How much does a plant operator make?

The average plant operator salary in the United States is $42,697. Plant operator salaries typically range between $32,000 and $56,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for plant operators is $20.53 per hour. Plant operator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Plant operators earn the highest average salary in Idaho.

Plant operator salary

Q: What state pays Plant Operators the most?

Idaho pays Plant Operators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $63,654 per year, or $30.60 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a plant operator?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a plant operator if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Maine you should be paid close to $61,227 per year.

Q: Do plant operators make good money?

No, plant operators do not make good money. The average plant operator earns $38,000 a year, with the top earners averaging between $60,000 and $80,000 a year. There are some companies and industries that pay plant operators better than others. A Marathon petroleum plant operator, for example, averages $80,084 a year (range: $43K - $91K), which is 71% higher than the national average.

Q: How long does a plant operator course take?

A plant operator course takes anywhere between 8.5 hours up to two years. It largely depends on the program and whether your state or industry requires additional certifications. For example, a nuclear or power plant operator may require additional certifications on equipment training and safety.

Q: How much do operators at plants make?

Operators at plants make $38,000 a year, on average ($18.47 an hour). However, there is some variability in how much a plant operator can make, starting from as low as $27,000 a year to as high as $83,000 a year. Factors such as the location and industry impact how much an operator at a plant can make.

Average plant operator salary

$42,697

$20.53 hourly rate

Entry-level plant operator salary

$32,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Plant Operator Salaries

As of October 2025, plant operators earn an average salary of $42,697 per year, equating to approximately $21 per hour. This salary can vary based on factors such as experience, industry, and geographic location. For instance, plant operators in states like Texas and California often see higher earnings due to demand and cost of living adjustments.

When considering a career as a plant operator, it's essential to note that experience plays a significant role in salary potential. Entry-level positions typically start lower but can grow substantially with additional training and expertise. In some industries, such as oil and gas, salaries can exceed the national average, reflecting the specialized skill set required.

Furthermore, many employers offer benefits that enhance overall compensation. This includes health insurance, retirement plans, and opportunities for advancement, making a career as a plant operator not only financially rewarding but also sustainable in the long term.

To explore plant operator job opportunities and salary estimates by state, visit our job board. We provide detailed insights to help you make informed career decisions and find the right position for your skills and goals.

On this page

Plant operator salary by:

Let Zippia find your next plant operator job

Let Zippia find your next plant operator job

Where can a Plant Operator earn more?

Compare salary by location

79k

59k

39k

19k

-655

Columbus, OH$58,152

Columbia, SC$29,345

Compare salary by company

80k

60k

40k

20k

NW Natural$54,279

WEC Energy Group$49,723

Plant operator salaries by experience level

Experience level	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
Entry-level plant operator	$38,900	$18.71
Mid-level plant operator	$52,800	$25.37
Senior-level plant operator	$56,400	$27.12

Plant operator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor and Comparably, the average salary for a plant operator typically falls between $42,697 and $97,309.

zippia

$42,697yearly

glassdoor[1]

$67,370yearly

indeed[2]

$46,957yearly

comparably[3]

$97,309yearly

Salary.com[4]

$46,815yearly

Average plant operator salary by state

The average plant operator salary in Idaho, Maine, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average plant operator salary states are Tennessee, Georgia, and Louisiana.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for plant operators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Vermont	$57,199	$27.50
2	Idaho	$63,654	$30.60
3	Rhode Island	$49,534	$23.81
4	North Dakota	$52,255	$25.12
5	Massachusetts	$48,543	$23.34
6	Maine	$61,227	$29.44
7	South Dakota	$46,315	$22.27
8	Alaska	$49,816	$23.95
9	Delaware	$48,923	$23.52
10	Minnesota	$51,064	$24.55
11	Wisconsin	$46,304	$22.26
12	Connecticut	$59,539	$28.62
13	Washington	$61,065	$29.36
14	New Hampshire	$47,690	$22.93
15	West Virginia	$44,106	$21.20
16	California	$57,440	$27.62
17	Wyoming	$43,060	$20.70
18	District of Columbia	$46,101	$22.16
19	New Jersey	$43,552	$20.94
20	Pennsylvania	$44,871	$21.57
21	Arizona	$46,381	$22.30
22	Nevada	$43,154	$20.75
23	New York	$48,543	$23.34
24	Ohio	$42,741	$20.55
25	Indiana	$41,795	$20.09
26	Iowa	$41,466	$19.94
27	Colorado	$47,368	$22.77
28	Utah	$43,253	$20.79
29	Illinois	$45,576	$21.91
30	Montana	$39,778	$19.12
31	Hawaii	$40,429	$19.44
32	Michigan	$40,995	$19.71
33	Nebraska	$39,598	$19.04
34	Alabama	$38,161	$18.35
35	Oregon	$42,297	$20.34
36	Virginia	$42,256	$20.32
37	New Mexico	$37,686	$18.12
38	North Carolina	$37,279	$17.92
39	Kentucky	$34,082	$16.39
40	Kansas	$34,511	$16.59
41	Maryland	$40,966	$19.70
42	Missouri	$37,396	$17.98
43	Mississippi	$30,014	$14.43
44	Tennessee	$32,784	$15.76
45	Texas	$36,184	$17.40
46	Oklahoma	$34,033	$16.36
47	South Carolina	$29,209	$14.04
48	Arkansas	$31,217	$15.01
49	Louisiana	$31,662	$15.22
50	Florida	$36,094	$17.35
51	Georgia	$31,811	$15.29

Top plant operator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for plant operators

The highest-paying cities for plant operators are Sacramento, CA, Cottage Grove, MN, and Anchorage, AK.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Sacramento, CA	$58,152	$27.96
2	Cottage Grove, MN	$51,016	$24.53
3	Anchorage, AK	$49,769	$23.93
4	Wilmington, DE	$49,196	$23.65
5	Greeley, CO	$47,811	$22.99
6	Green Bay, WI	$46,932	$22.56
7	Phoenix, AZ	$46,484	$22.35
8	Easton, PA	$45,181	$21.72
9	Canton, OH	$43,393	$20.86
10	Waterloo, IA	$41,969	$20.18
11	Kansas City, MO	$37,600	$18.08
12	Sarasota, FL	$36,421	$17.51
13	San Antonio, TX	$36,297	$17.45
14	Salina, KS	$34,695	$16.68
15	Oklahoma City, OK	$34,021	$16.36
16	Hopkinsville, KY	$33,116	$15.92
17	Chattanooga, TN	$32,414	$15.58
18	Atlanta, GA	$31,959	$15.36
19	Starkville, MS	$30,003	$14.42
20	Columbia, SC	$29,345	$14.11

Plant Operators are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Plant operator salary details

A plant operator's salary ranges from $32,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $56,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average plant operator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a plant operator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$56,000	$4,667	$27
75th Percentile	$49,000	$4,083	$24
Average	$42,697	$3,558	$21
25th Percentile	$36,000	$3,000	$17
10th Percentile	$32,000	$2,667	$15

Highest paying plant operator jobs

The highest paying types of plant operators are transmission system operator, stationary engineer, and water treatment specialist.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Water Technician	$38,723	$3,227	$18.62	34,702
Stationary Engineer	$69,163	$5,764	$33.25	5,010
Plant Technician	$46,164	$3,847	$22.19	146,543
Wastewater Treatment Operator	$45,618	$3,802	$21.93	32,561
Control Room Operator	$43,733	$3,644	$21.03	89,096
Water Treatment Operator	$48,112	$4,009	$23.13	32,838

Top companies hiring plant operators now:

Which companies pay plant operators the most?

Plant operator salaries at NW Natural and South Tahoe Public Utility District are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average plant operator salary at companies like Halifax Health and Newpark are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	NW Natural	$54,279	$26.10
2	South Tahoe Public Utility District	$53,864	$25.90
3	Halifax Health	$53,859	$25.89
4	Newpark	$53,546	$25.74
5	DCP Midstream	$53,311	$25.63
6	Orange County Sanitation District	$52,761	$25.37
7	Enterprise Products Partners	$52,181	$25.09
8	NAM	$52,021	$25.01
9	Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation	$50,522	$24.29
10	Palomar Health	$50,408	$24.23
11	Exxon Mobil	$50,392	$24.23
12	Fort Pierce Utilities Authority	$50,335	$24.20
13	University of California-Berkeley	$50,301	$24.18
14	American Water	$50,298	$24.18
15	Schlumberger	$50,150	$24.11
16	Encompass Health	$50,123	$24.10
17	Aqua	$50,097	$24.09
18	MFA Incorporated	$50,045	$24.06
19	Vector Group	$49,845	$23.96
20	WEC Energy Group	$49,723	$23.91

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$44,000$43,600$43,200$42,800$42,400$42,000

MaleFemale

Plant Operator salary by industry

The average plant operator salary varies across industries:

The average plant operator salary in the finance industry is $47,234, the highest of any industry.
The average plant operator salary in the finance industry is $47,045.
Plant operators in the technology industry earn an average salary of $42,506, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for plant operators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Finance	$47,234	$22.71
2	Utilities	$47,045	$22.62
3	Energy	$46,839	$22.52
4	Construction	$44,883	$21.58
5	Manufacturing	$43,990	$21.15
6	Technology	$42,506	$20.44

High paying plant operator jobs

Plant operator salary trends

The average plant operator salary has risen by $6,358 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average plant operator earned $36,339 annually, but today, they earn $42,697 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for plant operators over the last decade.

Compare plant operator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average plant operator salary over time

Compare plant operator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Plant operator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$42,700	$20.53	+2.7%
2024	$41,500	$19.97	+2.1%
2023	$40,700	$19.56	+1.3%
2022	$40,100	$19.30	+0.8%
2021	$39,800	$19.13	+2.1%

Recently added plant operator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Ingevity	Plant Operator	Waynesboro, GA	06/30/2025	$36,877
Alkegen	Plant Operator B	Tonawanda, NY	06/30/2025	$45,330
Wilbur-Ellis	NAS Agriculture Chemical Plant Operator	Marion, OH	06/29/2025	$37,629
Zinpro	Plant Operator	North Branch, MN	06/29/2025	$48,001
City of Shawnee, Ok	Treatment Plant Operator	Shawnee, OK	06/29/2025	$32,411
Ecolab Inc.	Chemical Plant Operator	Ellwood City, PA	06/28/2025	$78,617
Municipality of Anchorage (Ak	Treatment Plant Operator-Levels 1 To 4, Ship Creek-Range/PLU	Anchorage, AK	06/28/2025	$93,435
Maricopa County	Duty Plant Operator	Phoenix, AZ	06/28/2025	$57,393
Heidelberg Materials Us, Inc.	HMA Plant Operator	Schoharie, NY	06/27/2025	$43,827
The Bergaila Companies	Plant Operator	Tioga, ND	06/27/2025	$73,045

Plant operator salary FAQs

What state pays Plant Operators the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a plant operator?

Do plant operators make good money?

How long does a plant operator course take?

How much do operators at plants make?

Have more questions? See all answers to common production and manufacturing questions.

Search for plant operator jobs

Updated December 15, 2025

Browse production and manufacturing jobs