Production Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 51-7021

Furniture Finishers

Median pay sits 40% below the mid peer in Production Occupations (neighbors include Power Distributors and Dispatchers, Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters, Model Makers, Metal and Plastic, Power Plant Operators).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Furniture Finishers: Power Distributors and Dispatchers ($107K) , Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters ($63K) , Model Makers, Metal and Plastic ($63K) , Power Plant Operators ($102K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Furniture Finishers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 51-7021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Confer with customers to determine furniture colors or finishes
  2. 2. Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other s…
  3. 3. Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails…
  4. 4. Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grin…
  5. 5. Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances
  6. 6. Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or…
  7. 7. Recommend woods, colors, finishes, and furniture styles, using knowledge of wood products, fashions, and styles
  8. 8. Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors
  9. 9. Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness a…
  10. 10. Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades
  11. 11. Wash surfaces to prepare them for finish application
  12. 12. Remove excess solvent, using cloths soaked in paint thinner

Furniture Finishers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 51-7021 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.1 ; lead knowledge Production and Processing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.1
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.1
  3. 3. Monitoring 3.1
  4. 4. Speaking 3.0
  5. 5. Operations Monitoring 3.0
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 3.0
  7. 7. Time Management 3.0
  8. 8. Coordination 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Production and Processing 3.3
  2. 2. Mechanical 3.0
  3. 3. Design 2.9
  4. 4. Education and Training 2.8
  5. 5. English Language 2.8
  6. 6. Customer and Personal Service 2.7
Pay vs Production Occupations peers
-40%
vs mid peer median $74,450
This role $44,540/yr
$45K
National median
↓ -3%
Growth 2024-2034
2,000
Annual openings
14,480
Estimated US jobs
Power Distributors and Dispatchers
Highest-pay peer · $107K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Furniture Finishers

1. Connecticut $59,830
2. Illinois $47,600
3. Massachusetts $56,300
4. California $49,080
5. Vermont $47,280
6. Pennsylvania $47,450
7. Minnesota $48,640
8. Colorado $50,000
9. New Hampshire $56,050
10. New York $48,340

Other Production Occupations titles

  1. 1. Model Makers, Metal and Plastic $63,340
  2. 2. Power Plant Operators $102,040
  3. 3. Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters $62,620
  4. 4. Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic $63,870
  5. 5. Power Distributors and Dispatchers $106,730
  6. 6. Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators $78,620

Among Production Occupations peers on this card, Furniture Finishers sits 40% below the mid peer median ($74,450). Its own median is $44,540.

Employment Projections expect -3% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $59,830. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Power Distributors and Dispatchers at $106,730. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Furniture Finishers pay-rank #69 in Production Occupations

Furniture Finishers sits at pay-rank #69 of 105 detailed Production Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 51-7021 · national median $44,540 · middle third of Production Occupations (#69/105). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Furniture Finishers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 51-7021

Connecticut · top state for Furniture Finishers

$60K published median

Illinois · #2 state pay

$48K · behind Connecticut

Power Distributors and Dispatchers

Highest-pay peer vs Furniture Finishers · $107K

Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters

Lower-pay peer beside Furniture Finishers · $63K

Compare Furniture Finishers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Furniture Finishers with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Furniture Finishers

Against another occupation

Power Distributors and Dispatchers card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Furniture Finishers mid-table among Production Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #69 of 105 detailed Production Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Woodworkers, All Other ($45K), Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators ($45K), Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders ($45K), Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders ($46K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do furniture finishers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Furniture Finishers. Leading ones include: Confer with customers to determine furniture colors or finishes; Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other s…; Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails…; Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grin…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for furniture finishers? ▼
For SOC 51-7021, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.1), Critical Thinking (3.1), Monitoring (3.1), Speaking (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Production and Processing, Mechanical, Design. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Furniture Finishers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $44,540 as the national median for Furniture Finishers. The published 10th-90th range is $32,160 to $61,020. Beside Power Distributors and Dispatchers ($106,730), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Furniture Finishers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Furniture Finishers is -3%. Projected annual openings: about 2,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Furniture Finishers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Furniture Finishers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Furniture Finishers? ▼
Connecticut ($59,830), Illinois ($47,600), Massachusetts ($56,300) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Furniture Finishers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 51-7021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Furniture Finishers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics