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Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders · SOC 51-9051

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders Salary in the Birmingham Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Birmingham, AL metro area

Figures describe the Birmingham, AL metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Birmingham city limits.

Median annual wage$57,220
Median hourly wage$27.51

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders in the Birmingham, AL metro area earned a median of $57,220 per year ($27.51 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $42,900 at the 10th percentile to $77,500 at the 90th. BLS estimates 290 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders in the Birmingham metro area earn more than $57,220 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $50,600 and $77,490.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$42,900$50,600$57,220$77,490$77,500
Hourly$20.63$24.33$27.51$37.25$37.26

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Birmingham metro areathis metro area
    $57,220
  • Alabamastate (AL)
    $50,600
  • United Statesnational
    $48,040

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +13% vs Alabama overall and +19% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$34,420$50,227$66,033$81,840Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $34,420Oklahoma City, OK — $34,640Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $36,580Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $38,900San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $40,300Winston-Salem, NC — $40,370Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $40,520Youngstown-Warren, OH — $40,560South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI — $41,500Jackson, MS — $43,540Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $43,700Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $43,850Chattanooga, TN-GA — $43,920Tulsa, OK — $44,340Clarksville, TN-KY — $44,620Macon-Bibb County, GA — $44,760Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $45,170Akron, OH — $45,420Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $45,490Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $45,610Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $45,820Knoxville, TN — $45,820Cleveland, OH — $46,140Columbus, OH — $46,160Rochester, NY — $46,180Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $46,260Elkhart-Goshen, IN — $46,320Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $46,350Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $46,410Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $46,460Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $46,680Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $47,150Jacksonville, FL — $47,530Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $47,600Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $47,650Canton-Massillon, OH — $47,840Columbus, GA-AL — $47,950Tuscaloosa, AL — $48,110Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $48,130Richmond, VA — $48,330Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $48,540Eugene-Springfield, OR — $48,940Pittsburgh, PA — $49,140Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $49,150New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $49,170San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $49,580Medford, OR — $50,750Toledo, OH — $50,960Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $51,170Rome, GA — $51,280Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $52,030St. Louis, MO-IL — $52,430San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $52,830Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $53,090Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $55,400Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $55,470Birmingham, AL — $57,220Montgomery, AL — $57,240Wichita, KS — $57,650Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $58,460Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $58,670Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $60,160Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $61,500Vineland, NJ — $62,910Savannah, GA — $66,390Longview-Kelso, WA — $69,070Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $77,440Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $81,530Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $81,840

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Birmingham metro area has the 13th-highest published median for this occupation among the 69 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • Birmingham metro areathis page
    $57,220
  • Montgomery metro area
    $57,240
  • Tuscaloosa metro area
    $48,110

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$40,170First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$75,760Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$49,930Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$44,290Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$45,270Helpers--Production Workers$36,710

Highest-paying metro areas for furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenderss · Highest-paying occupations in Birmingham Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.