Prepress Technicians and Workers Salary: $55,064 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 23,070 prepress technicians and workers nationally earn a mean of $55,064. Employment in the series shown rose about 28% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 6.4% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Prepress Technicians and Workers: what the data shows
Common questions about prepress technicians and workers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a prepress technicians and workers?
Prepress Technicians and Workers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 51-5111.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 23,070 workers.
What does a prepress technicians and workers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Getting Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Thinking Creatively, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a prepress technicians and workers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $47,300 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $55,064 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39,059 |
| 25th percentile | $44,722 |
| Median (50th) | $51,145 |
| 75th percentile | $61,456 |
| 90th percentile | $78,025 |
What education do you need?
For Prepress Technicians and Workers, 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 Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Speaking, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, and knowledge areas including Computers and Electronics, English Language, Design, Mathematics. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is prepress technicians and workers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 6.4% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -28.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -48.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 23,070.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do prepress technicians and workerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 23,070 | 20.3% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 22,670 | 20.0% |
| Manufacturing | 17,780 | 15.7% |
| Printing and Related Support Activities | 15,080 | 13.3% |
| Printing and Related Support Activities | 15,080 | 13.3% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,500 | 1.3% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Prepress Technicians and Workers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Prepress Technicians and Workers workforce.
Employment Over Time
23,070 Workforce in 2023
The Prepress Technicians and Workers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$55,064 Average Wage
In 2023, Prepress Technicians and Workers earned an average of $55,064.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Salary distribution for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Employment Growth Projections
-6.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
5,981 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -28.1%
4,300 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -48.3%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Prepress Technicians and Workers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Prepress Technicians and Workers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Wage Trends by Industry
19.8% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
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:
- CA: 2,180 employees, $53,670 avg wage
- TX: 1,690 employees, $42,960 avg wage
- WI: 1,420 employees, $47,930 avg wage
- MN: 1,340 employees, $47,800 avg wage
- NY: 1,130 employees, $51,910 avg wage
- FL: 1,070 employees, $45,500 avg wage
- IL: 1,060 employees, $54,860 avg wage
- OH: 1,040 employees, $48,090 avg wage
- KY: 890 employees, $44,660 avg wage
- IN: 790 employees, $48,190 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,040 employees, $51,350 avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 980 employees, $49,690 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 950 employees, $58,070 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 910 employees, $55,490 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 710 employees, $48,610 avg wage
- Kansas City, MO-KS: 470 employees, $49,350 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 440 employees, $73,110 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 380 employees, $60,990 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 330 employees, $52,740 avg wage
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: 330 employees, $47,470 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Prepress Technicians and Workers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Prepress Technicians and Workers in 2023 was 23,070 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
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 Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Prepress Technicians and Workers in 2023 were Business Administration, Technical Training, Engineering.
Common majors for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Prepress Technicians and Workers workers.
Education level distribution for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Skills
Prepress Technicians and Workers need many skills, but most especially Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Speaking, Active Listening.
Required skills for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Prepress Technicians and Workers include Computers and Electronics, English Language, Design, Mathematics, Production and Processing.
Knowledge areas required for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Prepress Technicians and Workers include Near Vision, Visualization, Visual Color Discrimination, Inductive Reasoning, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Prepress Technicians and Workers.
Daily Activities
Prepress Technicians and Workers spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Getting Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
About
Prepress Technicians and Workers
The average yearly wage for Prepress Technicians and Workers was $55,064 in 2023.
SOC Code
51-5111 - Prepress Technicians and Workers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Prepress Technicians and Workers reports an average salary of $55,064.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 23,070 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -6.4%, 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.