Skilled Wages

Millwright salary: what millwrights actually make

Millwrights earned a median $31.59 an hour ($65,700 a year) in May 2025, across 40,330 jobs in the BLS employer survey. Pay by state and metro, the 20-year trend, and the union scale contractors must pay on federal work.

$31.59/hrMedian hourly wageUnited States, May data
$65,700/yrMedian annual payfull-time equivalent
$22.25 – $45.0010th to 90th percentilehourly range
40,330Jobs countedemployer survey

Data compiled by Skilled WagesBLS OEWS May 2025; prevailing wage as of 2026-11-06

How much do millwrights make?

The median millwright earned $31.59 an hour, or $65,700 a year, in May 2025 according to the BLS employer survey of 40,330 jobs. Half earn more and half earn less; the middle 50% earn between $27.11 and $39.18 an hour.

Wage percentiles, United States$20$30$40$50/hrUnited States: 10th $22.25 · 25th $27.11 · median $31.59 · 75th $39.18 · 90th $45.00United States$31.59$22.25$45.00
Hourly wage percentiles for millwrights, May 2025. The bar spans the 25th–75th percentile; the line spans the 10th–90th.

The middle half of millwrights earn between $27.11 and $39.18 an hour. The top 10% earn more than $45.00 ($93,600 a year); the bottom 10% earn less than $22.25. The top 10% earn 2.0× what the bottom 10% earn.

Apprentice, journeyman and master millwright pay

Pay tracks licence and experience: an apprentice or entry-level millwright earns near the bottom of the range, a journeyman around the median, and a master millwright, foreman or specialist in the top quarter. The union pay scale (journeyman base plus fringe) for every county is in the prevailing-wage section.

Career stage (approximate)HourlyAnnualWhere it sits in the distribution
Apprentice / entry level$22.25 – $27.11$46,290 – $56,390roughly the 10th to 25th percentile
Journeyman$27.11 – $39.18$56,390 – $81,500the middle half, around the median
Master, foreman or specialist$39.18 – $45.00$81,500 – $93,600the 75th to 90th percentile and above

Career-stage bands are an approximate reading of the wage distribution, not a BLS classification or licence requirement.

Millwright pay by state

Median hourly wage, millwrightsAK: $36.99AKAL: $29.52ALAR: $27.07ARAZ: $27.59AZCA: $37.48CACO: $39.15COCT: $36.93DC: n/aDE: $28.25FL: $29.81FLGA: $30.17GAHI: n/aHIIA: $29.91IAID: $31.11IDIL: $32.04ILIN: $37.09INKS: $38.31KSKY: $33.95KYLA: $31.77LAMA: $31.36MD: $28.47ME: $32.80MEMI: $42.88MIMN: $37.77MNMO: $31.96MOMS: $28.02MSMT: $28.87MTNC: $30.29NCND: $29.21NDNE: $29.00NENH: $36.63NJ: $51.70NM: $43.38NMNV: $30.31NVNY: $38.25NYOH: $35.20OHOK: $24.50OKOR: $33.99ORPA: $30.96PARI: n/aSC: $29.66SCSD: $29.72SDTN: $29.72TNTX: $30.11TXUT: $30.31UTVA: $24.73VAVT: $30.86WA: $36.77WAWI: $39.73WIWV: $32.34WVWY: $30.18WYSmall statesCT $36.93DC —DE $28.25MA $31.36MD $28.47NH $36.63NJ $51.70RI —VT $30.86Median hourly wage, millwrights$29.33$30.27$32.10$37.05n/a
Median hourly wage for millwrights by state, May 2025. Click a state for its page.
Table
StateMedian $/hrvs US
New Jersey$51.7064% above
New Mexico$43.3837% above
Michigan$42.8836% above
Wisconsin$39.7326% above
Colorado$39.1524% above
Kansas$38.3121% above
New York$38.2521% above
Minnesota$37.7720% above
California$37.4819% above
Indiana$37.0917% above
Alaska$36.9917% above
Connecticut$36.9317% above
Washington$36.7716% above
New Hampshire$36.6316% above
Ohio$35.2011% above
Oregon$33.998% above
Kentucky$33.957% above
Maine$32.804% above
West Virginia$32.342% above
Illinois$32.041% above
Missouri$31.961% above
Louisiana$31.771% above
Massachusetts$31.361% below
Idaho$31.112% below
Pennsylvania$30.962% below
Vermont$30.862% below
Nevada$30.314% below
Utah$30.314% below
North Carolina$30.294% below
Wyoming$30.184% below
Georgia$30.174% below
Texas$30.115% below
Iowa$29.915% below
Florida$29.816% below
South Dakota$29.726% below
Tennessee$29.726% below
South Carolina$29.666% below
Alabama$29.527% below
North Dakota$29.218% below
Nebraska$29.008% below
Montana$28.879% below
Maryland$28.4710% below
Delaware$28.2511% below
Mississippi$28.0211% below
Arizona$27.5913% below
Arkansas$27.0714% below
Virginia$24.7322% below
Oklahoma$24.5022% below
StateMedian $/hrCost-of-living adjustedAdjusted rankJobs
New Jersey$51.70$47.52#1340
New Mexico$43.38$47.05#260
Michigan$42.88$44.57#32,900
Wisconsin$39.73$42.22#51,220
Colorado$39.15$37.97#8200
Kansas$38.31$42.52#4840
New York$38.25$35.45#151,000
Minnesota$37.77$38.31#7480
California$37.48$33.86#202,230
Indiana$37.09$39.75#61,760
Alaska$36.99$36.12#12300
Connecticut$36.93$35.65#14110

Millwright wages over time

Median, nominal, 1999-2025Median, nominalMedian in 2025 dollarsSOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages$10$20$30$40200020052010201520202025$31.59Median, nominal$31.59Median in 2025 dollars
Median hourly wage for millwrights, 1999–2025, nominal and adjusted to 2025 dollars with CPI-U. BLS cautions against strict time-series use of OEWS: methods changed in 2021 and wage recording in 2022.
Table
YearNominal $/hrIn 2025 $Jobs
1999$18.76$36.2580,390
2000$19.33$36.1475,940
2001$20.18$36.6869,800
2002$20.19$36.1367,900
2003$20.38$35.6664,910
2004$21.02$35.8257,050
2005$21.53$35.4953,080
2006$21.94$35.0453,320
2007$22.16$34.4149,360
2008$22.87$34.2046,250
2009$23.14$34.7241,640
2010$23.25$34.3336,670
2011$23.69$33.9137,730
2012$23.80$33.3738,050
2013$24.05$33.2438,680
2014$24.26$32.9939,290
2015$24.71$33.5640,030
2016$25.21$33.8239,670
2017$25.95$34.0841,360
2018$26.47$33.9443,810
2019$26.71$33.6447,320
2020$27.53$34.2544,400
2021$29.00$34.4639,240
2022$29.29$32.2240,930
2023$30.28$31.9937,930
2024$31.33$32.1540,660
2025$31.59$31.5940,330

Adjusted for inflation, the median millwright wage changed by -5.9% over the last ten years and by -6.1% since 2019.

Are there more millwright jobs than there used to be?

-14.8%Jobs since 201947,320 then, 40,330 in 2025
+0.7%Jobs over 10 years2015 to 2025, employer survey

The BLS employer survey counted 40,330 millwrights in May 2025, +0.7% compared with 40,030 ten years earlier and -14.8% since 2019.

Millwrights counted by the BLS employer surveySOC 2010SOC 2018 / Method changeExact wages20k40k60k80k100k20002005201020152020202540,330Jobs counted
Millwrights counted by the BLS employer survey, 1999–2025. Shaded bands mark survey method changes; BLS cautions against reading OEWS strictly as a time series.
Table
YearJobs
199980,390
200075,940
200169,800
200267,900
200364,910
200457,050
200553,080
200653,320
200749,360
200846,250
200941,640
201036,670
201137,730
201238,050
201338,680
201439,290
201540,030
201639,670
201741,360
201843,810
201947,320
202044,400
202139,240
202240,930
202337,930
202440,660
202540,330

Job counts are BLS OEWS survey estimates built from three years of samples, so moves of a few percent from one year to the next are within the survey's margin. Self-employed tradespeople are not counted. Areas with fewer than 3,000 jobs or a large sampling error are shown as a single figure rather than a trend.

Where the millwright jobs are

Millwrights: concentration by stateAK: 3.6×AKAL: 2.6×ALAR: 3.4×ARAZ: 0.5×AZCA: 0.5×CACO: 0.3×COCT: 0.2×DC: n/aDE: 0.7×FL: 0.2×FLGA: 1.4×GAHI: n/aHIIA: 1.7×IAID: 1.9×IDIL: 1.4×ILIN: 2.1×INKS: 2.2×KSKY: 2.3×KYLA: 2.1×LAMA: n/aMD: 0.2×ME: 2.1×MEMI: 2.5×MIMN: 0.6×MNMO: 1.1×MOMS: 4.2×MSMT: 0.5×MTNC: 0.6×NCND: 1.5×NDNE: 2.2×NENH: 0.5×NJ: 0.3×NM: 0.3×NMNV: 0.4×NVNY: 0.4×NYOH: 1.3×OHOK: 1.1×OKOR: 0.9×ORPA: 1.1×PARI: n/aSC: 1.6×SCSD: 2.0×SDTN: 1.2×TNTX: 1.0×TXUT: 0.5×UTVA: 0.7×VAVT: 0.7×WA: 1.1×WAWI: 1.6×WIWV: 1.8×WVWY: 1.8×WYSmall statesCT 0.2×DC n/aDE 0.7×MA n/aMD 0.2×NH 0.5×NJ 0.3×RI n/aVT 0.7×Concentration (1.0 = US average)0.5×0.9×1.5×2.1×n/a
Share of all jobs held by millwrights in each state relative to the national share (location quotient), May 2025. 1.0 means the same concentration as the country as a whole.

Mississippi has the highest concentration of millwrights, 4.2× the national share, followed by Alaska (3.6×) and Arkansas (3.4×). The lowest is Florida at 0.2×. Concentration says where the trade is a large part of the local economy; the job count says where the most positions are.

StateJobsJobs per 1,000Concentration
Mississippi1,2801.14.2×
Alaska3000.93.6×
Arkansas1,1400.93.4×
Alabama1,4000.72.6×
Michigan2,9000.72.5×
Kentucky1,2200.62.3×
Kansas8400.62.2×
Nebraska5900.62.2×
Louisiana1,0800.62.1×
Indiana1,7600.62.1×

Metros with the most millwright jobs

MetroJobsMedian $/hr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1,490$35.93
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI1,490$44.16
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX820$32.57
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA710$47.72
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX640$31.49
Kansas City, MO-KS640$43.93
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA510$30.85
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD510$37.08
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN490$36.68
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ440$44.75

Highest-paying metros for millwrights

MetroMedian $/hrCost-of-living adjustedAdjusted rank90th pctJobs
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$47.72$42.01#3$63.16710
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI$44.16$44.03#2$45.451,490
Kansas City, MO-KS$43.93$47.49#1$46.80640
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$37.08$36.14#4$60.73510
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$35.93$34.68#5$55.091,490
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$32.57$33.03#6$49.77820
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$31.49$30.54#8$44.47640
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA$30.85$30.82#7$37.28510

Metros with at least 500 millwrights. Cost-of-living adjustment divides the median by the BEA regional price parity for the metro (2024, US = 100); the adjusted rank is among the 8 metros with a parity.

Union scale and prevailing wage for millwrights

Federal construction projects must pay the Davis-Bacon rate for each county. Where the rate comes from a union contract it is the local journeyman scale: base wage plus fringe (health, pension, training). Where it comes from a survey, it is often older and lower. This table summarises the Building-construction determination for millwrights in every state.

StateCounties with a union rateTypical union package (base + fringe, $/hr)Typical survey rateCounties with a rate
New Jersey100%$93.90—14/21
Delaware100%$90.80—3/3
California91%$90.77$27.9354/58
Hawaii100%$85.56—5/5
Illinois100%$84.50—91/102
Massachusetts100%$83.97—12/14
Alaska100%$82.31—30/30
Washington82%$77.77$78.8811/39
Rhode Island100%$77.22—5/5
Connecticut100%$75.38—2/8
Pennsylvania96%$75.29$58.4955/67
Wisconsin100%$71.41—71/72

Source: SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions, Building construction type. Not the official determination; see each state page for county detail and links to the official text.

Job outlook

+0.9%Projected job growth2025-35, BLS
3,200Openings per yeargrowth plus replacements
40,700Jobs in 2025BLS projections base, includes self-employed

The BLS Employment Projections program expects the number of millwrights to change by +0.9% over 2025-35, from 40,700 to 41,000, with about 3,200 openings a year.

Where the openings come from05001k1.5k2kNew jobs: 100New jobs100Workforce exits: 1,200Workforce exits1,200Occupation changes: 1,900Occupation changes1,900
Average annual openings for millwrights, 2025-35, split into growth and the two kinds of replacement need. BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.10.

Of those openings, 100 a year come from growth in the number of jobs and 3,100 from replacement: 1,200 for people who retire or leave the workforce and 1,900 for people who move to another occupation.

Demand change - share decreases as new manufacturing construction shifts away from the papermills to facilities which don't use as many millwrights.

BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, factors affecting occupational utilization

BLS worker characteristics, 2025-35: typical education for entry: high school diploma or equivalent; related work experience: none; on-the-job training: apprenticeship. The Occupational Outlook Handbook entry describes the work.

What each state projects

State labor market agencies publish their own projections on a 2024–2034 cycle. Colorado projects the fastest growth for millwrights at +15.0%; by openings, Texas (300 a year), California (210 a year), Michigan (210 a year) lead. 46 states publish a figure for this occupation.

StateJobs, 2024Projected, 2034ChangeOpenings per year
Colorado250280+15.0%20
Alaska220240+12.1%20
Nevada130140+11.0%10
Wyoming160180+9.8%20
Idaho700760+8.4%70
Tennessee1,0501,130+7.8%100
Florida800860+7.7%80
Arizona730780+7.5%70
Utah240260+6.6%20
Missouri580610+5.5%60
Virginia740780+5.1%60
Texas3,1403,290+5.0%300

Source: state labor market information agencies via Projections Central, 2024–2034 projections. State base counts include the self-employed, so they run higher than the BLS survey count above.

Compare millwright pay with other trades

See how millwright pay compares with other trades on the ranking of all trades and the comparison pages.

Questions this page answers

How much do millwrights make an hour?

Hourly pay runs from about $22.25 at the 10th percentile to $45.00 at the 90th, with a median of $31.59. Overtime, per-diem and union fringe benefits are not included in these figures.

What does a starting or apprentice millwright make?

Entry-level pay sits near the bottom of the distribution: roughly $22.25 to $27.11 an hour ($46,290 to $56,390 a year). Registered apprentices usually start at a fixed percentage of the local journeyman rate and step up every six to twelve months.

Which state pays millwrights the most?

New Jersey had the highest median at $51.70 an hour in May 2025, followed by New Mexico ($43.38) and Michigan ($42.88). Adjusted for cost of living the order changes; see the state table.

Are millwright wages going up?

In today's dollars the median millwright wage changed by -5.9% over the last ten years of data (CPI-adjusted). The nominal median rose from $24.71 to $31.59.

Is millwright a good career?

By the numbers: median pay of $65,700 a year, a 90th percentile of $93,600, projected growth of +0.9% and about 3,200 openings a year. Whether it fits you depends on the work itself; this site only reports the pay and demand data.

Are millwright jobs growing?

The BLS employer survey counted 40,330 millwrights in May 2025, +0.7% compared with ten years earlier and -14.8% since 2019. Looking ahead, BLS projects +0.9% growth over 2025-35 with about 3,200 openings a year, most of them replacing people who leave the occupation.

Which states will need the most millwrights?

By projected annual openings, the state agencies' figures put Texas (300 a year, +5.0% growth), California (210 a year, 0.0% growth), Michigan (210 a year, -3.4% growth) at the top. Every state's projection is in the outlook table above.

Where are millwrights most concentrated?

Relative to the size of each state's workforce, Mississippi has the highest concentration at 4.2× the national share, then Alaska (3.6×) and Arkansas (3.4×). The largest absolute job counts are usually in the most populous states; see the map above.

Sources and notes

  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 49-9044 (Millwrights). Wages exclude overtime and benefits; job counts are survey estimates and exclude the self-employed.
  • Inflation adjustment: BLS CPI-U annual averages, 2025 base.
  • Cost-of-living adjustment: BEA Regional Price Parities, all items, 2024.
  • Prevailing wage: SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions. Not the official determination.
  • BLS Employment Projections, national, 2025-35 (Tables 1.2, 1.10 and 1.12). Public-domain data; Skilled Wages is not affiliated with BLS.
  • State projections: state labor market information agencies via Projections Central (Projections Managing Partnership), 2024–2034, fetched 2026-10-05. State figures include the self-employed.