Production assembler pay, for employers
What production assemblers earn, from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) medians, what one costs to employ, how the job is paid and whether overtime is owed.
Production assembler pay at a glance
- Median a year
- $44,650
- Median an hour
- $21.47
- BLS period
- May 2025
- Federal overtime
- Owed after 40 hours
What production assemblers earn
- National median
- $44,650 a year, $21.47 an hour (May 2025)BLS occupation: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators (SOC 51-2090).BLS publishes production assemblers under Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators; it publishes no separate figure for the narrower job.Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, all industries: annual median, series OEUN000000000000051209013 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, all industries: hourly median, series OEUN000000000000051209008 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- What the median covers
- BLS medians include base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips.They leave out overtime pay; severance pay; shift differentials; nonproduction bonuses; employer cost for supplementary benefits; and tuition reimbursements.The annual figure is the hourly median times 2,080 hours.Source: BLS, May 2025 OEWS Estimates: technical notes (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated August 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Median pay by state
BLS medians for miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators in each state and DC, May 2025.
| State | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $42,700 | $20.53 |
| Alaska | $49,390 | $23.75 |
| Arizona | $45,080 | $21.67 |
| Arkansas | $36,990 | $17.78 |
| California | $47,720 | $22.94 |
| Colorado | $46,150 | $22.19 |
| Connecticut | $45,170 | $21.72 |
| Delaware | $43,770 | $21.04 |
| District of Columbia | $50,330 | $24.20 |
| Florida | $38,410 | $18.46 |
| Georgia | $38,310 | $18.42 |
| Hawaii | $49,630 | $23.86 |
| Idaho | $44,210 | $21.26 |
| Illinois | $44,140 | $21.22 |
| Indiana | $45,550 | $21.90 |
| Iowa | $48,920 | $23.52 |
| Kansas | $45,220 | $21.74 |
| Kentucky | $47,950 | $23.05 |
| Louisiana | $45,070 | $21.67 |
| Maine | $45,970 | $22.10 |
| Maryland | $45,450 | $21.85 |
| Massachusetts | $46,720 | $22.46 |
| Michigan | $44,690 | $21.49 |
| Minnesota | $46,920 | $22.56 |
| Mississippi | $39,070 | $18.79 |
| Missouri | $46,480 | $22.35 |
| Montana | $44,940 | $21.61 |
| Nebraska | $45,470 | $21.86 |
| Nevada | $49,050 | $23.58 |
| New Hampshire | $46,940 | $22.57 |
| New Jersey | $37,620 | $18.09 |
| New Mexico | $39,340 | $18.91 |
| New York | $44,580 | $21.43 |
| North Carolina | $40,330 | $19.39 |
| North Dakota | $47,250 | $22.71 |
| Ohio | $45,720 | $21.98 |
| Oklahoma | $40,600 | $19.52 |
| Oregon | $46,910 | $22.55 |
| Pennsylvania | $44,160 | $21.23 |
| Rhode Island | $40,590 | $19.51 |
| South Carolina | $45,500 | $21.88 |
| South Dakota | $43,240 | $20.79 |
| Tennessee | $44,630 | $21.46 |
| Texas | $38,320 | $18.42 |
| Utah | $44,040 | $21.18 |
| Vermont | $43,980 | $21.14 |
| Virginia | $44,900 | $21.59 |
| Washington | $48,260 | $23.20 |
| West Virginia | $39,850 | $19.16 |
| Wisconsin | $45,670 | $21.96 |
| Wyoming | $40,720 | $19.58 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates (oesm25st.zip) (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated October 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
What one costs to employ
The national median as the year's gross wages, plus your Social Security, Medicare and FUTA. Enter your state unemployment rate and wage base, workers' comp rate, benefits and overhead for your own figure.
One year: a production assembler at the national median, $44,650 (BLS, May 2025)
Employer cost of one employee for calendar year 2026: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $184,500 (2026), 1.45% Medicare, and FUTA at 0.6% of the first $7,000 a year with the full 5.4% credit, plus the state unemployment, workers’ compensation, benefits, and overhead you enter, with all wages subject to FICA and FUTA. It leaves out credit reduction states, pay that FICA or FUTA excludes, such as your health plan contributions, and how the cost spreads across pay periods. Other cases and state law can change the result.
State unemployment rates and wage bases: Payroll tax rates by state
How production assemblers are paid
Each way of paying the job, with the federal rule for its regular rate and overtime. Where the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says how the job is paid, its words are quoted.
- Hourly
- Paid by the hour. When the hourly rate is the only pay, it is the regular rate, and each hour over 40 in the workweek earns half that rate on top.Source: 29 CFR 778.110 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Piece rate
- Production assemblers can be paid per piece or task.The regular rate is the week's piece earnings and other pay divided by all hours worked, and each hour over 40 earns half that rate on top.Source: 29 CFR 778.111 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Overtime
- Owed after 40 hours
- Owed. Production-line workers are not covered by the white-collar exemptions: time and a half after 40 hours, with piece-rate and production bonus pay counted in the regular rate.Federal rule only: a state's overtime law can require more.Source: 29 CFR 541.3 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; 29 CFR 778.111 (opens in a new tab)
Industry and workers' comp
- HCM industry
- Manufacturing: Plants, fabrication, and assembly
- Workers' comp class codes
- No one class code commonly covers production assemblers: the class follows your business and the manual filed in your state.All class codes on Worklio Insurance
WORKLIO HCM
Run payroll for production assemblers in Worklio HCM
Payroll, tax, HR, time, and benefits administration run on one 50-state engine, for companies with 50 to 50,000+ employees. Approve once: hours flow in from time tracking, deductions from benefits, and every pay run posts taxes, filings, comp premiums and the general ledger automatically. For manufacturing: shift premiums applied from time punches, daily and weekly overtime, and kiosk clock-in on shared time clocks.
Other jobs
- Machinist$58,750 a year
- Welder$53,750 a year
- All 41 jobs
Sources
The data series, regulation or document behind each figure and rule, as checked.
- BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, all industries: annual median, series OEUN000000000000051209013 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, all industries: hourly median, series OEUN000000000000051209008 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- BLS, May 2025 OEWS Estimates: technical notes (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated August 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates (oesm25st.zip) (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated October 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- 29 CFR 778.110 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- 29 CFR 778.111 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- 29 CFR 541.3 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Worklio Insurance: workers' comp class codes (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for how you classify and pay each employee.