Millwright Salary by State (2025 BLS Data)

The median millwright salary in the United States is $69,780 per year — a meaningful jump from the prior year’s figures, reflecting sustained demand for precision industrial maintenance work nationwide. But where you work still changes that number dramatically. A journeyman millwright in Washington state earns roughly 50–60% more than one doing identical work in Florida. That gap reflects union contract strength, local industry density, cost of living, and the concentration of manufacturing and energy infrastructure in each state.

This page gives you the BLS May 2025 OEWS wage data for millwrights, broken down by state, with context on what drives the differences and how to use this data to maximize your earning potential.

Millwright National Salary Overview

The BLS May 2025 OEWS data puts the national mean annual wage for millwrights at $69,780, with a median hourly wage of $33.55. That’s up from $65,170 in the prior survey period, a gain of approximately 7% — reflecting the tight labor market for precision industrial workers and strong union contract cycles across the UBC.

The median translates to roughly $69,780 per year on a standard 2,080-hour work year. In practice, many millwrights earn considerably more through overtime and turnaround work — the scheduled plant shutdowns where millwrights can work 60–84 hours a week at premium rates for weeks at a stretch. Annual gross income of $85,000–$110,000 is realistic for experienced journeymen on active turnaround circuits.

Overall employment of millwrights sits at approximately 40,330 nationally (BLS May 2025), and the broader industrial machinery maintenance group is projected to grow 13% from 2024 to 2034 — nearly four times the average for all occupations, with about 54,200 openings projected each year on average across the decade. That demand pressure is one of the structural reasons wages have moved up sharply.

The industries paying millwrights the most are utilities (power generation), oil and gas extraction, and aerospace and defense manufacturing. The industries with the most millwright employment are general manufacturing, paper and packaging, and industrial construction. These don’t always overlap — which matters when you’re choosing where to target your career or your next job search.

The industries paying millwrights the most are utilities (power generation), oil and gas extraction, and aerospace and defense manufacturing. The industries with the most millwright employment are general manufacturing, paper and packaging, and industrial construction. These don’t always overlap — which matters when you’re choosing where to target your job search.

Millwright salary by state — full data table

The table below reflects updated millwright wage estimates by state, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 national data combined with May 2024 state-level distribution patterns. State-level OEWS data from BLS is published for the May 2025 survey at bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm. States are sorted from highest to lowest.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 national data (SOC 49-9044); state-level figures updated proportionally from BLS OEWS May 2024 state distribution. “vs. National Median” column compares to $69,780 national millwright mean annual wage. Verify current state-specific figures at bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm.

Highest-paying states for millwrights

Washington

Washington leads all states at approximately $86,200 mean annual millwright wage, driven by aerospace manufacturing (Boeing’s major production facilities), hydroelectric power infrastructure, and Puget Sound area industrial construction. UBC Millwright locals in western Washington have negotiated strong contracts, and Port of Seattle millwright work pays well above state averages. Washington’s dominance at the top of the rankings has held across multiple BLS survey periods.

New York and Massachusetts

New York ($68,940) and Massachusetts ($68,820) both land near the national median but benefit from strong union contracts in the Northeast industrial corridor and significant utilities and manufacturing sectors. The New York City metro area — with its Con Edison infrastructure, transit facilities, and large industrial complexes in the outer boroughs — is one of the denser millwright markets on the East Coast. Mean wages can exceed state averages substantially for union journeymen in these markets.

Virginia and Maryland

Virginia ($67,810) and Maryland ($66,770) rank well partly due to defense and government contractor presence, including shipbuilding and facilities maintenance at installations like Newport News and the Baltimore industrial port. Both states have active UBC locals with competitive wage scales.

Lowest-paying states for millwrights

Florida ($45,160) remains the lowest-paying state for millwrights by a significant margin — nearly $24,600 below the national mean. This reflects Florida’s industrial mix: relatively little heavy manufacturing and limited union density compared to the industrial Midwest and Northeast. The millwright work that does exist in Florida tends to cluster around port facilities, theme park and resort maintenance, and food processing plants.

West Virginia ($48,780), Kentucky ($49,450), and Louisiana ($50,160) also come in well below average. Louisiana’s figure is somewhat counterintuitive — the state has one of the highest densities of refinery and chemical plant work — but the state average is pulled down by a large non-union workforce. Union millwrights working Gulf Coast turnarounds in Louisiana regularly earn well above the state average shown here.

To get an estimated millwright salary in your specific state, use our skilled trades pay calculator.

Journeyman millwright salary vs. apprentice

The state-level wage data above includes millwrights at all experience levels, which is why averages in some industrial states look lower than you’d expect — they include first- and second-year apprentices pulling down the mean.

Here’s how millwright wages break down by career stage nationally, updated to reflect the May 2025 BLS national wage floor:

Apprentice wages are set by each local union’s collective bargaining agreement as a percentage of the journeyman rate. A first-year apprentice typically earns 50–60% of journeyman scale, with automatic increases each year. By year four, you’re typically at 85–95% of journeyman scale — earning close to $65,000–$70,000 before you’ve even completed your card.

Union vs. non-union millwright wages

Union membership is the single biggest wage lever available to millwrights, especially in the early and mid career. Here’s what the difference looks like in practice:

The fringe benefit package is often overlooked when comparing union vs. non-union wages. Union millwright total compensation — hourly wage plus employer contributions to health insurance, pension, and annuity — often exceeds the raw wage number by 30–40%. A union millwright earning $35/hr may have a total compensation package equivalent to $46–$49/hr when benefits are included.

For a deeper look at the millwright union locals, see our Millwright Union Locals Directory.

What affects your millwright wage

Beyond state and union status, five factors have the most meaningful effect on what you actually earn as a millwright:

Industry. Utilities (power plants) and oil and gas extraction pay the highest millwright wages — these environments demand precision work on high-value, safety-critical equipment and pay accordingly. Millwrights in food processing or general manufacturing typically earn less. When evaluating a job, ask what industry you’re working in, not just what the base rate is.

Specialization. Millwrights with certifications in nuclear work (NMAP qualification), precision laser alignment (API and ISO standards), or vibration analysis (Mobius Institute or ISO category credentials) command premium pay. These skills are in short supply and the equipment they protect is expensive enough that employers pay a significant premium to attract workers who have them.

Overtime and turnarounds. Turnaround work — scheduled maintenance shutdowns at industrial plants — can dramatically increase annual income. Experienced millwrights who position themselves on turnaround circuits can gross $95,000–$115,000 in a strong year through overtime, even at a journeyman base rate.

Geographic flexibility. Millwrights willing to travel — even temporarily — for high-demand projects earn more. Gulf Coast refineries, nuclear plants in the Southeast, and large industrial construction projects in the Midwest regularly draw traveling millwrights who earn turnaround pay on top of their base rate.

Experience and tenure. The earnings curve in millwright work is steeper than most people expect. A 10-year journeyman with documented specialty skills and a strong track record earns materially more than a newly qualified journeyman, even at the same local. Experience at high-complexity sites compounds over time into a durable wage premium.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps

If you’re using this data to decide where to work or whether millwright is the right trade, the salary numbers are just one piece. For the full picture on how to enter the trade, see our complete how to become a millwright guide, which covers the 4-year UBC apprenticeship, journeyman qualification, and specialty certifications in detail.

To see how millwright wages stack up across all major skilled trades, our highest paying trade jobs ranking puts everything in one place with the latest BLS 2025 figures. For a full cross-trade wage comparison from the May 2025 release, see our BLS 2025 skilled trades wages reference. If you’re comparing the trades path against a four-year degree financially, our trade school vs. college breakdown runs the full numbers.

Other skilled trades salary guides:

• Electrician Salary by State
• Plumber Salary by State (Latest BLS Data)
• HVAC Technician Salary by State
• Welder Salary in the US
• Carpenter Salary in the US
• Journeyman Electrician Salary