Log Graders and Scalers Salary and Pay
How much do Log Graders and Scalers make?
Log Graders and Scalers pay a median of $46,710 a year in the BLS May 2024 survey, with a mean of $48,130 across 3,310 counted jobs. Half of all workers in the occupation earn between $38,390 and $56,200.
What Log Graders and Scalers actually pay, from the federal wage survey: a $46,710 median, the full percentile ladder, every state's table, and the metros where the jobs and the money sit, on one page.
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 | $35,050 | $16.85 |
| 25th percentile | $38,390 | $18.46 |
| Median (50th) | $46,710 | $22.46 |
| 75th percentile | $56,200 | $27.02 |
| 90th percentile | $63,370 | $30.47 |
A percentile marks a point in this occupation's pay distribution: the worker one quarter of the way up the Log Graders and Scalers ladder earns the 25th percentile wage, $38,390. BLS top-codes very high wages ($239,200+ a year, $115.00+ an hour) and marks estimates it cannot publish as n/p.
Employment and concentration
The occupation employed 3,310 people in May 2024, 0.00% of every job BLS counted. California is the largest employer at 420 jobs, and the leading three states between them hold 30.2% of the workforce. Concentration peaks in West Virginia, whose location quotient of 12.34 says this work is 12.34 times as dense there as it is nationwide.
One in ten workers in this field earns $35,050 or less, and one in ten earns $63,370 or more, so the top-to-bottom ratio is 1.8 to 1 and the annual gap is $28,320. The mean ($48,130) versus median ($46,710) comparison shows a right-skewed ladder where senior and specialist roles lift the average in this occupation.
Pay by state
Oregon posts the highest median annual wage in the state table at $62,860, and California the largest headcount. The full table, sorted by employment:
| State | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 420 | 0.0 | 1.08 | $53,290 | $56,570 |
| Pennsylvania | 340 | 0.1 | 2.64 | $41,940 | $38,900 |
| Arkansas | 240 | 0.2 | 8.69 | $41,790 | $42,360 |
| Washington | 190 | 0.1 | 2.54 | $62,070 | $59,670 |
| West Virginia | 190 | 0.3 | 12.34 | $45,900 | $47,570 |
| Alabama | 180 | 0.1 | 4.06 | $44,920 | $44,800 |
| Oregon | 180 | 0.1 | 4.30 | $62,780 | $62,860 |
| Kentucky | 160 | 0.1 | 3.73 | $43,690 | $47,160 |
| Mississippi | 130 | 0.1 | 5.03 | $44,080 | $43,970 |
| Georgia | 120 | 0.0 | 1.16 | $42,500 | $43,510 |
| North Carolina | 120 | 0.0 | 1.12 | $51,990 | $46,870 |
| Wisconsin | 120 | 0.0 | 1.95 | $50,050 | $50,040 |
| Louisiana | 100 | 0.1 | 2.37 | $44,330 | $47,140 |
| Ohio | 90 | 0.0 | 0.72 | $45,330 | $43,680 |
| Virginia | 90 | 0.0 | 1.03 | $35,220 | $34,720 |
| Indiana | 80 | 0.0 | 1.12 | $52,650 | $46,300 |
| Maine | 80 | 0.1 | 6.00 | $48,580 | $51,650 |
| Idaho | 70 | 0.1 | 3.66 | $64,570 | $62,000 |
| Michigan | 70 | 0.0 | 0.76 | $52,530 | $50,620 |
| Florida | 40 | 0.0 | 0.20 | $39,010 | $38,710 |
| South Carolina | 40 | 0.0 | 0.87 | $47,370 | $49,990 |
| New York | 30 | 0.0 | 0.17 | $43,680 | $42,850 |
| Tennessee | n/p | n/p | n/p | $34,770 | $29,120 |
The occupation in context
Ranked against all 826 published occupations, Log Graders and Scalers stands number 780 by employment and number 606 by median pay. Inside its own major group, Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations, the group median wage is $46,710 across 13 detailed occupations, so this occupation pays 0% more than its group median, and it supplies 0.8% of the group's 440,980 jobs. In 12 of the 23 states with a published median, the state median beats the national median of $46,710, 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
Tuscaloosa, AL is the largest metro employer with 40 jobs, 1.2% of the national total. Employment rank and pay rank are different lists: the second table re-sorts metros with at least 500 jobs in this occupation by mean pay, the floor keeping a handful of workers from posing as a market.
Largest metro employers
| Metropolitan area | Employment | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscaloosa, AL | 40 | $45,590 | $46,540 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | n/p | $62,780 | $61,240 |
What the median pay looks like as a budget
The median annual wage of $46,710 works out to $3,892 a month before taxes, $1,797 per biweekly paycheck, and $898 a week. Moving from the 25th percentile ($38,390) to the 75th ($56,200) is worth $17,810 a year, which is the realistic size of the experience and specialization premium inside this occupation. Run the median through the paycheck calculator for a take-home estimate in your state, compare an offer against your current pay with the salary calculator, and check whether a raise actually beats prices with the raise vs inflation calculator.
To place a real offer: a salary of $51,381 would sit between the median ($46,710) and the 75th percentile ($56,200), inside the top half but outside the top quarter of this occupation's ladder. An offer at the 25th percentile, $38,390, is $8,320 under the median, the typical size of the discount attached to entry-level or low-cost-market postings in this field.
Related occupations in Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
Pay for the neighboring roles in the same BLS major group: Agricultural Inspectors, Forest and Conservation Workers, Agricultural Workers, All Other, Fallers, Logging Workers, All Other, Animal Breeders. The full directory is on the Careers hub.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Log Graders and Scalers make?
The median annual wage is $46,710 and the mean is $48,130 in the BLS OEWS May 2024 estimates. The middle half of workers earn between $38,390 and $56,200 a year.
Which state pays Log Graders and Scalers the most?
By median annual wage, Oregon leads the state table at $62,860, based on 180 jobs in that state. By mean wage and by headcount the leaders can differ, so the state table on this page shows all three measures side by side.
How many Log Graders and Scalers are there in the United States?
BLS counted 3,310 wage and salary workers in this occupation in May 2024, 0.00% of all U.S. employment in the survey. The largest state employer is California with 420 jobs.
What do the OEWS percentiles mean for Log Graders and Scalers?
They mark points in this occupation's pay distribution. One worker in ten earns $35,050 or less and one in ten earns $63,370 or more; the median, $46,710, is the wage of the worker exactly in the middle of the 3,310 counted jobs.