Last updated: May 2, 2026

CNC Operator Salary by State 2026

Name: CNC Operator Salary by State 2025-2026
Creator: Manufacturing Lead Generation
License: https://manufacturingleadgeneration.com/terms/

CNC operators keep production moving, but the pay picture changes a lot depending on where the shop sits, how tight the labor market is, and how much setup and troubleshooting the role really owns. In the latest O*NET wage tables for Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators, the published state median runs from $39,870 in Mississippi to $104,120 in Washington.

This resource pulls together every available O*NET local wage page and O*NET state trend page for CNC operators, then organizes the numbers into one place you can actually use. If you're benchmarking compensation, deciding where to expand capacity, recruiting setup talent, or selling into precision manufacturing, this is the cleaner way to compare pay, demand, and hiring pressure. We compiled 435 core data points and 104 source links, and every core number links to the original source page.

CNC operator pay, quick snapshot

$49,970

National median annual pay, O*NET wage tables

177,100

US employment, O*NET national trends panel

-11%

National projected growth through 2034

13,500

Projected annual openings nationwide

National CNC operator salary overview
Top-paying states
Lower-paying states
Fastest-growth states
States with the most openings
Full salary and openings table
How manufacturers should read this data
What actually drives CNC operator pay
A hiring playbook for CNC operator compensation
FAQ
Cite this page
Sources

National CNC operator salary overview

At the national level, CNC operators show up as one of the biggest skilled production roles in machining. The latest wage table shows a median annual wage of $49,970, a 75th percentile wage of $60,980, and a 90th percentile wage of $71,160. Source: O*NET national wage row.

Demand is large, but the long-term trend is mixed. O*NET's national trends panel shows 177,100 CNC operator jobs nationwide, declining to 158,100 over the current projection window, with 13,500 annual job openings still expected because replacement demand is real. Shops still need people who can keep spindles running, load complex jobs cleanly, catch issues early, and hold tolerance under production pressure. For readers comparing salary in United States benchmarks, this is the cleaner public view of what CNC machine operator demand still looks like across the United States of America. Source: O*NET national trends panel.

That matters because a CNC operator is rarely just a button-pusher in a healthy shop. On real floors, these people are checking offsets, watching tool wear, handling first-piece verification, escalating quality issues, and keeping throughput from slipping when the machine mix gets messy. Good operators protect margin. Weak ones create scrap, downtime, and delivery risk. In many shops, the line between CNC operator, CNC machinist, and machinist shifts by job titles, job description, and years of experience, which is one reason generic CNC machinist salaries and machinist salary lists can be misleading.

Across the states with published wage data, the average state median is $51,549. The gap from Mississippi to Washington is $64,250, or about 161%. That spread is big enough to break a one-size-fits-all compensation band, especially if your plant relies on experienced operators who can handle setup-adjacent work.

What this means on the shop floor

Operator pay is tied to output, not just labor cost. When CNC operator coverage is thin, setup crews get interrupted, supervisors spend more time firefighting, and quality escapes show up faster. That is one reason the BLS outlook for machining roles is still worth watching even when the long-term headcount trend looks flat or negative.

Top-paying states for CNC operators

The highest-paying CNC operator markets are not random. Washington, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Maine, and New Jersey all sit high in the current table. Some have aerospace or defense density. Others have thinner labor pools and higher local costs. Either way, the message is the same, employers in these markets pay more because the work is technical and good operators are hard to replace.

There is another pattern here. Several top-paying states do not lead the country in raw openings. They pay more because labor is tighter, specialization is higher, or the local cost structure forces employers to move faster on offers. If your team recruits nationally, these are the states where cheap assumptions break first.

Rank	State	Median annual pay	Projected growth	Annual openings
1	Washington	$104,120	3%	210
2	Massachusetts	$61,820	-11%	100
3	North Dakota	$61,610	10%	20
4	Maine	$59,270	-11%	90
5	New Jersey	$56,750	-2%	170
6	Pennsylvania	$55,610	-7%	950
7	Wisconsin	$55,550	-1%	1,430
8	New Hampshire	$55,450	-3%	240
9	California	$55,250	-6%	1,430
10	Minnesota	$53,840	-3%	360

Washington leads the published table at $104,120. That does not mean every shop in the state pays that level, but it does show where the market is willing to pay up for CNC floor talent. The higher the production complexity and the tighter the available labor pool, the more this table starts to matter.

Lower-paying states still are not always easy hiring markets

The lower end of the table includes Mississippi, New Mexico, Florida, West Virginia, and Utah. On paper, those markets look cheaper. In practice, some are still difficult because the number of experienced operators is small, the local training pipeline is inconsistent, or one big employer can tighten the market fast.

That is the trap in salary benchmarking for machining roles. A lower median wage does not mean abundant labor. It can mean the market is thin, fragmented, or dependent on a small number of plants. Shops that benchmark only on pay and ignore openings, projected growth, or local employment base often end up with long vacancies and missed output targets.

Rank	State	Median annual pay	Projected growth	Annual openings
1	Mississippi	$39,870	10%	130
2	New Mexico	$43,720	0%	10
3	Florida	$45,290	1%	370
4	Utah	$45,880	18%	180
5	West Virginia	$45,900	11%	30
6	Michigan	$46,630	-10%	840
7	Texas	$46,990	-1%	1,120
8	Montana	$47,210	3%	30
9	Idaho	$47,240	11%	80
10	Kansas	$47,540	-5%	200

Why this matters

Mississippi has the lowest published median at $39,870, but that does not automatically make it an easy hiring market. Employers still need to check the local labor base and openings count before assuming the wage table tells the whole story.

Fastest-growth states for CNC operator demand

The fastest-growth states tell you where new operator demand is building fastest. Utah, Idaho, West Virginia, Mississippi, and North Dakota lead the current projections table. Some of those states are growing because of energy, aerospace, medical, contract manufacturing, or regional reshoring activity. Others are simply smaller labor markets where modest plant expansion moves the percentage fast.

Growth is useful because wages often lag. A state can show stronger projected demand before compensation surveys fully catch up. If your comp team waits for older median figures to move, you can lose the first few rounds of hiring in faster-growth markets.

Rank	State	Projected growth	Current employment	Projected employment
1	Utah	18%	1,540	1,810
2	Idaho	11%	710	790
3	West Virginia	11%	310	340
4	Mississippi	10%	1,240	1,360
5	North Dakota	10%	200	220
6	Georgia	8%	1,750	1,890
7	Arizona	5%	2,300	2,410
8	Montana	3%	300	310
9	Oregon	3%	2,350	2,420
10	Washington	3%	2,090	2,160

State growth and openings come from the linked O*NET state trend pages, which pull from the state projections system.

States with the most CNC operator openings

Raw openings tell a different story than growth rates. Wisconsin, California, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania lead on annual openings because they already have large machining and industrial bases. These are the states where replacement demand and expansion demand stack together.

For sales and marketing teams, this is also a practical prospecting list. High openings usually mean more equipment purchases, more training gaps, more quality pressure, and more interest in automation, recruiting support, and operator retention programs.

Rank	State	Annual openings	Current employment	Median annual pay
1	California	1,430	17,700	$55,250
2	Wisconsin	1,430	16,170	$55,550
3	Texas	1,120	12,630	$46,990
4	Ohio	1,100	14,540	$48,100
5	Pennsylvania	950	11,770	$55,610
6	Michigan	840	11,150	$46,630
7	Illinois	820	9,890	$48,010
8	Indiana	620	7,400	$47,690
9	Florida	370	4,040	$45,290
10	Minnesota	360	4,210	$53,840

Full CNC operator salary by state table

Not every state publishes every field for this occupation. Where O*NET does not publish a wage or trend number, the table shows N/A. We kept those states in the table anyway so you can see where the public dataset is thin instead of hiding the gaps. That includes Alaska and several smaller markets where the data collected for this exact occupation is limited.

State	Median annual pay	Employment	Growth	Openings
Alabama	$49,430	2,710	-2%	240
Alaska	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Arizona	$48,650	2,300	5%	230
Arkansas	$48,810	1,670	-6%	140
California	$55,250	17,700	-6%	1,430
Colorado	N/A	1,250	-3%	110
Connecticut	$53,760	3,950	-2%	340
Delaware	$47,670	100	-10%	10
District of Columbia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Florida	$45,290	4,040	1%	370
Georgia	$47,710	1,750	8%	180
Hawaii	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Idaho	$47,240	710	11%	80
Illinois	$48,010	9,890	-5%	820
Indiana	$47,690	7,400	-5%	620
Iowa	$50,250	3,150	-3%	270
Kansas	$47,540	2,360	-5%	200
Kentucky	$47,730	1,590	-3%	140
Louisiana	$50,400	200	-5%	20
Maine	$59,270	1,230	-11%	90
Maryland	$52,000	2,100	-10%	160
Massachusetts	$61,820	1,290	-11%	100
Michigan	$46,630	11,150	-10%	840
Minnesota	$53,840	4,210	-3%	360
Mississippi	$39,870	1,240	10%	130
Missouri	$49,260	3,310	-5%	280
Montana	$47,210	300	3%	30
Nebraska	$50,130	760	-4%	70
Nevada	$50,350	280	-4%	20
New Hampshire	$55,450	2,800	-3%	240
New Jersey	$56,750	1,980	-2%	170
New Mexico	$43,720	60	0%	10
New York	$50,610	4,750	-14%	0
North Carolina	$52,740	3,930	-1%	350
North Dakota	$61,610	200	10%	20
Ohio	$48,100	14,540	-10%	1,100
Oklahoma	$48,820	3,150	-7%	250
Oregon	$51,330	2,350	3%	220
Pennsylvania	$55,610	11,770	-7%	950
Rhode Island	$51,090	440	-5%	40
South Carolina	$49,830	2,910	2%	270
South Dakota	$50,460	1,010	-1%	90
Tennessee	$48,710	2,130	1%	200
Texas	$46,990	12,630	-1%	1,120
Utah	$45,880	1,540	18%	180
Vermont	$52,820	1,390	-6%	120
Virginia	$47,570	2,340	-9%	180
Washington	$104,120	2,090	3%	210
West Virginia	$45,900	310	11%	30
Wisconsin	$55,550	16,170	-1%	1,430
Wyoming	$53,350	80	0%	10

How manufacturers should read this data

If you're hiring CNC operators, use three numbers together, not one. First, look at wage. Second, look at openings. Third, look at local employment base. A state with moderate pay but very few qualified operators can still be a painful market. A state with high pay but deeper local employment may actually be easier to hire in because more talent exists to begin with.

If you're opening a new machining operation, top-employment states like California, Wisconsin, and Ohio deserve a different read than fast-growth states like Utah and Idaho. The first group often gives you a bigger installed labor base. The second may give you momentum, but also faster wage movement and a smaller bench.

If you sell software or services to machine shops, this dataset is useful for market targeting too. States with high employment and high openings usually have more operator pain, more onboarding pressure, and more interest in training, retention, process automation, and quality control tools.

One more caution, public wage data always lags reality a bit. Overtime, shift premiums, weekend coverage, and role-blending can all push real compensation above published medians. In many plants, the strongest CNC operator is also handling light setup, inspection checks, or troubleshooting. The public title does not always capture all of that value.

What actually drives CNC operator pay by state

A lot of salary pages stop at one national number. That misses how the role works in a real plant. CNC operator pay moves with machine complexity, tolerance risk, material mix, shift structure, and how much independent judgment the operator is expected to use. Running a stable repeat job on a simple cell is not the same job as holding close tolerance on a multi-op line with frequent offsets and tool wear checks.

Pay also rises when shops expect more from the operator than just loading parts and hitting cycle start. In stronger markets, operators are watching first-piece quality, flagging fixture issues, adjusting offsets, and helping supervisors keep OEE from slipping. When the role touches quality and throughput directly, a weak hire becomes expensive fast. Shops that want people to earn more usually tie that jump to broader machinery responsibility, setup support, inspection work, or a recognized certification that proves the operator can hold tighter standards.

Industry mix matters too. Aerospace, medical, defense, semiconductor, and precision industrial work tend to pay above generic production rates because scrap costs more and process discipline matters more. That is one reason states like Washington and Massachusetts show up high in this table.

Cost of living matters, but it is not the whole story. Some high-cost states post strong wages because housing and business overhead are higher. At the same time, some lower-cost states still post solid CNC operator pay because the labor pool is tight and advanced machining capacity is concentrated in a small number of employers. Median wage, openings, and employment should be read together.

Timing matters too. When a market starts heating up, employers usually notice longer vacancies and more counteroffers before wage tables fully move. That lag is why fast-growth states deserve extra attention even if the current median still looks manageable. If projections are rising, compensation pressure usually follows.

Three practical pay drivers

Machine and part complexity, especially tight tolerance or hard-to-machine materials.
Role scope, from basic operation to offset adjustment, inspection support, and setup-adjacent work.
Local labor tightness, measured better by openings and employment depth than by wage alone.

A hiring playbook for CNC operator compensation

If you are building a compensation plan, start with the state median but do not stop there. Ask what kind of CNC operator you actually need. A role focused on stable production runs is one market. A role that also owns offsets, first-piece checks, light troubleshooting, or setup assistance is another. Many employers underpay because the title stays the same while the responsibility expands.

It also helps to translate annual numbers into monthly thinking for managers. A national median around $49,970 works out to roughly $4,164 per month before overtime, or about $24 per hour if you want a quick per hour benchmark. If you prefer average salary language, the public table is still better read as a national average range and a pay-per-year anchor instead of a promise for every employer. That is a cleaner budget anchor than guessing from job boards that mix operators, setup techs, machinists, and a CNC programmer into one bucket.

Experience bands matter, but years alone are not enough. Five years on one easy family of parts is different from five years running multiple machines, checking tool wear, managing offsets, and holding tight tolerances across changing jobs. Employers get better results when they benchmark by demonstrated capability instead of tenure alone.

For recruiting teams, the best workflow is simple. Use this page to find the state median, check the local openings number, then ask whether your role sits above or below standard market scope. If your operator also supports setup, quality, or cell troubleshooting, the offer probably needs to sit above the published median.

For industrial marketers, this data is useful because it points to where operator pain is concentrated. High-opening states often create demand for recruiting help, training content, process automation, tool management, inspection systems, and production software. When you know where CNC operator demand is highest, you know where many machine shops are feeling throughput pressure and margin pressure at the same time.

Recommended way to use this dataset

Use state wage data for baseline comp, use openings for urgency, use employment depth for talent availability, and use your actual role scope to set the final offer. That is much more reliable than broad salary estimates from job boards.

The state data also helps explain why candidate expectations vary so much. In some markets, an experienced operator will treat 23 dollars an hour as low for technical work. In tighter specialty markets, the expected rate may be much higher. Those numbers should not be copied blindly, but they are a reminder that hourly conversations need context around machine count, part mix, tolerance risk, and how much independent judgment the role really needs.

FAQ

What is the average CNC operator salary in the US?

The latest national wage panel shows a median annual wage of $49,970 for CNC operators, with a 75th percentile wage of $60,980. If you are searching for average salary, national average, or pay per year figures, this is the strongest public baseline for the role. Source: O*NET wage tables.

Which state pays CNC operators the most?

Among states with published wage data, Washington currently leads with a median annual wage of $104,120. Source: Washington O*NET wage page.

Which states hire the most CNC operators?

Wisconsin, California, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are the biggest openings markets in the current projections table because they already have large machining and industrial bases. If you want to build a career in a full-time CNC role, these states show where the demand for CNC machinists and operator job openings is most visible in public data. Source: O*NET state trends.

Why use O*NET for CNC operator salary by state?

Because O*NET publishes consistent local wage and trend pages for Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators across states. Public manufacturing salary data is messy, and this is one of the cleaner standard occupation series available. It also lines up better with how the Bureau of Labor Statistics structures machining occupations than most scraped salary sites do. If you're asking what a CNC operator make in the U.S., what the hourly wage looks like, or how an operator’s pay changes between entry-level and experienced markets, this dataset is a stronger starting point than generic metropolitan salary pages.

Cite this page

Suggested citation:

Manufacturing Lead Generation. “CNC Operator Salary by State (2025-2026): Pay, Growth & Openings Data.” Updated May 2, 2026. https://manufacturingleadgeneration.com/cnc-operator-salary-by-state/

If you cite a single state figure, link directly to that state's O*NET wage or trend page as well.

Sources

This page uses O*NET local wage pages, O*NET state trend pages, the O*NET occupation summary, and the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. We list every core source below so editors, journalists, and industrial marketers can verify the data quickly.