BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

07/16/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/16/2026 11:12

Occupational Employment and Wages in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood — May 2025

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26-963-CHI
Thursday, July 16, 2026

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Occupational Employment and Wages in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood - May 2025

Workers in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $29.16 in May 2025, compared to the nationwide average of $33.54, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($61.10), legal ($53.58), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($47.52). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($17.92), personal care and service ($18.36), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($18.49). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment shares in the Grand Rapids area included production (14.5 percent), transportation and material moving (10.7 percent), and office and administrative support (10.4 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.6 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.2 percent).

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, May 2025
Major occupational group Percent of total employment Mean hourly wage ($)
United States Grand Rapids United States Grand Rapids

Total, all occupations

100.0 100.0 33.54 29.16

Management

7.2 6.1 69.84 61.10

Business and financial operations

6.8 5.3 45.78 39.01

Computer and mathematical

3.4 2.1 57.73 46.28

Architecture and engineering

1.7 2.4 51.36 44.07

Life, physical, and social science

0.9 0.6 45.48 39.20

Community and social service

1.7 1.6 30.49 27.41

Legal

0.8 0.5 67.07 53.58

Educational instruction and library

5.9 4.9 32.47 28.98

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.3 1.2 38.36 29.14

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.3 6.4 52.26 47.52

Healthcare support

5.1 3.7 19.62 19.77

Protective service

2.4 1.4 29.19 27.31

Food preparation and serving related

8.8 7.7 17.86 17.92

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.9 3.5 19.66 18.49

Personal care and service

2.1 1.6 19.74 18.36

Sales and related

8.6 7.4 26.43 25.54

Office and administrative support

11.4 10.4 24.79 23.62

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3 0.4 19.96 19.99

Construction and extraction

4.1 3.7 31.42 30.15

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.9 4.1 30.44 28.68

Production

5.5 14.5 24.81 22.35

Transportation and material moving

8.8 10.7 23.96 21.11

One occupational group-production-was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Grand Rapids had 86,710 jobs in production, accounting for 14.5 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.5-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $22.35, compared to the national wage of $24.81.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (19,540); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (7,020); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (4,810). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were gas plant operators ($48.49) and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers ($33.97). At the lower end of the wage scale were pressers (textile, garment, and related materials) at $17.89 and bakers at $17.90. (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0024340/2025.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.00 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Grand Rapids area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing, were employed at 11.77 times the national rate in Grand Rapids, and tool and die makers, at 7.01 times the U.S. average. Bakers had a location quotient of 1.03 in Grand Rapids, indicating that this particular occupation's local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

Federal Government Shutdown

Because of the lapse in federal appropriations from October 1 through November 12, 2025, additional collection and processing time were required for the May 2025 OEWS survey panel once appropriations resumed. The response rate for the May 2025 survey panel was within the normal range and no additional modifications to the OEWS methodology and procedures were necessary as a result of the shutdown.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 530 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology is available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 66.2 percent based on establishments and 67.2 percent based on weighted sampled employment. Sample sizes and response rates by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area are available on the Additional OEWS data sets page.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Barry County, Ionia County, Kent County, Montcalm County, and Ottawa County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for production occupations, Grand Rapids metropolitan area, May 2025
Occupation (1) Employment Mean wages ($)
Level (2) Location quotient (3) Hourly Annual (4)

Production occupations

86,710 2.63 22.35 46,490

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

4,810 1.86 33.97 70,650

Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers

1,340 1.41 20.68 43,020

Engine and other machine assemblers

460 3.49 26.35 54,810

Structural metal fabricators and fitters

260 1.30 24.06 50,050

Fiberglass laminators and fabricators

140 2.21 19.98 41,570

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators

19,540 3.61 20.48 42,590

Bakers

940 1.03 17.90 37,230

Butchers and meat cutters

440 0.83 20.21 42,040

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers

370 0.66 19.75 41,090

Slaughterers and meat packers

610 2.25 20.20 42,020

Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders

190 2.48 24.67 51,320

Food batchmakers

1,870 2.78 21.58 44,890

Food cooking machine operators and tenders

190 1.58 22.83 47,490

Food processing workers, all other

60 0.25 18.74 38,990

Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

350 1.49 21.39 44,480

Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

4,270 6.48 22.36 46,510

Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

810 3.16 21.00 43,680

Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

170 2.71 22.93 47,700

Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

150 3.23 23.15 48,150

Machinists

3,460 3.13 25.62 53,290

Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders

100 1.63 21.24 44,170

Pourers and casters, metal

70 4.10 22.41 46,620

Model makers, metal and plastic

70 6.70 23.74 49,390

Foundry mold and coremakers

170 3.39 22.83 47,480

Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

3,150 5.45 20.59 42,830

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

1,960 4.09 20.64 42,930

Tool and die makers

1,540 7.01 31.82 66,180

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

2,520 1.58 24.92 51,840

Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders

730 5.96 20.61 42,860

Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

70 1.34 23.70 49,300

Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

780 6.24 19.06 39,640

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners

150 7.00 22.13 46,030

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other

80 1.33 21.05 43,780

Prepress technicians and workers

70 0.76 24.02 49,960

Printing press operators

850 1.53 21.74 45,210

Print binding and finishing workers

310 2.45 19.29 40,130

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

780 1.03 18.02 37,470

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials

50 0.46 17.89 37,220

Sewing machine operators

480 1.19 19.26 40,060

Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders

30 0.69 19.35 40,240

Upholsterers

150 1.92 20.87 43,410

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

290 0.97 24.67 51,310

Furniture finishers

230 4.14 22.42 46,630

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood

330 2.10 20.90 43,470

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing

2,780 11.77 22.74 47,300

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators

350 0.70 28.74 59,780

Gas plant operators

40 0.54 48.49 100,860

Chemical equipment operators and tenders

600 1.12 24.97 51,940

Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders

430 1.87 24.34 50,630

Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders

160 1.55 21.63 44,990

Grinding and polishing workers, hand

90 2.33 20.71 43,070

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders

660 1.82 23.97 49,850

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders

150 0.86 21.57 44,860

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders

200 0.89 21.17 44,030

Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders

50 0.88 19.40 40,360

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

7,020 3.05 20.77 43,190

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers

50 0.62 28.13 58,510

Dental laboratory technicians

170 1.31 23.58 49,040

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians

40 0.55 21.63 45,000

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

3,980 2.73 21.48 44,670

Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,440 2.37 21.79 45,310

Computer numerically controlled tool operators

1,210 1.85 23.67 49,230

Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

480 4.39 32.95 68,540

Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders

40 1.00 22.21 46,190

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders

240 4.18 21.11 43,920

Etchers and engravers

60 2.12 19.54 40,640

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic

250 1.98 20.87 43,410

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

520 1.41 23.78 49,450

Helpers--production workers

950 1.49 20.84 43,340

Production workers, all other

(5) (5) 19.02 39,570

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0024340/2025.
(2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(3) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
(4) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a 'year-round, full-time' hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(5) Estimate not released.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on July 16, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 16, 2026 at 17:12 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]