Packers and Packagers, Hand Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 53-7064 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$36,275
$17.44/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 Packers and Packagers, Hand is $36,275 per year ($17.44/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $32,219 and $43,056 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $47,112 per year. There are approximately 559,820 packers and packagers, hand employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-5.4%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
74K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
592K
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
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
94K
$34,320
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)
NAICS 4450A1
89K
$29,210
Warehousing and Storage
NAICS 493100
74K
$43,970
General Merchandise Retailers
NAICS 455000
42K
$43,290
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)
NAICS 4240A1
19K
$36,700
Wage range across top 5 industries: $29,210 to $43,970 (51% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$13.41
$27,893
P25
$15.49
$32,219
P50MEDIAN
$17.44
$36,275
P75
$20.70
$43,056
P90
$22.65
$47,112
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average packers and packagers, hand salary?
The national median salary for Packers and Packagers, Hand is $36,275 per year ($17.44/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $32,219 and $43,056 annually.
How much do top-earning packers and packagers, hand make?
The 90th percentile salary for Packers and Packagers, Hand is $47,112 per year ($22.65/hr). The 75th percentile is $43,056 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for packers and packagers, hand?
Entry-level Packers and Packagers, Hand (10th percentile) earn approximately $27,893 per year ($13.41/hr). The 25th percentile is $32,219 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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