SALARY DATA — SOC 49-9043
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
49-0000 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations
The 90/10 ratio for Maintenance Workers, Machinery is 2.11× — the national median is $60,850 but top decile earns $88,550. The spread exists; it's concentrated in geography, specialization, and industry sector. Knowing which end of the band you're on is the whole negotiation.
BLS OEWS reference period: May 2025. Employment: 60,020.
Wage distribution — the receipts
National OEWS annual wage percentiles. "vs. median" column shows each percentile relative to the occupation's own national median — this is where your position in the band lives. Source and series IDs: methodology page.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs. median | Hourly (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th pct — bottom decile | $42,000 | -31% | ~$20 |
| 25th pct — lower quartile | $48,920 | -20% | ~$24 |
| Median — 50th pct | $60,850 | — | $29.25/hr |
| Mean — average | $64,610 | +6% | $31.06/hr |
| 75th pct — upper quartile | $75,200 | +24% | ~$36 |
| 90th pct — top decile | $88,550 | +46% | ~$43 |
Source: BLS OEWS national estimates. Annual wage ÷ 2,080 hrs = hourly estimate. Hourly-median is direct from OEWS when available; others are estimates only.
Pay by metro area
BLS publishes May 2025 wage estimates for Maintenance Workers, Machinery in 197 metro areas; the 10 with the most jobs are below, ranked by employment.
| Metro | Jobs | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2,460 | $60,770 | $42,550 | $84,120 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 1,950 | $58,310 | $39,740 | $83,960 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 1,530 | $56,340 | $39,100 | $83,710 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 1,310 | $72,750 | $48,390 | $96,570 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 1,260 | $48,270 | $37,900 | $61,670 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 1,170 | $68,990 | $48,080 | $141,610 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 1,040 | $59,570 | $40,120 | $77,730 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 970 | $157,260 | $54,800 | $157,960 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 940 | $79,410 | $47,610 | $162,980 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 910 | $60,580 | $44,990 | $77,710 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — metropolitan area estimates (oesm25ma/MSA_M2025_dl.xlsx). Jobs are rounded to the nearest ten and exclude the self-employed; a dash means BLS suppressed that percentile.
Pay by industry
Across 107 detailed industries with a publishable estimate, the 5 that employ the most Maintenance Workers, Machinery are below, with the median wage each one pays.
| Industry | NAICS | Jobs | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warehousing and Storage | 493100 | 2,280 | $57,550 |
| Plastics Product Manufacturing | 326100 | 2,090 | $60,840 |
| Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | 423800 | 1,850 | $59,590 |
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 999300 | 1,800 | $63,480 |
| Beverage Manufacturing | 312100 | 1,760 | $83,550 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 — national 4-digit NAICS industry estimates (oesm25in4/nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx), all ownerships combined. Industries where BLS suppresses the wage are omitted rather than shown as zero.
What it pays vs. what it buys
The wage is only half the number. Below, the metro median for Maintenance Workers, Machinery is divided by that metro's BEA Regional Price Parity — the federal measure of what a dollar actually buys there. Nominal is what the job pays. Real is what it buys at local prices. Which reorders the answer: Seattle ranks #15 of 50 on the paycheck and #40 once you spend it.
| Metro | Nominal | Prices | Real | Rank shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville/Jefferson County | $157,260 | 95.0 | $165,614 | — |
| Cincinnati | $79,410 | 99.0 | $80,222 | — |
| San Diego | $74,940 | 99.6 | $75,224 | +1 |
| San Francisco | $79,090 | 106.2 | $74,483 | -1 |
| St. Louis | $71,840 | 98.6 | $72,888 | +2 |
| Sacramento | $73,080 | 100.3 | $72,885 | -1 |
| Raleigh | $67,040 | 98.2 | $68,274 | +3 |
| Kansas City | $63,700 | 93.4 | $68,197 | +14 |
| Nashville | $64,650 | 95.1 | $67,999 | +7 |
| Memphis | $64,470 | 95.4 | $67,587 | +7 |
Top 10 of 50 metros by real wage. Rank shift = places gained or lost against the nominal ranking. Cleveland gains 14 places. Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 metropolitan estimates; BEA Regional Price Parities (national = 100). Metros where BLS suppresses the estimate are omitted rather than shown as zero. Full data at /salaries-metro.json.
Is this job growing or dying?
BLS projects employment in Maintenance Workers, Machinery to move from 59,700 to 58,600 over 2025–2035 — -1.9% , with about 4,400 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted . Typical entry requirement: high school diploma or equivalent.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 (2025–2035). Openings count growth and replacement need together, which is why a shrinking occupation can still hire. Full data at /employment-projections.json.
Salary FAQ
- What is the median salary for Maintenance Workers, Machinery?
- The median annual salary for Maintenance Workers, Machinery is $60,850, and the mean is $64,610 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025).
- What is the salary range for Maintenance Workers, Machinery?
- Most Maintenance Workers, Machinery earn between $42,000 and $88,550 a year. The wage gap inside the occupation is a 2.11× ratio — workers at the 90th percentile earn 2.11 times those at the 10th (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
- Where does pay for Maintenance Workers, Machinery fall the most after adjusting for cost of living?
- Local prices reorder the ranking. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ranks #15 by nominal pay but #40 of 50 metros once local prices are applied (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Is employment for Maintenance Workers, Machinery growing or shrinking?
- BLS projects Maintenance Workers, Machinery employment to shrink 1.9% over the 2025–2035 window, with about 4,400 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035).
- How many Maintenance Workers, Machinery jobs are there in the US?
- BLS counts about 60,020 workers in Maintenance Workers, Machinery nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Figures from this page's OEWS / Employment Projections / BEA data, above. Methodology at /methodology#oews-salaries.
Related occupations
Other Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations whose national median wage is closest to that of Maintenance Workers, Machinery: same SOC major group, nearest median first.
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers $61,010
- Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons $61,290
- Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers $60,070
- Medical Equipment Repairers $61,660
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists $61,770
- Riggers $62,640
- Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers $63,520
- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers $63,890
The national wage distribution and the metro and industry tables above are BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for Maintenance Workers, Machinery (SOC 49-9043): percentiles from the OEWS API series, metro and industry rows from the published bulk tables — how they are fetched, what OEWS leaves out (equity, bonuses, benefits) and how the 90/10 ratio is read are documented at /methodology#oews-salaries and #oews-breakdown. The other sections keep their own sources and periods: the cost-adjusted metro table divides OEWS metro medians by BEA Regional Price Parities (/methodology#burnout-index); the outlook and its FAQ entry are BLS Employment Projections for 2025–2035.
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Raw JSON: /salaries/maintenance-workers-machinery-49-9043.json · License: CC BY 4.0 · Source: BLS OEWS · Cite as: Office Blues OEWS Salary Data, Maintenance Workers, Machinery, officeblues.net/salaries/maintenance-workers-machinery-49-9043
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