Production Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 51-9071

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

The published band from $35,580 to $87,540 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Nuclear Power Reactor Operators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators ($123K) , Plant and System Operators, All Other ($62K) , Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers ($65K) , First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers ($74K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 51-9071 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths
  2. 2. Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire
  3. 3. Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones
  4. 4. Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets
  5. 5. Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments
  6. 6. Make repairs, such as enlarging or reducing ring sizes, soldering pieces of jewelry together, and replacing broken clasps and mountings
  7. 7. Compute costs of labor and materials to determine production costs of products and articles
  8. 8. Position stones and metal pieces, and set, mount, and secure items in place, using setting and hand tools
  9. 9. Grade stones based on their color, perfection, and quality of cut
  10. 10. Select and acquire metals and gems for designs
  11. 11. Buy and sell jewelry, or serve as agents between buyers and sellers
  12. 12. Shape and straighten damaged or twisted articles by hand or using pliers

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 51-9071 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.1 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.1
  2. 2. Speaking 3.0
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.0
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 2.9
  5. 5. Coordination 2.9
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 2.9
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 2.8
  8. 8. Monitoring 2.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.3
  2. 2. Design 4.0
  3. 3. Production and Processing 3.9
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.8
  5. 5. Administration and Management 3.7
  6. 6. Mechanical 3.4
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$35,580 to $87,540
median $52,540 · ~2.5× spread
$53K
National median
↓ -6%
Growth 2024-2034
4,000
Annual openings
22,440
Estimated US jobs
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators
Highest-pay peer · $123K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

1. Virginia $61,940
2. Kansas $57,730
3. South Carolina $60,380
4. Vermont $58,570
5. Connecticut $69,800
6. New Jersey $59,480
7. California $60,790
8. New York $61,720
9. Colorado $57,120
10. Washington $60,380

Other Production Occupations titles

  1. 1. Nuclear Power Reactor Operators $122,890
  2. 2. Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers $65,380
  3. 3. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers $74,450
  4. 4. Plant and System Operators, All Other $62,470
  5. 5. Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers $96,710
  6. 6. Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers $62,750

The OEWS band for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers runs from $35,580 (10th) to $87,540 (90th), about 2.5× wide, with median $52,540. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -6% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 4,000 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: Virginia at $61,940. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators at $122,890. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers pay-rank #27 in Production Occupations

Among 105 detailed Production Occupations with a published OEWS median, Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is pay-rank #27, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third 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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 51-9071

Virginia · top state for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

$62K published median

Kansas · #2 state pay

$58K · behind Virginia

Nuclear Power Reactor Operators

Highest-pay peer vs Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers · $123K

Plant and System Operators, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers · $62K

Compare Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Production Occupations titles sit near Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is pay-rank #27 of 105 detailed Production Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic ($53K), Pourers and Casters, Metal ($52K), Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders ($52K), Semiconductor Processing Technicians ($51K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do jewelers and precious stone and metal workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers. Leading ones include: Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths; Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire; Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones; Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers? ▼
For SOC 51-9071, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.1), Speaking (3.0), Critical Thinking (3.0), Social Perceptiveness (2.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Design, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $35,580 and the 90th at $87,540 for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers (2.5× spread). The national median is $52,540. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is -6%. Projected annual openings: about 4,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers? ▼
Virginia ($61,940), Kansas ($57,730), South Carolina ($60,380) 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 Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 51-9071. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers. 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