Do Factory Jobs Still Pay More? Manufacturing Wages vs. All Private-Sector Wages, 1964–2026

"Good factory jobs" is a phrase that shows up in almost every debate about American manufacturing. The assumption behind it is that factory work pays better than the average job. Official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data says the answer depends on whether you measure pay per hour or per week, and on which decade you're looking at.

Do factory jobs pay more than the average job today?

Per hour, no. In September 2026, production and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing earned an average of $30.21 an hour. The same group across all private industries earned $32.60. That puts factory hourly pay about 7.3% below the private-sector average. These figures come from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey, are seasonally adjusted, and are preliminary.

Per week, yes. Factory production workers averaged $1,268.82 a week, versus $1,101.88 for production workers across the private sector, about 15% more. The reason is hours: factory production workers averaged 42.0 hours a week, compared with 33.8 across all private industries.

The pattern is the same when you include managers and professionals. For all employees, manufacturing paid $36.92 an hour versus $37.81 for the private sector, but $1,498.95 a week versus $1,300.66.

How have factory wages compared with other jobs since the 1960s?

ManufacturingAll private industries

September 2026 values are preliminary. Figures are not adjusted for inflation.

Source: BLS CES3000000008 · BLS CES0500000008

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September of	Manufacturing ($/hr)	All private ($/hr)
1965	$2.51	$2.65
1975	$4.78	$4.79
1985	$9.44	$8.80
1995	$12.41	$11.73
2005	$16.60	$16.19
2015	$20.06	$21.09
2025	$29.22	$31.56
2026	$30.21	$32.60

The BLS series for production and nonsupervisory workers goes back decades, so we compared September of each year from 1964 to 2026. Three eras stand out:

1. 1964–1975: factories paid a bit less per hour. In September 1965, factory production workers averaged $2.51 an hour versus $2.65 for the private sector. By 1975 the two were almost equal, $4.78 versus $4.79.
2. 1976–2005: factories paid more. Manufacturing moved ahead in 1976 ($5.20 versus $5.14) and stayed ahead for three decades. The lead was largest in the mid-1980s: in September 1986, factory pay was about 7.4% above the private average. In 1985 it was $9.44 versus $8.80.
3. 2006–2026: factories pay less per hour. The lines crossed again in 2006 ($16.84 versus $16.87). The gap then widened, reaching about 9.4% in September 2022, and has narrowed slightly since, to 7.3% in 2026.

Over the full span from 1990 to 2026, average hourly earnings rose 178% for factory production workers and 217% for all private production workers, in current dollars.

Why do factory workers earn more per week but less per hour?

"Production workers" here means BLS's production and nonsupervisory employees, about four-fifths of private payroll jobs.

Source: BLS CES3000000011, CES0500000011, CES3000000030, CES0500000030

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Group	Weekly earnings ($)
Manufacturing, all employees	$1,498.95
All private, all employees	$1,300.66
Manufacturing, production workers	$1,268.82
All private, production workers	$1,101.88

It comes down to the length of the workweek. Factory jobs are overwhelmingly full time, and many include scheduled overtime. The private-sector average, by contrast, includes millions of part-time jobs in retail, restaurants and other services, which pulls average weekly hours down to 33.8.

So a factory worker earning a little less per hour still takes home more per week by working roughly 8 more hours. That's a real difference for household budgets, but it comes from more time on the job, not a higher hourly rate.

Why did the factory pay advantage disappear?

The BLS data shows when the hourly advantage disappeared, but it doesn't explain why. Explanations economists commonly discuss include:

• A changing private-sector mix. The private average now includes more workers in higher-paying service industries, such as professional and technical services, finance and information.
• Slower factory wage growth. Since 1990, factory hourly pay grew more slowly than the private average, as the numbers above show.
• Shifts within manufacturing itself. Factory employment fell by millions of jobs between 2000 and 2010, and the mix of industries and plants changed. Our manufacturing jobs explainer charts that decline.

These are possible contributing factors, not measured causes. We haven't attempted to estimate how much each one matters.

Does this data include benefits?

No. BLS average hourly earnings include wages, salaries and overtime pay, but not employer-paid benefits such as health insurance, retirement contributions or paid leave. Benefits are a large part of total compensation in many factory jobs, so comparing wages alone doesn't capture total pay.

Keep in mind that these are averages across very different jobs. Pay varies widely by industry, region and skill level, from food processing to aerospace, and averages don't tell you what any particular job pays.

What does this mean for "good factory jobs"?

The numbers support a more precise claim than the slogan. Factory jobs tend to be full-time jobs with long hours, which is why weekly earnings beat the private-sector average by about 15%. But the old hourly wage premium, worth roughly 6–7% through much of the 1980s and early 1990s, has been gone since 2006.

That's useful context for this week's plant announcements, like the 1,500 jobs Carrier plans in Texas, covered in our latest news roundup. The jobs count, but so does the pay.

How can shoppers support American factory workers?

Buying products made in U.S. plants keeps more of the purchase price paying American wages. A few long-running examples from our directory:

Lodge casts iron cookware in Tennessee, Estwing forges hammers in Illinois, and Thorogood makes work boots in Wisconsin. Browse American-made tools and apparel, or see products by state.

About this data

We used BLS Current Employment Statistics series downloaded from the BLS public data API: average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees (CES3000000008, CES0500000008), for all employees (CES3000000003, CES0500000003), average weekly earnings (CES3000000030, CES0500000030, CES3000000011, CES0500000011) and average weekly hours (CES3000000007, CES0500000007). We compared September values, seasonally adjusted, rather than annual averages; percentage gaps are our calculations. September 2026 figures are preliminary and will be revised. Dollar figures are not adjusted for inflation.