CNC Machinist Salary in Ohio 2026,
$57,940 Median | BLS Data by City

Ohio machinists earn a median $57,940/yr ($27.86/hr) per BLS OEWS May 2025, about 1.4% below the $58,750 national median. The statewide range runs from roughly $38,070 (P10) to $76,530 (P90). Toledo pays the most at $62,190, and Cincinnati is the lowest of the major metros at $57,300.

Toledo leads at about $62,190, lifted by automotive, glass-industry and heavy-equipment machining, ahead of Dayton ($59,050), which has an aerospace and defense base, then Columbus ($57,940) and Cincinnati ($57,300). The Ohio metros sit unusually close together, within about $4,900 top to bottom.

No. Ohio issues no state licence for machinists. Employers hire on demonstrated capability instead: NIMS credentials, blueprint and GD&T reading, measurement, setup and prove-out experience, and CAM software proficiency in Mastercam or Fusion 360. There is no exam gate the way there is for the licensed building trades.

Ohio CAM programmers and cell leads earn around $76,530, at the state's 90th percentile and roughly $18,590 above the Ohio machinist median. Programming is the highest-return skill in the trade here because Ohio's shops cannot hire programmers at any price, and most will fund the training for a machinist who asks.

Ohio's state income tax is graduated: no tax on the first $26,050, 2.75% up to $100,000 and 3.5% above. On the $57,940 median that is an effective state rate near 2%. On top of that most Ohio cities levy a municipal income tax of about 2 to 2.5%, which is often the larger of the two deductions and varies by the city you work in.

Because Ohio's machining is weighted toward automotive and general production work, which pays less than the tight-tolerance aerospace and medical machining that lifts Washington ($66,160) and Connecticut. Ohio's advantage is not the wage, it is what the wage buys: at $57,940 with Ohio's cost of living, real purchasing power beats several higher-nominal states.

Aerospace and defense around Dayton, then heavy-equipment and automotive tooling around Toledo, then medical and precision job shops in the Cleveland and Akron corridor. General production machining pays the least. Sector, not city, is what moves an Ohio machinist's rate.

Employment is flat to slightly down, in line with the national 2% projected decline, but that is not the same as a shrinking opportunity. Roughly 1,900 Ohio openings a year come from retirements alone, and the shops cannot fill setup and programming seats. The jobs at risk are button-pushing operator roles, not the skilled end of the trade.