Plant and System Operators, All Other · SOC 51-8099

Plant and System Operators, All Other Salary in the Detroit Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area

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

Median annual wage$61,790
Median hourly wage$29.71

Plant and System Operators, All Other in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area earned a median of $61,790 per year ($29.71 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $57,540 at the 10th percentile to $89,710 at the 90th. BLS estimates 90 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Plant and System Operators, All Other in the Detroit metro area earn more than $61,790 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $61,790 and $79,910.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$57,540$61,790$61,790$79,910$89,710
Hourly$27.66$29.71$29.71$38.42$43.13

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.

Download CSV

How this area compares

  • Detroit metro areathis metro area
    $61,790 median for Detroit metro area; middle half earns $61,790 to $79,910
  • Michiganstate (MI)
    $64,690 median for Michigan; middle half earns $61,790 to $80,140
  • $62,470 median for United States; middle half earns $48,900 to $78,480

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

The median here is −4% vs Michigan overall and −1% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$38,020$56,820$75,620$94,420El Paso, TX — $38,020Amarillo, TX — $38,840San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $38,850Tyler, TX — $40,710Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $43,130Jacksonville, FL — $43,810Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $44,020Sherman-Denison, TX — $44,110Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $45,930Greeley, CO — $46,860Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $48,330Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $48,550New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $49,000Longview, TX — $49,180Albuquerque, NM — $49,230Killeen-Temple, TX — $50,190Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $50,720Pittsburgh, PA — $50,840San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $51,210Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $51,980Waco, TX — $52,450Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $53,200Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $53,370Knoxville, TN — $54,910Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $55,790Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $55,830Boulder, CO — $57,500Midland, TX — $60,100Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $60,240Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $60,650Raleigh-Cary, NC — $61,110Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $61,200Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $61,790Colorado Springs, CO — $61,840Rapid City, SD — $62,190Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $62,470Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $64,030Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $66,170Fresno, CA — $67,180Cleveland, OH — $67,340Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $67,390Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $67,760Columbus, OH — $68,690Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $68,850Tulsa, OK — $68,950St. Louis, MO-IL — $69,910Columbia, SC — $70,620Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $70,820Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $71,800Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $72,780Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $73,540Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $77,130Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $77,290San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $77,330Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $78,350New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $78,500Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $80,430Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $80,660Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $81,660Billings, MT — $83,530Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $83,760Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $83,870Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $84,390Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $85,300San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $85,590Duluth, MN-WI — $88,290San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $91,310Reno, NV — $92,870Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $94,420

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 Detroit metro area has the 37th-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”.

Keep exploring

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

Highest-paying metro areas for plant and system operators, all others · Highest-paying occupations in Detroit 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.