	0.87×
28	Vermont	$40,390	98.0	50	1.21×
29	Kansas	$40,030	90.1	840	3.98×
30	Virginia	$39,840	101.1	820	1.36×
31	Ohio	$39,610	92.8	340	0.42×
32	Wisconsin	$39,550	94.1	450	1.04×
33	Michigan	$39,340	96.2	410	0.63×
34	Arizona	$39,260	100.7	360	0.75×
35	North Carolina	$39,160	94.3	840	1.15×
36	Montana	$38,760	94.6	370	4.91×
37	Nevada	$38,450	100.0	350	1.52×
38	Mississippi	$38,320	87.0	230	1.32×
39	Maine	$38,310	97.0	200	2.13×
40	Tennessee	$38,260	91.9	760	1.58×
41	Florida	$38,190	103.4	470	0.32×
42	South Carolina	$38,020	93.7	440	1.31×
43	Arkansas	$36,940	86.9	300	1.54×
44	Oklahoma	$36,200	87.8	350	1.41×

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 conveyor operators and tenders wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for conveyor operators and tenders

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	Wheeling, WV-OH	$64,160	88.3	160	18.67×
2	Baton Rouge, LA	$63,780	90.8	—	—
3	Merced, CA	$62,970	98.3	40	2.99×
4	Charleston, WV	$62,820	88.7	70	4.43×
5	Paducah, KY-IL	$59,140	86.1	50	6.22×
6	Evansville, IN	$57,780	91.5	30	1.74×
7	Birmingham, AL	$55,110	91.6	80	1.04×
8	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$50,810	115.6	120	0.34×
9	Kansas City, MO-KS	$50,410	92.5	110	0.69×
10	Chattanooga, TN-GA	$49,910	91.5	50	1.16×
11	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$49,680	100.0	40	0.73×
12	Greeley, CO	$48,470	100.2	50	2.98×
13	Wichita, KS	$48,240	88.9	70	1.54×
14	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$47,290	105.1	90	2.05×
15	Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$46,770	86.5	40	3.48×
16	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$45,570	103.6	220	0.33×
17	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$45,400	95.5	90	0.97×
18	York-Hanover, PA	$45,130	96.0	50	1.92×
19	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$44,910	103.1	540	0.90×
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$44,800	111.1	360	1.18×
21	Omaha, NE-IA	$44,650	91.9	170	2.27×
22	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$44,390	95.4	200	1.23×
23	Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$44,160	90.6	90	3.59×
24	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$43,830	112.6	520	0.37×
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$43,390	105.4	300	1.70×
26	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$43,350	93.1	230	2.23×
27	Modesto, CA	$43,230	104.1	40	1.41×
28	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$43,120	108.9	350	0.76×
29	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$42,990	106.4	580	2.31×
30	Lincoln, NE	$42,910	91.6	60	2.12×
31	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$42,670	95.8	40	0.45×
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$42,420	113.6	1,070	1.15×
33	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$41,410	100.9	100	0.80×
34	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$41,140	98.6	470	0.97×
35	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$40,430	105.8	170	0.71×
36	Salinas, CA	$40,280	109.0	50	1.68×
37	St. Louis, MO-IL	$40,210	95.1	160	0.81×
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$40,060	102.6	170	0.41×
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$39,550	97.3	190	0.96×
40	Winston-Salem, NC	$39,360	92.0	50	1.22×

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 conveyor operators and tenders wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

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

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$40,240
Stockers and Order Fillers$37,330
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,420
Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,280
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,830
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$49,690
Crane and Tower Operators$68,080
Machine Feeders and Offbearers$41,220