Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners · SOC 51-4194
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners Salary in the Grand Rapids Metro Area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area
Figures describe the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Grand Rapids city limits.
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI metro area earned a median of $43,470 per year ($20.90 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $35,900 at the 10th percentile to $55,270 at the 90th. BLS estimates 150 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners in the Grand Rapids metro area earn more than $43,470 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $43,470 and $49,920.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $35,900 | $43,470 | $43,470 | $49,920 | $55,270 |
| Hourly | $17.26 | $20.90 | $20.90 | $24.00 | $26.57 |
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.
How this area compares
- Grand Rapids metro areathis metro area$43,470 median for Grand Rapids metro area; middle half earns $43,470 to $49,920
- Michiganstate (MI)$43,470 median for Michigan; middle half earns $43,470 to $55,270
- United Statesnational$50,060 median for United States; middle half earns $40,800 to $62,150
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is about the same vs Michigan overall and −13% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Where this metro sits nationally
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 Grand Rapids metro area has the 19th-highest published median for this occupation among the 21 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 tool grinders, filers, and sharpenerss · Highest-paying occupations in Grand Rapids 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.