Millwright salary
Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025
Millwrights in the U.S. earn a median of $65,700 a year, or $31.59 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $93,600 a year.
- Apprentice starting pay (estimate)
- $22.25/hr
- Jobs nationwide
- 40,330
- Median hourly pay
- $31.59/hr
Apprentice, journeyman and top millwright pay
| Stage | Yearly pay | Hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | $46,290–$56,390$22.25–$27.11/hr | |
| Journeyman | $65,700$31.59/hr | |
| Top earners | $81,500–$93,600$39.18–$45.00/hr |
Estimated from BLS percentiles (10th–25th, median, 75th–90th); BLS does not report pay by license level.
Pay over time
The median millwright wage in the U.S. rose 8.9%, from $60,330 in May 2021 to $65,700 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 8.8%.
| Year | Median a year | Median an hour |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $60,330 | $29.00/hr |
| May 2022 | $60,930 | $29.29/hr |
| May 2023 | $62,980 | $30.28/hr |
| May 2024 | $65,170 | $31.33/hr |
| May 2025 | $65,700 | $31.59/hr |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, each May release; inflation from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, May of each year). BLS cautions against reading much into year-to-year changes, so we compare the first and last years. How we compare years
How it compares
- The 90th-percentile wage, $93,600, is 2.0 times the 10th-percentile wage, $46,290: a measure of how much pay rises with experience and specialty.
Millwright pay by state
- New Jersey$107,540
- New Mexico$90,230
- Michigan$89,190
- Wisconsin$82,630
- Colorado$81,440
- Kansas$79,690
- New York$79,560
- Minnesota$78,570
- California$77,950
- Indiana$77,140
See all 50 states and DC
- Alaska$76,940
- Connecticut$76,810
- Washington$76,490
- New Hampshire$76,190
- Ohio$73,220
- Oregon$70,700
- Kentucky$70,610
- Maine$68,220
- West Virginia$67,270
- Illinois$66,640
- Missouri$66,480
- Louisiana$66,080
- Massachusetts$65,220
- Idaho$64,710
- Pennsylvania$64,410
- Vermont$64,180
- Nevada$63,040
- Utah$63,040
- North Carolina$62,990
- Wyoming$62,780
- Georgia$62,760
- Texas$62,630
- Iowa$62,220
- Florida$62,000
- South Dakota$61,820
- Tennessee$61,810
- South Carolina$61,700
- Alabama$61,410
- North Dakota$60,750
- Nebraska$60,320
- Montana$60,050
- Maryland$59,220
- Delaware$58,770
- Mississippi$58,280
- Arizona$57,380
- Arkansas$56,310
- Virginia$51,430
- Oklahoma$50,950
Top-paying metro areas
Every metro area ranked by millwright pay after cost of living
Other trades in the U.S.
Questions
- How much do millwrights make?
- Millwrights in the U.S. earn a median of $65,700 a year, or $31.59 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The highest-paid 10% make over $93,600 a year.
- How much do millwrights make an hour in the U.S.?
- The median hourly wage is $31.59. The middle half earn between $27.11 and $39.18 an hour. (BLS, May 2025.)
- What do apprentice millwrights make in the U.S.?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level. The 10th-percentile wage, $22.25 an hour ($46,290 a year), is a reasonable estimate of starting pay; the 25th percentile is $27.11.
- Has millwright pay gone up?
- The median millwright wage in the U.S. rose 8.9%, from $60,330 in May 2021 to $65,700 in May 2025. Prices rose 19.4% over the same period, so after inflation it fell 8.8%. (BLS wage data and Consumer Price Index.)
- How much does a journeyman millwright make?
- BLS doesn't report pay by license level, but the median, $65,700 a year ($31.59 an hour), is a fair estimate of typical journeyman pay. Master-level and top earners are closer to the 75th to 90th percentiles, $81,500–$93,600.
- Which state pays millwrights the most?
- New Jersey, with a median of $107,540 a year, followed by New Mexico ($90,230). Oklahoma has the lowest median, $50,950.
About this data
Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 49-9044 (Millwrights). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed millwrights and business owners aren't included. Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures