Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Median $44,810
Occupation · SOC 51-3092
Food Batchmakers: pay and where the jobs are
What food batchmakers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$42,290 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $43,750
- Median hourly wage
- $20.33
- Mean hourly wage
- $21.04
- Employment
- 174,520
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 51-3092.
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How much do food batchmakers make?
The median annual wage for food batchmakers was $42,290 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $31,990 and the highest-paid 10% more than $58,940. As an hourly rate, the median is $20.33. About 174,520 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Vermont ($50,180), Idaho ($49,570) and Wisconsin ($48,360). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Iowa.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for food batchmakers looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $31,990 | $15.38 | $2,666 | $2,324 |
| 25th percentile | $36,350 | $17.47 | $3,029 | $2,616 |
| Median | $42,290 | $20.33 | $3,524 | $3,013 |
| 75th percentile | $49,670 | $23.88 | $4,139 | $3,507 |
| 90th percentile | $58,940 | $28.34 | $4,912 | $4,128 |
Food Batchmakers: pay by state
51 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$45,356 take-home in national prices
2
$42,525 take-home in national prices
3
$42,401 take-home in national prices
Where a median food batchmaker paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 1,000 | $50,180 | $36,750 | $62,070 | $41,252 | $42,112 |
| Idaho | 1,700 | $49,570 | $32,980 | $61,230 | $40,491 | $42,401 |
| Wisconsin | 18,040 | $48,360 | $36,990 | $58,880 | $39,541 | $42,023 |
| Iowa | 4,160 | $48,300 | $35,830 | $62,780 | $39,805 | $45,356 |
| Illinois | 12,320 | $48,130 | $34,680 | $61,750 | $38,615 | $38,631 |
| Kentucky | 4,570 | $46,900 | $31,690 | $61,340 | $38,340 | $42,525 |
| Georgia | 4,290 | $46,490 | $28,680 | $58,960 | $37,963 | $39,425 |
| Missouri | 2,280 | $45,690 | $37,340 | $61,560 | $37,682 | $41,492 |
| Colorado | 3,880 | $44,900 | $36,820 | $61,130 | $36,792 | $35,703 |
| Ohio | 7,040 | $44,590 | $31,510 | $59,860 | $37,225 | $40,125 |
| Minnesota | 7,660 | $42,940 | $32,100 | $59,520 | $35,015 | $35,504 |
| Kansas | 3,230 | $42,850 | $32,000 | $62,350 | $35,019 | $38,880 |
| Washington | 5,700 | $42,710 | $36,920 | $58,780 | $35,905 | $33,552 |
| Tennessee | 2,920 | $42,610 | $34,850 | $56,570 | $36,417 | $39,640 |
| Maine | 610 | $42,260 | $36,320 | $56,160 | $34,692 | $35,746 |
| California | 12,560 | $41,670 | $35,700 | $58,010 | $34,471 | $31,133 |
| Utah | 3,250 | $41,390 | $31,840 | $57,610 | $34,260 | $34,653 |
| Nebraska | 1,270 | $41,210 | $31,840 | $54,720 | $34,297 | $38,064 |
| Nevada | 880 | $41,120 | $29,780 | $56,840 | $35,220 | $35,227 |
| Virginia | 2,870 | $41,080 | $31,670 | $56,160 | $33,640 | $33,272 |
| North Dakota | 250 | $40,840 | $35,180 | $51,840 | $34,995 | $39,338 |
| Arizona | 2,300 | $40,550 | $32,190 | $58,370 | $34,142 | $33,912 |
| Maryland | 1,390 | $40,240 | $31,680 | $61,960 | $32,967 | $31,410 |
| Michigan | 5,130 | $40,160 | $31,930 | $62,150 | $32,993 | $34,290 |
| Pennsylvania | 8,160 | $39,920 | $31,370 | $59,310 | $33,002 | $33,823 |
| Oregon | 3,420 | $39,850 | $35,050 | $56,430 | $31,538 | $30,512 |
| Indiana | 5,570 | $39,700 | $30,250 | $58,490 | $32,937 | $35,292 |
| Montana | 170 | $39,630 | $29,030 | $52,000 | $32,917 | $34,779 |
| Rhode Island | 310 | $39,250 | $31,200 | $46,520 | $32,431 | $31,708 |
| South Dakota | 660 | $39,200 | $32,180 | $56,640 | $33,677 | $38,016 |
| Connecticut | 1,460 | $39,110 | $35,960 | $55,870 | $32,124 | $31,005 |
| Alaska | 100 | $39,030 | $34,540 | $56,070 | $33,345 | $32,577 |
| Arkansas | 2,120 | $38,990 | $31,290 | $48,880 | $32,553 | $37,445 |
| New York | 8,460 | $38,470 | $33,040 | $53,560 | $31,413 | $29,107 |
| Wyoming | 100 | $38,430 | $26,960 | $45,560 | $33,059 | $35,665 |
| New Jersey | 3,640 | $38,250 | $32,350 | $56,440 | $31,969 | $29,382 |
| Texas | 13,250 | $37,500 | $22,410 | $53,100 | $32,311 | $33,291 |
| Hawaii | 360 | $37,490 | $30,490 | $49,390 | $30,961 | $28,159 |
| New Hampshire | 190 | $37,470 | $33,630 | $49,150 | $32,287 | $30,996 |
| New Mexico | 450 | $37,390 | $28,990 | $52,640 | $31,582 | $34,250 |
| Delaware | 380 | $37,220 | $31,400 | $59,450 | $30,549 | $30,607 |
| South Carolina | 700 | $37,070 | $28,910 | $52,200 | $31,527 | $33,629 |
| Alabama | 1,280 | $36,980 | $29,110 | $49,740 | $30,397 | $34,222 |
| Massachusetts | 5,100 | $36,880 | $31,200 | $49,360 | $30,019 | $28,385 |
| North Carolina | 3,450 | $36,590 | $29,030 | $51,070 | $30,629 | $32,471 |
| Mississippi | 660 | $36,530 | $32,740 | $48,000 | $30,803 | $35,424 |
| Oklahoma | 930 | $36,320 | $27,060 | $51,260 | $30,274 | $34,464 |
| Florida | 3,670 | $35,500 | $28,680 | $50,090 | $30,704 | $29,691 |
| West Virginia | 70 | $34,660 | $26,100 | $47,630 | $29,155 | $32,576 |
| Louisiana | 530 | $34,620 | $27,630 | $43,530 | $29,345 | $33,268 |
| Puerto Rico | 1,520 | $22,270 | $21,840 | $28,060 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 51-3092. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.