Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Salary: $41,285 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 7,070 cutters and trimmers, hand nationally earn a mean of $41,285. Employment in the series shown rose about 32% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 10.8% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand: what the data shows
Common questions about cutters and trimmers, hand careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a cutters and trimmers, hand?
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 51-9031.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 7,070 workers.
What does a cutters and trimmers, hand do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Handling and Moving Objects, Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information, Performing General Physical Activities, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a cutters and trimmers, hand make?
BLS national median annual wage: $38,800 (May 2024 in our extract).
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $34,493 |
| 25th percentile | $35,386 |
| Median (50th) | $37,417 |
| 75th percentile | $42,003 |
| 90th percentile | $51,832 |
What education do you need?
For Cutters and Trimmers, Hand, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Time Management, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Judgment and Decision Making, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including Production and Processing, Mathematics, English Language, Public Safety and Security. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is cutters and trimmers, hand in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 10.8% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -43.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -68.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 7,070.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do cutters and trimmers, hands work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 7,070 | 22.6% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 7,030 | 22.5% |
| Manufacturing | 4,870 | 15.6% |
| Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | 1,080 | 3.5% |
| Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (3371 and 3372 only) | 1,080 | 3.5% |
| Apparel Manufacturing | 890 | 2.9% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Cutters and Trimmers, Hand workforce.
Employment Over Time
7,070 Workforce in 2023
The Cutters and Trimmers, Hand workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$41,285 Average Wage
In 2023, Cutters and Trimmers, Hand earned an average of $41,285.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Salary distribution for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Employment Growth Projections
-10.8% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
1,909 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -43.5%
1,078 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -68.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Cutters and Trimmers, Hand and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Cutters and Trimmers, Hand employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Wage Trends by Industry
6.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 2.0% growth (Current: $51,674)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- NC: 960 employees, $46,120 avg wage
- CA: 950 employees, $40,240 avg wage
- IN: 520 employees, $40,250 avg wage
- AL: 430 employees, $42,620 avg wage
- NJ: 290 employees, $44,190 avg wage
- GA: 220 employees, $39,840 avg wage
- PA: 220 employees, $34,510 avg wage
- OH: 220 employees, $35,720 avg wage
- FL: 200 employees, $40,700 avg wage
- TN: 200 employees, $31,720 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 940 employees, $49,720 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 590 employees, $40,760 avg wage
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC: 580 employees, $49,350 avg wage
- Greensboro-High Point, NC: 170 employees, $40,150 avg wage
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA: 130 employees, $43,120 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 120 employees, $37,040 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 90 employees, $39,980 avg wage
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC: 90 employees, $41,340 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 80 employees, $33,640 avg wage
- Elkhart-Goshen, IN: 80 employees, $38,850 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Diversity
Demographic information on Cutters and Trimmers, Hand in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Cutters and Trimmers, Hand in 2023 was 7,070 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Cutters and Trimmers, Hand in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Cutters and Trimmers, Hand workers.
Education level distribution for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Skills
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Time Management, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Judgment and Decision Making.
Required skills for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand include Production and Processing, Mathematics, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand include Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Information Ordering, Oral Comprehension.
Required abilities for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
Daily Activities
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand spend their time on activities such as Handling and Moving Objects, Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information, Performing General Physical Activities, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information.
Most important work activities for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand.
About
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
The average yearly wage for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand was $41,285 in 2023.
SOC Code
51-9031 - Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Cutters and Trimmers, Hand reports an average salary of $41,285.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 7,070 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -10.8%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.