How much do manufacturing supervisors make in 2026?
Manufacturing supervisors are counted in the BLS first-line supervisors of production and operating workers series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 51-1011 national median at $74,450 a year ($35.79 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $47,130 and the top 10% at $108,750. Beyond the industry and shift factors that set the general level, there is a practical distinction worth checking before accepting any supervisory offer: whether the position is classified as exempt or hourly. Hourly supervisors receive overtime, which in a busy plant can add a substantial amount to annual earnings; exempt supervisors receive a salary that absorbs the extra hours, and in plants running heavy overtime this occasionally means a promoted operator earns less in total than the people they supervise. That compression is a well-known frustration in manufacturing and is worth quantifying rather than assuming. What raises supervisory pay reliably is technical breadth and improvement capability: supervisors who understand the process well enough to lead root cause investigation, who can run structured daily management and who develop team leaders beneath them progress into area and value stream management, where the band's upper half sits. Regulated industries add another premium, since pharmaceutical, aerospace and food safety environments require documentation discipline that takes time to build. Employment is projected to grow 1.2% through 2034 with roughly 67,700 openings a year. → Full manufacturing supervisor career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $74,450 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Manufacturing Supervisors earn a national median $74,450/yr ($35.79/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 51-1011); the P10 to P90 range is $47,130 to $108,750.
- Whether the role is exempt or hourly materially changes real earnings: hourly supervisors receive overtime, exempt supervisors absorb the extra hours in salary.
- In heavy-overtime plants, promoted supervisors on salary occasionally earn less in total than the operators they supervise — worth quantifying before accepting.
- Technical breadth, structured problem-solving and developing team leaders are what move a supervisor toward the upper half of the $47,130 to $108,750 band.
US Manufacturing Supervisor Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do manufacturing supervisors earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 51-1011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 51-1011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a manufacturing supervisor earn at each career stage?
Supervisory pay follows process complexity, shift pattern and improvement capability. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 51-1011.
By State
Which states pay manufacturing supervisors the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. What matters more is which industries a state hosts, since supervisory rates sit above the operator rates that industry sets.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($85,620), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay manufacturing supervisors the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Plants are commonly sited outside metro cores for land and logistics reasons, so metro premiums are a weak guide to manufacturing supervisory pay.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a manufacturing supervisor’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does manufacturing supervisor pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Manufacturing Supervisors sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify manufacturing supervisor wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a manufacturing supervisor actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Manufacturing Supervisor Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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