How much do order pickers make in 2026?
Order pickers are counted in the BLS laborers and freight, stock and material movers, hand series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 53-7062 national median as $40,240 a year ($19.35 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $31,270 and the top 10% at $55,140. Picking sits across that band, and it differs from general warehouse labour in one important respect: it is measured. Most distribution operations run engineered labour standards, and voice, scan or pick-to-light systems record every case, line and second, so many employers pay incentive above a base rate — particularly in grocery, foodservice and beverage distribution, where high-performing selectors can earn well above the pooled median and sometimes above its top decile. Three settings pay above the rest. Cold storage and freezer selection carries an environmental premium. Foodservice and beverage selection is physically heavy case picking with strong incentive schemes. Night shift, which is when most retail replenishment picking runs, carries a differential. The trade-off is bluntly physical: high-rate case picking is among the most demanding sustained work in logistics, with real injury exposure to backs and shoulders. Employment is projected to grow 1.5% through 2034 with roughly 384,300 openings a year. → Full order picker career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $40,240 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Order Pickers earn a national median $40,240/yr ($19.35/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 53-7062); the P10 to P90 range is $31,270 to $55,140.
- Picking sits across the pooled material movers band of $31,270 to $55,140, and high-performing incentive selectors can earn at or above its top decile.
- Picking is measured work: engineered labour standards with voice, scan or pick-to-light systems mean many employers pay incentive above base, especially in grocery, foodservice and beverage distribution.
- Cold storage and freezer premiums, heavy case selection and night shift differentials are the three settings that pay above general picking rates.
US Order Picker Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do order pickers 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 53-7062; 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 53-7062, 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 an order picker earn at each career stage?
Picking pay follows measured rate, environment and shift rather than tenure. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 53-7062.
By State
Which states pay order pickers 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. Picking pay is driven by the local mix of employers: regions with grocery, foodservice and beverage distribution centres running incentive schemes pay selectors well above general warehouse rates, largely independent of the state wage index.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($46,280), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay order pickers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Metro grocery and foodservice distribution centres are where incentive selection pay is highest, and they typically run night shifts to service morning deliveries, adding a differential on top.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an order picker’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 order picker pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Order Pickers 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 order picker wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an order picker 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
Order Picker Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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