Machinists · SOC 51-4041

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Machinistss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for machinists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 361 metro areas

Machinists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Urban Honolulu, HI	$84,410	250	0.6
2	Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL	$82,690	160	2.9
3	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$80,620	370	3.9
4	Barnstable Town, MA	$77,650	30	0.4
5	Lake Charles, LA	$75,580	280	2.8
6	Anchorage, AK	$75,040	50	0.3
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$74,560	4,250	2.0
8	Bismarck, ND	$74,090	70	1.0
9	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$72,060	4,870	1.8
10	Flagstaff, AZ	$71,620	50	0.7
11	Corpus Christi, TX	$71,590	300	1.6
12	Albany, OR	$71,300	190	4.0
13	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$71,290	120	0.5
14	Duluth, MN-WI	$69,440	330	2.6
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$68,850	620	0.2
16	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$68,060	120	1.0
17	Warner Robins, GA	$68,060	110	1.4
18	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$67,750	1,610	0.7
19	Baton Rouge, LA	$67,700	870	2.1
20	Grand Island, NE	$67,430	90	2.2
21	Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	$67,140	370	1.6
22	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$66,990	550	1.2
23	Bozeman, MT	$66,500	40	0.5
24	St. Joseph, MO-KS	$66,390	80	1.4
25	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$66,280	140	2.7

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Machinists overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.