Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Salaries by State

Q: How much do laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand make in the U.S.?

The median laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand salary in the United States is $40,240 per year (mean $42,260), and about 80% earn between $31,270 and $55,140.

Q: How much do laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand make per hour?

Roughly $20 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $42,260 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand the most?

Alaska has the highest average pay for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand at $50,550 per year (median $44,510).

Q: What is the job outlook for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand?

Employment is projected to change +1.5% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 384,300 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hands across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $42,260 ≈ $20/hr

National median salary $40,240

Total employment 2,950,280 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +1.5% Slower than average

Annual openings 384,300 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 2,988,900 → 3,033,100 (+44,300)

Typical entry education No formal educational credential

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $36,000–$40,000 $40,000–$41,000 $41,000–$43,000 $43,000–$46,000 $46,000–$51,000 U.S. mean $42,260

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Alaska$50,550
District of Columbia$49,250
Washington$47,680
Hawaii$47,640
Minnesota$46,920

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Louisiana$35,720
Arkansas$36,730
Mississippi$37,170
Alabama$37,480
Oklahoma$37,790

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Alaska	$50,550	$44,510	$24	+19.6%	4,250
2	District of Columbia	$49,250	$45,740	$24	+16.5%	1,200
3	Washington	$47,680	$46,190	$23	+12.8%	49,450
4	Hawaii	$47,640	$44,120	$23	+12.7%	9,490
5	Minnesota	$46,920	$46,280	$23	+11%	54,480
6	New York	$46,200	$44,630	$22	+9.3%	100,950
7	North Dakota	$45,910	$45,690	$22	+8.6%	9,990
8	Colorado	$45,860	$45,370	$22	+8.5%	31,140
9	Massachusetts	$45,760	$44,920	$22	+8.3%	34,700
10	Oregon	$45,740	$44,750	$22	+8.2%	27,720
11	California	$45,590	$44,710	$22	+7.9%	355,500
12	Connecticut	$44,320	$43,640	$21	+4.9%	23,970
13	Arizona	$44,190	$44,290	$21	+4.6%	71,090
14	Wisconsin	$44,080	$44,610	$21	+4.3%	70,520
15	Rhode Island	$43,710	$41,690	$21	+3.4%	6,760
16	Iowa	$43,520	$43,490	$21	+3%	30,890
17	Nevada	$43,190	$39,350	$21	+2.2%	40,850
18	Pennsylvania	$43,130	$42,480	$21	+2.1%	131,050
19	Maine	$43,040	$42,640	$21	+1.8%	6,120
20	Maryland	$42,990	$41,600	$21	+1.7%	47,710
21	Illinois	$42,960	$40,550	$21	+1.7%	195,390
22	Nebraska	$42,850	$42,910	$21	+1.4%	13,870
23	Utah	$42,720	$42,370	$21	+1.1%	29,670
24	Montana	$42,680	$43,840	$21	+1%	3,870
25	New Jersey	$42,540	$39,540	$20	+0.7%	97,230
26	New Hampshire	$42,530	$42,110	$20	+0.6%	8,340
27	Virginia	$42,330	$39,380	$20	+0.2%	58,000
28	Kentucky	$41,960	$42,770	$20	-0.7%	57,930
29	Indiana	$41,850	$41,340	$20	-1%	103,200
30	Wyoming	$41,360	$38,330	$20	-2.1%	2,700
31	Kansas	$41,310	$40,250	$20	-2.2%	23,270
32	South Dakota	$41,290	$38,980	$20	-2.3%	3,820
33	Michigan	$41,230	$38,860	$20	-2.4%	79,410
34	Missouri	$41,190	$39,080	$20	-2.5%	43,050
35	Ohio	$41,000	$39,460	$20	-3%	108,830
36	Vermont	$40,930	$39,390	$20	-3.1%	3,060
37	Idaho	$40,810	$39,900	$20	-3.4%	15,610
38	Georgia	$40,450	$38,480	$19	-4.3%	137,580
39	Florida	$40,260	$38,160	$19	-4.7%	164,400
40	Tennessee	$40,020	$38,160	$19	-5.3%	105,870
41	Delaware	$39,740	$37,320	$19	-6%	5,220
42	Texas	$39,400	$37,540	$19	-6.8%	216,970
43	North Carolina	$39,390	$38,230	$19	-6.8%	116,720
44	South Carolina	$39,140	$37,530	$19	-7.4%	56,700
45	New Mexico	$38,990	$37,230	$19	-7.7%	10,200
46	West Virginia	$38,490	$36,990	$19	-8.9%	11,300
47	Oklahoma	$37,790	$36,990	$18	-10.6%	38,210
48	Alabama	$37,480	$36,670	$18	-11.3%	36,140
49	Mississippi	$37,170	$36,400	$18	-12%	30,750
50	Arkansas	$36,730	$35,920	$18	-13.1%	21,430
51	Louisiana	$35,720	$35,340	$17	-15.5%	43,730

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 520 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Topeka, KS	$49,140	$44,780	2,140
2	West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area	$48,440	$49,440	2,030
3	Hanford-Corcoran, CA	$48,420	$48,640	790
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$48,400	$51,280	30,710
5	Sheboygan, WI	$48,150	$46,820	1,550
6	Capital/Northern New York nonmetropolitan area	$48,140	$47,750	3,260
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$47,740	$49,650	29,490
8	Chambersburg, PA	$47,540	$45,480	3,130
9	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$47,490	$49,320	1,040
10	Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	$47,440	$44,190	2,920

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hands (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Nuclear Electric Power Generation	$68,170	$68,500	170
2	Coal Mining	$63,060	$59,470	1,080
3	Metal Ore Mining	$62,560	$62,130	290
4	Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations	$60,910	$57,690	380
5	Motion Picture and Video Industries	$60,740	$64,780	5,120
6	Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	$60,070	$72,590	250
7	Pipeline Transportation	$59,990	$62,250	410
8	Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries	$59,550	$64,420	5,210
9	Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation	$56,060	$64,370	360
10	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$53,640	$58,590	2,110
11	Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	$53,390	$54,970	4,230
12	Federal Government, including the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	$53,390	$55,000	4,240

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

1,084,665

$10-20k

431,906

$20-30k

486,669

$30-40k

564,541

$40-50k

377,480

$50-60k

202,775

$60-70k

105,856

$70-80k

55,199

$80-90k

39,663

$90-100k

25,035

$100-110k

17,050

$110-120k

7,152

$120-130k

6,235

$130-140k

3,322

$140-150k

3,663

$150-160k

3,297

$160-170k

2,202

$170-180k

1,071

$180-190k

708

$190-200k

442

$200k+

9,838

Pay by age band

16-24

$15,781

25-34

$28,562

35-44

$32,921

45-54

$36,775

55-64

$34,455

65+

$18,399

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$28,397

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$25,695

Some college, but less than 1 year

$28,301

GED or alternative credential

$27,084

Bachelors Degree

$31,089

Associates Degree

$29,413

Grade 11

$15,513

12th grade - no diploma

$24,433

No schooling completed

$29,790

Grade 10

$16,772

Grade 9

$25,292

Grade 8

$28,071

Grade 6

$35,627

Masters Degree

$29,184

Grade 7

$24,212

Grade 5

$32,054

Grade 4

$25,456

Grade 3

$25,730

Professional degree

$28,552

Grade 2

$39,003

Doctorate degree

$22,072

Kindergarten

$27,437

Grade 1

$30,766

Nursery school, preschool

$26,472

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

1,854,168 · $41,095

Part-time

716,107 · $16,194

Race / ethnicity

White

$27,548

Black

$26,347

Two or More Races

$25,736

Other

$28,547

Asian

$26,874

American Indian

$28,520

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

$29,849

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

$25,578

Alaska Native

$9,864

Top fields of study

Business Management And Administration

$31,078

Psychology

$29,678

General Business

$31,714

Criminal Justice And Fire Protection

$27,530

Accounting

$30,522

Marketing And Marketing Research

$27,031

General Education

$31,370

Biology

$22,899

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Coordination

3.0

Active Listening

2.9

Reading Comprehension

2.8

Monitoring

2.8

Speaking

2.8

Operations Monitoring

2.6

Operation and Control

2.6

Time Management

2.6

Critical Thinking

2.5

Social Perceptiveness

2.4

Judgment and Decision Making

2.4

Writing

2.3

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand make in the U.S.?

The median laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand salary in the United States is $40,240 per year (mean $42,260), and about 80% earn between $31,270 and $55,140.

How much do laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand make per hour?

Roughly $20 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $42,260 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand the most?

Alaska has the highest average pay for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand at $50,550 per year (median $44,510).

What is the job outlook for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand?

Employment is projected to change +1.5% from 2024 to 2034 (Slower than average), with about 384,300 openings per year.