Food Packer Salaries by State: A 2026 Wage Analysis
Food Packer Salaries by State are best understood as a comparison of related occupations rather than one uniform national wage. Available 2026 figures place hand packers and packagers at a $36,000 national median, food processing workers at $38,000, and packaging and filling machine operators at $41,000. 1 2 4
National salary baseline
The national median for hand packers and packagers is reported at $36,000 annually, equivalent to $17.11 per hour. Entry-level pay is listed at $27,000, while the 90th percentile reaches $46,000. The occupation includes manual packing duties and is categorized within the transportation field in the supplied data. Total U.S. employment is estimated at 601,440, with a reported growth rate of 0% from 2022 to 2032. 1
Other food-related production categories show higher national figures. Food processing workers have a reported median of $38,000, or $18.47 per hour, with entry-level wages at $30,000 and 90th-percentile pay at $47,000. Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders have a $41,000 median and a $19.66 hourly equivalent, with a stated entry range beginning at $32,000 and top-decile pay reaching $59,000. 2 4
States with the highest hand-packer salaries
New Jersey ranks first among the listed states for hand packers and packagers, with a $43,000 median salary, 19% above the national figure. Alaska follows at $40,000, while Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, and Vermont each report $39,000. Maine and Nebraska are listed at $38,000, and Arizona and California appear at $37,000. These figures describe medians, not guaranteed wages for every employer or worker. 1
| Rank | State | Median salary | Difference from national median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $43,000 | +19% |
| 2 | Alaska | $40,000 | +11% |
| 3 | Colorado | $39,000 | +8% |
| 4 | Indiana | $39,000 | +8% |
| 5 | Minnesota | $39,000 | +8% |
| 6 | Nevada | $39,000 | +8% |
| 7 | Vermont | $39,000 | +8% |
The middle of the hand-packer distribution is broad. Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Virginia, and Washington are listed at $36,000, matching the national median. Delaware, Maryland, Oregon, and Utah are listed at $35,000, while Hawaii and Massachusetts appear at $34,000. The supplied state table extends to a lower boundary of $27,000 and an upper boundary of $43,000. 1
Food processing wages by state
Food processing workers show a different state ranking from hand packers. Kansas and Nebraska lead at $45,000, followed by Idaho, Massachusetts, and North Dakota at $44,000. Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are listed at $43,000, while New Hampshire and Tennessee report $42,000. Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, New York, and Utah each show $41,000. 2
| State group | Reported median salary |
|---|---|
| Kansas and Nebraska | $45,000 |
| Idaho, Massachusetts, and North Dakota | $44,000 |
| Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming | $43,000 |
| New Hampshire and Tennessee | $42,000 |
| Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, New York, and Utah | $41,000 |
The food-processing category also includes states at or near the national median. Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, and Minnesota are reported at $40,000, while Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont are listed at $39,000. California, Florida, Michigan, and New Mexico appear at $38,000. The source reports 57,920 workers nationally and a state range from $29,000 to $45,000. 2
Machine-operated packaging roles
Machine-operated packaging roles generally report higher pay than manual hand-packing positions because the category covers packaging and filling machine operators and tenders. Wyoming ranks first at $49,000, followed by Maine at $48,000. Missouri and West Virginia are listed at $47,000, and Idaho, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Virginia each show $46,000. Nebraska and North Dakota report $45,000. 4
The machine-operator table places California, Colorado, Iowa, Vermont, and Wisconsin at $44,000. Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon, and Pennsylvania are listed at $43,000, while Maryland and New Jersey show $42,000. Georgia, Illinois, and Montana are reported at the $41,000 national median. This comparison indicates that job title and equipment responsibility can materially change salary expectations within food packaging. 4
Hourly pay, percentiles, and experience
Annual figures should be read alongside hourly equivalents because food packing work may involve hourly scheduling, overtime variation, or part-time arrangements. A separate picker-packer salary guide reports a national hourly range of $14 to $20, with a $16 median and an annual equivalent of $29,000 to $42,000 based on a 40-hour week. The guide identifies its figures as AI-assisted estimates compiled from public sources, so they should not be treated as identical to state occupational medians. 6
Massachusetts illustrates how percentile data can differ from a single average. Hand packers there are reported at $34,000 annually, or $16.40 per hour, with the 10th and 25th percentiles both at $32,000, the 50th percentile at $34,000, the 75th at $37,000, and the 90th at $43,000. The same source lists Boston at $37,000, Cambridge at $33,000, and Worcester at $31,000. 5
How to interpret state salary differences
State comparisons do not measure purchasing power by themselves. The supplied research notes that cost-of-living differences can affect how far wages extend, and that Massachusetts may show higher base-pay expectations for entry-level manual labor even when its hand-packer median is listed below the national $36,000 figure. State income taxes also affect take-home pay. For example, the Massachusetts profile applies a 5% state income tax rate and estimates $27,603 in annual net pay from a $34,000 gross salary for its stated assumptions. 5
Industry setting is another source of variation. Pay can differ between meat processing, fresh-produce packing, warehouses, distribution centers, and facilities using automated filling equipment. Employer-specific observations can also be limited: one Pennsylvania estimate for a UTZ Quality Foods packer reports $18.16 per hour from one past and present job posting. Such a figure is useful as a company example, but its small sample does not establish a statewide median. 7
Practical limits of the data
Salary tables represent modeled or compiled market information and should be separated from an individual employment offer. Relevant variables include location within a state, shift schedule, experience, machinery duties, facility type, and the source's occupational definition. A hand packer, food processing worker, and machine operator may work in the same building while appearing in different statistical categories, which explains why their reported national medians are $36,000, $38,000, and $41,000 respectively. 1 2 4
Regulatory and workplace conditions also matter when evaluating compensation. The research identifies the Bureau of Labor Statistics as a source for occupational wage information, while other figures come from salary databases, job-posting estimates, and editorial salary guides. Differences in collection method, update date, and sample size can produce conflicting results. The most defensible interpretation is therefore a range of possible wages, checked against the specific state, occupation, employer, schedule, and duties rather than a promise of a fixed rate. 8 9
Sources
- SalaryByState, Packers & Packagers, Hand Salary 2026: $36K Avg by State
- SalaryByState, Food Processing Workers Salary 2026: $38K Avg by State
- UpstreamRead, Average Pay For Food Packers In The USA 2026
- SalaryByState, Packaging & Filling Machine Operators & Tenders Salary 2026: $41K Avg by State
- SalaryByState, Packers & Packagers, Hand Salary in Massachusetts 2026
- Indeed Flex, Picker Packer Salary Guide 2026
- Indeed, Packer Salaries in Pennsylvania for UTZ Quality Foods
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hand Packers and Packagers Occupational Wages
- Salary.com, Packer Hand Salary Research
Authored by 24Trendz team