Production Worker Salaries: Manufacturing Wages by State

Production occupations — assemblers, fabricators, machine operators, welders, and quality control workers — form the backbone of U.S. manufacturing. BLS OEWS data shows production wages spanning a wide range depending on the industry, skill level required, and union status.

Production Occupation Tiers

The Production Occupations group in BLS data includes a range of skill levels and wages. Precision instrument makers, semiconductor process technicians, and aircraft assemblers earn at the high end. Generic assemblers and hand packagers earn near the lower end.

Industry Drives Pay More Than Geography

For production workers, the industry is often more important than state. Semiconductor fabrication, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and aerospace assembly pay substantially more than food processing or textile manufacturing in the same state.

Union Production Workers

UAW-represented automotive assemblers, IAM aerospace workers, and USW steelworkers earn wages that reflect decades of collective bargaining — often 20–40% above non-union counterparts for equivalent work. Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois have the strongest union density for production occupations.

Highest-Paying States

Washington (aerospace), California (defense, semiconductor), and Alaska consistently rank among the top-paying states for production workers.