Pay · 51-9011
Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders earn $58,040 a year at the midpoint
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The lowest tenth are paid about $37,440, the highest tenth about $92,250 — figures from the 2025 federal wage survey.
National figures for chemical equipment operators and tenders, 51-9011, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Chemical equipment operator earnings, from starting pay up to the top 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
A resume for chemical equipment operators and tenders
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Observed safety precautions to prevent fires or explosions.
- Patrolled work areas to detect leaks or equipment malfunctions or to monitor operating conditions.
- Monitored gauges, recording instruments, flowmeters, or products to ensure that specified conditions are maintained.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Chemical equipment operator pay rate, hourly to annual
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Chemical equipment operator wages across the states
The 35 states where the most people do this work, of 47 with a published figure: their medians range by 2.06 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $80,330 | $38,430 | $38,430 — $94,120 | 3,280 |
| Louisiana | $78,580 | $47,480 | $47,480 — $111,210 | 6,430 |
| Washington | $67,300 | $46,420 | $46,420 — $97,130 | 1,720 |
| West Virginia | $66,060 | $44,000 | $44,000 — $93,130 | 1,190 |
| Arkansas | $64,440 | $41,800 | $41,800 — $87,560 | 1,160 |
| Mississippi | $64,360 | $26,240 | $26,240 — $85,520 | 990 |
| Delaware | $63,200 | $50,460 | $50,460 — $82,100 | 1,160 |
| Illinois | $61,940 | $39,210 | $39,210 — $91,600 | 5,580 |
| Tennessee | $60,960 | $36,010 | $36,010 — $74,310 | 3,860 |
| Ohio | $60,550 | $45,450 | $45,450 — $81,840 | 7,830 |
| Texas | $60,150 | $36,230 | $36,230 — $106,230 | 20,880 |
| Virginia | $59,970 | $41,990 | $41,990 — $76,910 | 2,040 |
| Maryland | $59,850 | $39,650 | $39,650 — $78,770 | 1,220 |
| Nebraska | $59,750 | $41,630 | $41,630 — $76,650 | 1,020 |
| California | $58,300 | $42,160 | $42,160 — $80,620 | 5,670 |
| Iowa | $57,550 | $46,330 | $46,330 — $82,120 | 2,010 |
| Kentucky | $57,530 | $39,470 | $39,470 — $91,430 | 3,590 |
| Massachusetts | $56,920 | $41,560 | $41,560 — $77,700 | 2,860 |
| Indiana | $56,800 | $37,680 | $37,680 — $75,550 | 6,240 |
| Pennsylvania | $56,630 | $38,710 | $38,710 — $81,840 | 6,230 |
| Oregon | $56,510 | $43,460 | $43,460 — $81,190 | 950 |
| New Jersey | $56,500 | $35,980 | $35,980 — $79,780 | 8,560 |
| South Carolina | $56,240 | $37,700 | $37,700 — $72,590 | 4,040 |
| Kansas | $54,890 | $35,800 | $35,800 — $76,260 | 1,920 |
| Minnesota | $53,340 | $40,210 | $40,210 — $74,290 | 1,170 |
| Wisconsin | $50,870 | $41,390 | $41,390 — $65,650 | 2,730 |
| Missouri | $50,640 | $36,370 | $36,370 — $76,120 | 2,790 |
| Colorado | $50,370 | $42,630 | $42,630 — $73,620 | 910 |
| Michigan | $50,060 | $38,430 | $38,430 — $80,470 | 5,210 |
| Georgia | $49,660 | $35,700 | $35,700 — $71,000 | 4,330 |
| North Carolina | $49,650 | $38,500 | $38,500 — $72,220 | 5,260 |
| New York | $49,640 | $38,280 | $38,280 — $78,350 | 4,270 |
| Arizona | $45,790 | $34,840 | $34,840 — $75,300 | 1,330 |
| Florida | $44,360 | $30,250 | $30,250 — $69,720 | 4,270 |
| Utah | $39,020 | $34,770 | $34,770 — $62,300 | 2,610 |
Examples
Resumes made for this kind of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
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Place 432 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 45% of the occupations in the survey.
- 430 Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas $58,160
- 431 Audio and Video Technicians $58,100
- 432 Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders $58,040
- 433 Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic $58,000
- 434 Bridge and Lock Tenders $57,700
Questions people often ask
What is a chemical equipment operator’s yearly income?
A chemical equipment operator makes a median of $58,040 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $45,970 and $74,080.
What is a chemical equipment operator’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $27.90 an hour; the average is $60,710 a year.
What is the starting pay for a chemical equipment operator?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $45,970 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $37,440.
Which state pays chemical equipment operators and tenders the most?
Wyoming, with a median of $101,590 a year.
How many people work as chemical equipment operators and tenders?
About 139,630 in the United States — number 432 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays nearly the same
Median pay within $340 of what chemical equipment operators and tenders earn — $58,040 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $220 more Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks $58,260median a year 10th percentile: $39,500 90th percentile: $81,350
- $300 more Insulation Workers, Mechanical $58,340median a year 10th percentile: $42,470 90th percentile: $100,220
- $340 less Bridge and Lock Tenders $57,700median a year 10th percentile: $28,090 90th percentile: $75,360