Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL at a median of $36,370 per year ($17.48/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $40,240, the metro estimate is 10% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 1,130 laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand are employed across the Florence-Muscle Shoals MSA in SOC 53-7062.

The Florence-Muscle Shoals pay distribution spans from $27,830 at the 10th percentile to $44,690 at the 90th, a 1.6× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $30,130 and the 75th at $44,690, so half of Florence-Muscle Shoals-based laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide AL estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.