Side-by-side distribution
Machinist
$31.00/hr
per hour · USD
- Disclosing
- 50.3%
- Live roles
- 877
Manufacturing Engineer
$122,900
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 40.6%
- Live roles
- 3,032
Highest-paying jobs
CNC Machinist
CNC Machinist Trainer
Gear Machinist
CNC Machinist/Programmer
CNC Machinist
Senior CNC Programmer & Machinist, 5-Axis
Lead CNC Machinist (PM Shift)
CNC Mill-Turn Machinist
Senior Composite CNC Programmer/Machinist
Machinist 1st Shift
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer, Production Model Post-Training
Manufacturing Engineer II (Controls Technician)
Production Support Engineer - Trading Systems
Risk and Pnl Production Support Engineer
Manufacturing Quality Engineer, Data Center Power & Cooling
Product Engineer - Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Engineer - Data Center Hardware
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Reentry)
Senior Manufacturing Engineer (Arc Vehicle)
Product Manufacturing Engineer - PCBA
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Moog
|
$62,400 | 36 |
| WO Woodward | $57,470 | 22 |
SpaceX
|
$54,470 | 22 |
Caterpillar
|
$66,321 | 20 |
Curtiss-Wright
|
$64,480 | 17 |
| GV GE Vernova | $69,991 | 16 |
Northrop Grumman
|
$70,300 | 14 |
Regal Rexnord
|
$58,240 | 14 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 138 |
|
Northrop Grumman
|
$123,000 | 75 |
Blue Origin
|
$110,222 | 38 |
Relativity Space
|
$133,000 | 28 |
| GV GE Vernova | $109,200 | 25 |
Applied Materials
|
$93,250 | 24 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$152,000 | 23 |
|
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 23 |
Machinist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $107,760 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $78,000 | 5 |
| New York | $61,486 | 8 |
Manufacturing Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $201,600 | 41 |
| London | $180,000 | 3 |
| New York | $178,250 | 44 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 47 |
| Boston | $150,000 | 7 |
| Chicago | $135,750 | 6 |
| Seattle | $134,471 | 52 |
| Atlanta | $130,000 | 7 |
| Austin | $125,500 | 33 |
| Toronto | $100,500 | 4 |
Machinist vs Manufacturing Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Machinist is $31.00/hr per year (typically $27.07/hr–$36.54/hr), versus $122,900 for Manufacturing Engineer ($100,000–$152,500). That puts Manufacturing Engineer about 91% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Machinist and Manufacturing Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.