Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 51-9193 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$41,330
$19.87/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 Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders is $41,330 per year ($19.87/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $36,379 and $49,546 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $62,338 per year. There are approximately 6,900 cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Operate or tend equipment such as cooling and freezing units, refrigerators, batch freezers, and freezing tunnels, to cool or freeze products, food, blood plasma, and chemicals.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+7.2%
Faster than average
Annual openings
800
per year, on avg
Workforce today
7K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Animal Slaughtering and Processing
NAICS 311600
3K
$39,250
Dairy Product Manufacturing
NAICS 311500
1K
$46,710
Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing
NAICS 311400
670
$40,030
Beverage Manufacturing
NAICS 312100
470
$43,880
Other Food Manufacturing
NAICS 311900
400
$36,090
Wage range across top 5 industries: $36,090 to $46,710 (29% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$16.07
$33,426
P25
$17.49
$36,379
P50MEDIAN
$19.87
$41,330
P75
$23.82
$49,546
P90
$29.97
$62,338
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 cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders salary?
The national median salary for Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders is $41,330 per year ($19.87/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $36,379 and $49,546 annually.
How much do top-earning cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders make?
The 90th percentile salary for Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders is $62,338 per year ($29.97/hr). The 75th percentile is $49,546 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders?
Entry-level Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders (10th percentile) earn approximately $33,426 per year ($16.07/hr). The 25th percentile is $36,379 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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