Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 51-9031 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$38,022
$18.28/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand is $38,022 per year ($18.28/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $34,050 and $47,861 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $57,866 per year. There are approximately 6,060 cutters and trimmers, hand employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-18.1%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
600
per year, on avg
Workforce today
7K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only)
NAICS 3370A1
1K
$47,640
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
780
$34,640
Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing
NAICS 315200
530
$36,300
Animal Slaughtering and Processing
NAICS 311600
220
$48,580
Other Textile Product Mills
NAICS 314900
220
$36,130
Wage range across top 5 industries: $34,640 to $48,580 (40% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$12.80
$26,624
P25
$16.37
$34,050
P50MEDIAN
$18.28
$38,022
P75
$23.01
$47,861
P90
$27.82
$57,866
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · manufacturing sector
Stable
Openings Rate
3.5%
Quits Rate
1.4%
Manufacturing openings ticked up to 462K (+19K) in March, with the rate at 3.5%. Hires rose to 310K. The sector has stabilized after late-2025 softening.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average cutters and trimmers, hand salary?
The national median salary for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand is $38,022 per year ($18.28/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $34,050 and $47,861 annually.
How much do top-earning cutters and trimmers, hand make?
The 90th percentile salary for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand is $57,866 per year ($27.82/hr). The 75th percentile is $47,861 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for cutters and trimmers, hand?
Entry-level Cutters and Trimmers, Hand (10th percentile) earn approximately $26,624 per year ($12.80/hr). The 25th percentile is $34,050 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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