Tool and Die Makers · SOC 51-4111

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Tool and Die Makerss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for tool and die makers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (1 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 166 metro areas

Tool and Die Makers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$116,850	1,090	0.5
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$97,560	130	0.1
3	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$87,240	60	0.1
4	Kansas City, MO-KS	$85,740	450	0.4
5	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$85,010	100	0.1
6	Lima, OH	$84,730	70	1.3
7	Wichita, KS	$83,890	440	1.4
8	Lexington-Fayette, KY	$83,510	290	1.0
9	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$82,820	40	0.1
10	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$81,510	250	0.5
11	Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN	$80,060	80	0.8
12	Lincoln, NE	$80,030	130	0.7
13	Portland-South Portland, ME	$79,910	40	0.2
14	Ogden, UT	$79,480	60	0.2
15	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$79,020	60	0.4
16	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$78,960	170	0.4
17	Burlington, NC	$78,140	40	0.7
18	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$78,060	770	1.3
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$78,020	950	0.2
20	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$77,780	260	0.2
21	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$77,620	370	0.1
22	New Haven, CT	$77,410	230	0.8
23	Savannah, GA	$77,040	50	0.3
24	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$76,420	550	3.4
25	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$76,380	660	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Tool and Die Makers 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.