Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators · SOC 51-8031
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators Salary in the Arizona nonmetropolitan area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Arizona nonmetropolitan area
Figures describe the Arizona nonmetropolitan area, a BLS-defined region outside metropolitan areas — not a single city or town.
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in the Arizona nonmetropolitan area earned a median of $48,960 per year ($23.54 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $36,900 at the 10th percentile to $72,820 at the 90th. BLS estimates 340 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in the Arizona nonmetropolitan area earn more than $48,960 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $46,770 and $61,340.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $36,900 | $46,770 | $48,960 | $61,340 | $72,820 |
| Hourly | $17.74 | $22.49 | $23.54 | $29.49 | $35.01 |
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
- Arizona nonmetropolitan area$48,960 median for Arizona nonmetropolitan area; middle half earns $46,770 to $61,340
- Arizonastate$61,340 median for Arizona; middle half earns $50,130 to $67,200
- United Statesnational$60,020 median for United States; middle half earns $48,040 to $74,780
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is −20% vs Arizona overall and −18% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Other metro areas in Arizona
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Arizona nonmetropolitan areathis page$48,960 median for Arizona nonmetropolitan area; middle half earns $46,770 to $61,340
- $63,660 median for Phoenix metro area; middle half earns $53,000 to $74,050
- $58,680 median for Flagstaff metro area; middle half earns $49,030 to $67,230
- $58,390 median for Tucson metro area; middle half earns $47,640 to $62,570
- $52,570 median for Lake Havasu City metro area; middle half earns $47,470 to $61,010
- $49,730 median for Prescott Valley metro area; middle half earns $47,890 to $64,610
- $49,090 median for Yuma metro area; middle half earns $41,320 to $62,240
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:
Highest-paying metro areas for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operatorss · Highest-paying occupations in Arizona nonmetropolitan area
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.