Printing Press Operators in the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Printing Press Operators pay in Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL at a median of $36,060 per year ($17.34/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $45,780, the metro estimate is 21% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 60 printing press operators are employed across the Florence-Muscle Shoals MSA in SOC 51-5112.

The Florence-Muscle Shoals pay distribution spans from $22,980 at the 10th percentile to $48,480 at the 90th, a 2.1× 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 $29,620 and the 75th at $39,730, so half of Florence-Muscle Shoals-based printing press operators 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.