Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders Salary and Pay
How much do Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders make?
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders pay a median of $47,010 a year in the BLS May 2024 survey, with a mean of $49,250 across 16,160 counted jobs. Half of all workers in the occupation earn between $39,250 and $57,840.
The complete pay picture for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders: 16,160 jobs nationally, a median of $47,010, and the state and metro tables that show where that median is beaten and where it is not.
Updated November 5, 2026
Salary converter for this occupation
Conversions use 12 months, 26 biweekly periods, 52 weeks, and 2,080 hours. No level in this occupation's ladder reaches the BLS top code, so every figure the converter shows is a published estimate rather than a floor.
The national wage ladder (BLS OEWS, May 2024)
| Pay level | Annual wage | Hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35,010 | $16.83 |
| 25th percentile | $39,250 | $18.87 |
| Median (50th) | $47,010 | $22.60 |
| 75th percentile | $57,840 | $27.81 |
| 90th percentile | $66,190 | $31.82 |
Percentiles answer the question a single average cannot: where would a given Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders offer sit among all 16,160 workers doing this job? The survey top-codes at $239,200+ and withholds unreliable cells, shown as n/p in the table.
Employment and concentration
May 2024 employment stood at 16,160, or 0.01% of the U.S. total. Ohio leads the state table with 1,210 jobs; the top three states sum to 21.1% of the occupation. The concentration measure tells the more interesting story: Alabama posts a location quotient of 5.02, so a worker there is far more likely to meet a colleague in this field than the national pattern suggests.
One in ten workers in this field earns $35,010 or less, and one in ten earns $66,190 or more, so the top-to-bottom ratio is 1.9 to 1 and the annual gap is $31,180. The mean ($49,250) versus median ($47,010) comparison shows a right-skewed ladder where senior and specialist roles lift the average in this occupation.
Pay by state
The state spread for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders runs from the $75,220 median in Kentucky down through every other publishing state. Employment concentrates in Ohio (1,210 jobs). The complete table:
| State | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 1,210 | 0.2 | 2.08 | $43,920 | $40,060 |
| Alabama | 1,100 | 0.5 | 5.02 | $50,910 | $49,010 |
| California | 1,100 | 0.1 | 0.58 | $47,760 | $44,340 |
| Texas | 920 | 0.1 | 0.63 | $46,510 | $43,080 |
| North Carolina | 770 | 0.2 | 1.49 | $41,180 | $41,270 |
| Georgia | 730 | 0.1 | 1.43 | $48,200 | $47,170 |
| Indiana | 720 | 0.2 | 2.16 | $53,330 | $52,000 |
| New York | 670 | 0.1 | 0.67 | $54,330 | $53,650 |
| Washington | 600 | 0.2 | 1.61 | $54,660 | $54,060 |
| Tennessee | 530 | 0.2 | 1.54 | $44,640 | $43,880 |
| Michigan | 520 | 0.1 | 1.13 | $45,450 | $42,360 |
| New Jersey | 480 | 0.1 | 1.07 | $56,000 | $58,510 |
| Illinois | 470 | 0.1 | 0.74 | $54,440 | $57,140 |
| Oregon | 470 | 0.2 | 2.28 | $51,740 | $50,620 |
| Pennsylvania | 450 | 0.1 | 0.72 | $49,230 | $48,080 |
| Wisconsin | 430 | 0.1 | 1.40 | $52,460 | $50,220 |
| South Carolina | 420 | 0.2 | 1.75 | $46,900 | $46,420 |
| Mississippi | 370 | 0.3 | 3.05 | $42,290 | $43,680 |
| Florida | 360 | 0.0 | 0.35 | $40,920 | $38,370 |
| Oklahoma | 340 | 0.2 | 1.91 | $48,690 | $43,230 |
| Arkansas | 310 | 0.2 | 2.28 | $45,960 | $45,510 |
| Virginia | 280 | 0.1 | 0.66 | $55,500 | $64,510 |
| Missouri | 270 | 0.1 | 0.89 | $51,980 | $53,670 |
| Kansas | 260 | 0.2 | 1.76 | $51,070 | $46,570 |
| Kentucky | 260 | 0.1 | 1.24 | $68,620 | $75,220 |
| Arizona | 230 | 0.1 | 0.69 | $44,350 | $40,490 |
| Iowa | 200 | 0.1 | 1.21 | $51,060 | $55,800 |
| Louisiana | 180 | 0.1 | 0.89 | $48,200 | $46,350 |
| Utah | 160 | 0.1 | 0.87 | $42,410 | $37,180 |
| Idaho | 150 | 0.2 | 1.71 | $53,150 | $56,540 |
| Massachusetts | 130 | 0.0 | 0.34 | $56,530 | $59,760 |
| West Virginia | 130 | 0.2 | 1.77 | $48,970 | $52,640 |
| Maryland | 120 | 0.0 | 0.40 | $59,890 | $75,000 |
| Nebraska | 120 | 0.1 | 1.15 | $46,120 | $49,300 |
| North Dakota | 110 | 0.3 | 2.58 | $51,780 | $51,080 |
| Montana | 100 | 0.2 | 1.80 | $37,560 | $29,330 |
| Colorado | 80 | 0.0 | 0.26 | $50,660 | $48,320 |
| Minnesota | 80 | 0.0 | 0.26 | $64,110 | $60,130 |
| New Hampshire | 60 | 0.1 | 0.90 | $50,820 | $51,300 |
| South Dakota | 60 | 0.1 | 1.32 | $48,320 | $43,010 |
| Maine | 40 | 0.1 | 0.65 | $50,790 | $48,600 |
| Nevada | 40 | 0.0 | 0.25 | $65,230 | $66,800 |
| Wyoming | 40 | 0.1 | 1.39 | $75,730 | $74,530 |
| Connecticut | 30 | 0.0 | 0.19 | $47,130 | $43,300 |
| Vermont | 30 | 0.1 | 1.02 | $43,370 | $41,450 |
The occupation in context
Ranked against all 826 published occupations, Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders stands number 598 by employment and number 597 by median pay. Inside its own major group, Production Occupations, the group median wage is $46,020 across 105 detailed occupations, so this occupation pays 2% more than its group median, and it supplies 0.2% of the group's 8,743,430 jobs. In 26 of the 45 states with a published median, the state median beats the national median of $47,010, which is the single best quick test of whether this occupation's pay is set nationally or locally: a high count means local markets regularly outbid the national figure.
Metropolitan areas: where the jobs and the pay sit
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA is the largest metro employer with 450 jobs, 2.8% of the national total. Below, the biggest employers come first; the pay table after it only counts metros with 500 or more jobs in the occupation, so its leader is a real market and not a statistical artifact.
Largest metro employers
| Metropolitan area | Employment | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 450 | $44,840 | $39,760 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 410 | $54,770 | $55,330 |
| Birmingham, AL | 350 | $52,280 | $50,350 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 330 | $50,020 | $48,190 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 310 | $54,550 | $56,410 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 260 | $44,930 | $44,160 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 250 | $47,010 | $44,920 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 230 | $55,200 | $54,060 |
| Columbus, OH | 170 | $44,460 | $38,320 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 170 | $44,470 | $41,820 |
What the median pay looks like as a budget
The median Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders paycheck, gross, is $1,808 every two weeks on an annual $47,010, which is $3,918 a month and $904 a week. Moving from the 25th percentile ($39,250) to the 75th ($57,840) is worth $18,590 a year, which is the realistic size of the experience and specialization premium inside this occupation. Gross is a starting point, not a budget: the paycheck calculator nets it down by state, an offer comparison lives in the salary calculator, and the raise vs inflation calculator separates a real raise from a nominal one.
To place a real offer: a salary of $51,711 would sit between the median ($47,010) and the 75th percentile ($57,840), inside the top half but outside the top quarter of this occupation's ladder. An offer at the 25th percentile, $39,250, is $7,760 under the median, the typical size of the discount attached to entry-level or low-cost-market postings in this field.
Related occupations in Production Occupations
Compare the ladder above with the closest relatives in the survey: Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers, Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders, Machinists, Production Workers, All Other, Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers. The Careers hub carries the whole branch, group by group.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders?
BLS publishes both centers: the mean annual wage is $49,250 and the median is $47,010 (May 2024). The median is usually the better answer to what a typical worker makes, because the mean is pulled by the highest earners.
Where do Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders earn the most?
At state level, Kentucky posts the highest median at $75,220. At metro level, BLS publishes no metro estimates for this occupation.
How many Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders jobs are there?
16,160 nationally in May 2024. The biggest metro employer is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA with 450 jobs.
Is $47,010 a good salary for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders?
It is the exact middle of the occupation: half of the 16,160 counted workers earn more, half earn less. Against the occupation's own ladder, an offer above $57,840 is a top-quartile offer and one below $39,250 is a bottom-quartile one.