Machinist Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 7,453 US job postings by 2,429 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for machinists: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 7,453 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for machinists in US job postings is $30.00 an hour (2,069 postings from 703 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $25.50 to $34.61 an hour.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $27.00 an hour (260 postings).
- The skills that most set machinist postings apart are micrometers, gd&t, calipers.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Machinist job postings in the US, October 2026
- $30.00/hr
- Median advertised pay (2,069 postings)
- $25.50–$34.61
- Middle 50% of postings
- $27.00/hr
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 7,453
- US job postings from 2,429 employers
How much does a machinist make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $30.00 an hour, from 2,069 US job postings by 703 employers that state pay. That is about $63,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 2,069 US machinist job postings: median $63,000 a year ($30.00 an hour), middle half $54,000 to $75,000.
- Median: $63,000 ($30.00/hr)
- 25th percentile: $54,000
- 75th percentile: $75,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 0.3% |
| $30K–$40K | 2.0% |
| $40K–$50K | 13.7% |
| $50K–$60K | 22.8% |
| $60K–$70K | 27.5% |
| $70K–$80K | 15.7% |
| $80K–$90K | 9.7% |
| $90K–$100K | 2.9% |
| $100K–$110K | 2.0% |
| $110K–$120K | 1.6% |
| $120K–$130K | 0.8% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $30.00 | $25.50–$34.61 | 1,581 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $63,000 | $54K–$75K | 2,069 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Machinists (51-4041) at $59,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a machinist?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $27.00 an hour (260 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $27.00/hr | 260 |
| 2-4 years | $31.25/hr | 732 |
| 5+ years | $35.20/hr | 451 |
Machinist levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 2.9% | 2 years | – |
| No level in title | 89.1% | 3 years | $30.12/hr |
| Level II | 3.5% | 3 years | – |
Highest-paying machinist jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNC Machinist | $30.50/hr | 1,207 | 482 |
Machinist pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $36.00/hr | $29.53–$44.05 | 179 | 8.1% |
| Illinois | $28.00/hr | $24.40–$33.00 | 153 | 6.7% |
Skills employers ask for in machinist job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Attention to detail | 28% |
| Communication | 21% |
| Problem-solving | 18% |
| Work independently | 14% |
| Micrometers | 14% |
| Mechanical aptitude | 12% |
| Gd&t | 11% |
| Calipers | 10% |
| Cnc machining | 8% |
| Precision measuring instruments | 7% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set machinists apart
- Micrometers62.8× as often as in all postings · 14%
- Gd&t42.5× as often as in all postings · 11%
- Calipers54.5× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Cnc machining89.5× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Precision measuring instruments90.6× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Mechanical aptitude16.7× as often as in all postings · 12%
- Cnc machines121.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Mastercam143.7× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Cnc programming124.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Blueprint reading55.8× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Tooling44.5× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Trigonometry56.6× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a machinist job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a machinist do?
Employers post these jobs as CNC Machinist, CNC Operator, CNC Programmer, CNC Machine Operator, Manual Machinist and other titles. The largest specializations are CNC Machinist (59%), CNC Operator (14%), CNC Programmer (9%), Tool & Die Maker (9%), Mold Maker (2%), CNC Lathe Operator (under 1%), Set-Up Technician (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Machinists (51-4041.00). Its most important tasks:
- Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
- Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
- Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers.
- Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations.
- Program computers or electronic instruments, such as numerically controlled machine tools.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a machinist?
Among 3,532 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. 1% say 0 years and 20% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 3,532 US machinist job postings: median 3 years, and 20% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 3% |
| 1 yr | 17% |
| 2 yrs | 25% |
| 3-4 yrs | 28% |
| 5-7 yrs | 23% |
| 8-9 yrs | 2% |
| 10+ yrs | 2% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 99% of the 740 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a machinist: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Machinist | 622 (25.6%) |
| CNC Machinist | 568 (23.4%) |
| CNC Operator | 277 (11.4%) |
| CNC Programmer | 268 (11.0%) |
| CNC Machine Operator | 171 (7.0%) |
| Manual Machinist | 120 (4.9%) |
| Tool & Die Maker | 115 (4.7%) |
| Machinist II | 86 (3.5%) |
| Machinist I | 77 (3.2%) |
| CNC Lathe Machinist | 74 (3.0%) |
| Tool and Die Maker | 71 (2.9%) |
| Tool Maker | 59 (2.4%) |
| CNC Mill Machinist | 54 (2.2%) |
| Mold Maker | 51 (2.1%) |
| Machinist III | 50 (2.1%) |
| CNC Machinist II | 47 (1.9%) |
| CNC Lathe Operator | 44 (1.8%) |
| Tool & Die | 38 (1.6%) |
| Toolmaker | 31 (1.3%) |
| CNC Machinist III | 28 (1.1%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Machinist job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNC Machinist | 1,074 | 568 | $31.04/hr | 3 years | attention to detail, communication, micrometers |
| CNC Operator | 462 | 277 | – | – | attention to detail, communication, problem-solving |
| CNC Programmer | 339 | 268 | – | – | mastercam, cnc programming, communication |
| CNC Machine Operator | 269 | 171 | – | – | attention to detail, communication, work independently |
Machinist compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machinist | $30.00/hr | 3 years | 7,453 | – |
| Quality Inspector | $25.19/hr | 2 years | 7,868 | 14 |
| Manufacturing Technician | $25.00/hr | 2 years | 3,947 | 14 |
| Machine Operator | $21.38/hr | 1 year | 20,043 | 12 |
| Assembler | $21.45/hr | 1 year | 6,799 | 12 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Inspector | 14 | $25.19/hr |
| Manufacturing Technician | 14 | $25.00/hr |
| Machine Operator | 12 | $21.38/hr |
| Assembler | 12 | $21.45/hr |
| Millwright | 13 | – |
| Aircraft Mechanic | 11 | $35.18/hr |
Applying for machinist jobs?
- Machinist resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find machinist jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
What are the machinist levels?
How much does a CNC Machinist make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 18 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.