Occupation / job
Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
Median annual pay. Half earn less than this.
Hourly at a standard 2,080-hour year. We do not yet have unpaid-time or cost data for this, so this is not an adjusted figure.
The middle half. A quarter earn below this range.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 · view
What this figure cannot tell you
It covers people EMPLOYED in this occupation. Anyone who trained for it and was never hired is not in the median above, and neither is anyone doing the work self-employed. No verified count of qualified people exists for this occupation, so this page shows none rather than an estimate. Why that matters · The occupations where we could source it
Who this suits
At $40,960 against $50,020, this pays $755 a month less than the typical American job. Below the midpoint but within reach of it: the spread and the floor below decide whether that description flatters Office Machine Operators, Except Computer or not.
With 25,130 employed as Office Machine Operators, Except Computer, most metros have a working market: several employers, visible turnover, and the ability to change jobs without moving house.
These roles suit people who want dependable indoor work with a clear task, and who would rather be accurate than visible.
No verified preparation time is on file for Office Machine Operators, Except Computer. The wage survey behind every figure on this page asks employers what they pay, not what they required, so the honest answer here is that we do not know.
Who should not do this
The quarters sit at $36,090 and $47,910, $985 a month apart at a ratio of 1.3x. Narrow enough that what you can expect is close to what everyone else gets.
A quarter of the field earns under $36,090 — $13,930 below the $50,020 the typical American job pays. That is the number to plan on for a first year, not the midpoint.
Avoid it if you need a role with a defined next step; these posts often do not have one.
There is no failure rate on this page because there is nothing honest to divide by. BLS counted 25,130 people employed as Office Machine Operators, Except Computer; it did not count the people who trained for it and are doing something else, and a rate built without that denominator would be a number we made up.
What the spread tells you
At 1.3x between $36,090 and $47,910, this is a narrow distribution. $40,960 is a reliable number to plan around, which is worth something — but so is knowing that outperforming the field will not be paid for.
The middle half of this field earns between $36,090 and $47,910. That is $11,820 of range, with $40,960 sitting inside it as the point half the field is above and half below.
Between $36,090 and $47,910 — the two ends of the middle half — sits $40,960. Moving from the midpoint to the upper quarter is worth $6,950; the whole climb from the lower quarter is $11,820.
$6,950 separates $40,960 from the $47,910 top quarter, while only $4,870 separates it from $36,090. The range leans upward, which means the middle of Office Machine Operators, Except Computer has more room above it than a symmetric reading of the median would suggest.
Per hour at a standard full-time year that is $19.69 at the midpoint for Office Machine Operators, Except Computer, $17.35 at the 25th percentile and $23.03 at the 75th, against $24.04 for the typical American job.
What these figures are, and what they are not
Employers reported these wages for people already working as Office Machine Operators, Except Computer. The self-employed are excluded, so $40,960 does not describe an independent doing the same work.
The hourly number on this page is $40,960 divided by a 2,080-hour year and nothing more. We hold no unpaid-hours or cost data for Office Machine Operators, Except Computer, so it is arithmetic rather than an effective rate.
How this is calculated · Self-employment failure rates · What credentials cost and pay back · Look up something else