Salaries / Machinist
Skilled Trades · SOC 51-4041
Machinist salary
Machinists set up and operate machine tools to produce precision metal parts, often reading blueprints and running CNC equipment.
Median annual
$50,000
Median hourly
$24.00
Typical range
$35,000 to $72,000
Source: National estimate (to be replaced by live BLS data). Figures are gross pay and vary by location, employer, and experience.
The pay range, visually.
Low end (about the 10th percentile), median, and high end (about the 90th percentile).
By state
State figures are estimates derived from the national median and a state wage index, shown to give a rough sense of local differences.
Your skills are a business
Ideas we have for people in skilled trades.
The same experience that earns a paycheck as a machinist can start a business. Here are real ideas from our marketplace that fit this field.
Start an Independent Manufacturer's Rep Agency
Carry several non-competing product lines in one territory and sell them all to the same buyers, earning commission from every manufacturer whose products you move.
Start a Vending Machine Business
Buy machines, place them in the right locations, and collect from routes. Semi-passive once locations are locked in.
Micro-Wedding and Elopement Planning
Plan intimate weddings and elopements for couples who want the magic without the 200-guest machine: venue, vendors, permits, timeline, and a stress-free day for a small, meaningful celebration.
Launch a Physical Product (Idea to Shelf)
Take a product idea from concept to prototype to small-batch manufacturing and real sales, the general playbook behind every physical product brand.
You could hire machinists, not just be one.
We have a staffing calculator to price the work and a full course on how to start a staffing agency, so you can turn a field you already know into a business that puts other people to work.