National pay breakdown: every percentile, annual & hourly
Automation technician roles do not have a dedicated BLS SOC code. The closest authoritative match is SOC 17-3024 (Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians), which covers the full population of plant-floor technicians who maintain integrated electrical, mechanical, and control systems. The May 2025 OEWS release was published 2026-04-30. Here is the full national distribution:
| Percentile | Annual wage | Hourly wage | Typical profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $47,840 | $23.00/hr | Entry packaging or bottling line, single platform, day shift |
| 25th | $59,780 | $28.74/hr | 1-3 years experience, AAS, one PLC platform fluent |
| 50th (median) | $73,900 | $35.53/hr | 5-10 years in food and beverage or general manufacturing |
| 75th | $88,540 | $42.57/hr | Pharma GMP plant, packaging OEM field service, or DCS-fluent |
| 90th | $109,890 | $52.83/hr | Refinery I&C tech, lead automation tech, or DCS specialist |
| Mean | $76,420 | $36.74/hr | Pulled above median by refinery and pharma upper tail |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, national cross-industry estimate for SOC 17-3024 (national_M2025_dl.xlsx, released 2026-04-30).
The annual figures assume year-round full-time employment (2,080 hours). Process-industry plants run 24/7, so shift differential (typically $1.50-$3.50/hr for nights, $2.00-$4.00/hr for weekends) and substantial overtime are routine, total cash compensation commonly exceeds the base annual figure by 10-20%. Add another 8-12% for benefits load when comparing to a 1099 contract automation engineering role.
By experience level: entry, mid-career, and late-career
The BLS does not publish wages by years-of-experience. The mapping below combines the BLS OEWS percentile distribution (authoritative for what gets paid) with self-reported data from Salary.com and ZipRecruiter for the "Automation Technician" title (informative for who reports what):
| Tier | Posted-data avg | BLS percentile match | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry (0-1 yr) | $52K-$58K | ~10-25th | No vendor certs, single platform, packaging or bottling line |
| Intermediate (2-4 yr) | $60K-$72K | ~25-50th | First vendor cert, multi-line, learning HMI / SCADA |
| Senior (5-9 yr) | $72K-$88K | ~50-75th | Cross-platform, can own a line area, GMP or PSM exposure |
| Late career (10+ yr) | $85K-$105K | ~75-90th | Lead tech, DCS specialist, or shift to controls-engineer track |
Self-reported data from Salary.com and ZipRecruiter for "Automation Technician" job title; BLS OEWS May 2025 for percentile match. Process-industry segments (pharma, refining) skew toward the top of each range.
Where the curve actually bends: the senior-to-late-career step (year 5 to year 10) is the largest pay jump for automation technicians, and it almost always tracks a deliberate platform decision. Picking up a DCS platform (DeltaV at a pharma or chemical plant, Experion at a refinery), adding the PMMI Mechatronics Certification for packaging-vertical credibility, or moving into a packaging OEM field service role at Pro Mach or Krones are the three moves that consistently take the number from the $65K-$75K plateau into the $85K-$105K band.
By state: where wages run highest and where the jobs concentrate
Two different state lists matter. The top-paying states for SOC 17-3024 are dominated by high cost-of-living markets (California, Washington, Maryland) plus supply-constrained anomalies (New Mexico). For automation-titled work specifically, the more useful filter is process-industry geography: Texas and Louisiana for refining and petrochemicals, New Jersey and North Carolina for pharma, Indiana for both pharma and food, and Wisconsin for packaged food and beverage equipment.
Top 10 states by mean annual wage
| Rank | State | Mean wage | Median wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $110,820 | $119,320 | 670 |
| 2 | California | $92,350 | $81,550 | 1,850 |
| 3 | North Dakota | $92,220 | $82,820 | 90 |
| 4 | Maryland | $90,100 | $75,330 | 90 |
| 5 | Alaska | $90,060 | $80,290 | 40 |
| 6 | Washington | $89,820 | $81,220 | 570 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $87,030 | $81,860 | 140 |
| 8 | Illinois | $82,920 | $79,400 | 250 |
| 9 | Nevada | $80,230 | $82,010 | 220 |
| 10 | Arizona | $79,560 | $80,930 | 120 |
Top 10 states by total employment
| Rank | State | Employment | Mean wage | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 1,850 | $92,350 | $81,550 |
| 2 | Texas | 1,800 | $64,270 | $54,460 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 920 | $75,050 | $73,630 |
| 4 | Michigan | 850 | $68,210 | $62,460 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 800 | $66,920 | $63,330 |
| 6 | New Mexico | 670 | $110,820 | $119,320 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 650 | $73,330 | $74,710 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 580 | $76,080 | $76,290 |
| 9 | Colorado | 570 | $71,540 | $74,730 |
| 10 | Virginia | 570 | $79,180 | $74,880 |
Source: BLS OEWS state estimates (May 2025), state_M2025_dl.xlsx. Total US employment for SOC 17-3024 is 15,520 per the national release.
Process-industry geography drives automation-specific demand more than the BLS state averages suggest. Texas hosts the largest concentration of refinery and petrochemical I&C technicians in the US (Houston Ship Channel, Beaumont, Corpus Christi), Louisiana adds another 30-plus refineries and chemical plants along the Mississippi corridor. Both states pay automation technicians at refineries well above their state SOC median because PSM-qualified, DCS-fluent technicians are in short supply. New Jersey, Indiana, and North Carolina lead pharma manufacturing automation, with consistent posting volume from Merck, J&J, Lilly, Pfizer, Catalent, and Novo Nordisk.
Wisconsin and Ohio are the underappreciated packaging plays. Both states host clusters of food and beverage processing plus packaging OEM service centers, so AAS graduates routinely choose between a plant-side automation role and a field-service tech path at Pro Mach, Krones, or a regional packaging integrator. The starting pay is comparable; the field role grows faster and pays better at five years if the travel works for you.
By metro: where the postings cluster
Metro-level data narrows further than state averages. The top-paying SOC-17-3024 metros are concentrated in California (San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles) and the Northeast corridor (Bridgeport, Boston), but for automation-titled work specifically, the metros that matter most are Houston (refining), Indianapolis (pharma plus Allison Transmission), Raleigh-Durham (pharma plus Novo Nordisk Clayton), Chicago (food, packaging, refining), and Greenville-Spartanburg (packaging plus food and beverage):
| Rank | Metro | Mean wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $112,060 | 290 |
| 2 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $103,660 | 30 |
| 3 | Toledo, OH | $99,330 | 40 |
| 4 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $98,940 | 500 |
| 5 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $96,460 | 360 |
| 6 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $90,130 | 80 |
| 7 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $88,340 | 50 |
| 8 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $86,580 | 80 |
| 9 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $86,340 | 40 |
| 10 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $86,160 | 540 |
Source: BLS OEWS metropolitan area estimates (May 2025), MSA_M2025_dl.xlsx.
The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro is the single largest US concentration of process-industry automation work, refineries, petrochemical plants, and the engineering and contractor firms that service them. Postings at ExxonMobil Baytown, Shell Deer Park, LyondellBasell, INEOS, and Dow's Texas operations consistently fill the upper percentiles for the SOC. Indianapolis is the comparable pharma-and-distribution hub, with Lilly, Roche, Catalent, and a deep packaging-line presence.
By industry: where the role pays the most
Industry assignment is the single most important variable for automation-titled work. Per BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates for SOC 17-3024:
| Industry | Mean wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | $111,920 | 120 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $108,380 | 60 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | $100,980 | 100 |
| Support Activities for Transportation | $91,070 | 70 |
| Support Activities for Mining | $89,040 | 100 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $83,190 | 4,250 |
| Machinery Manufacturing | $71,520 | 1,800 |
| Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | $68,750 | 1,700 |
| Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | $83,740 | 1,380 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | $76,390 | 660 |
Top of table: top-paying industries. Bottom of table: largest-employing industries. Source: BLS OEWS industry-specific national estimates (May 2025).
For automation technicians specifically, the most relevant industry buckets are the process-vertical ones, even when total SOC employment is modest. Utilities ($111,920 mean) and petroleum and coal products manufacturing ($108,380 mean) cover refinery, pipeline, and power generation automation, the highest-paying common configurations in this field. Combined US employment in those two buckets is under 300 SOC-17-3024 workers, so demand is real and supply is thin. Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing (NAICS 3254) is the other process-industry premium, posting wages typically run $75K-$95K base for journeyman pharma plant automation roles with DeltaV or Experion fluency and GMP-environment experience.
On the volume side, Professional Scientific Technical Services is the largest bucket because it captures system integrators (Maverick Technologies, Wood, Burns & McDonnell, Jacobs, Stantec) that contract automation technicians out to end clients. Pay there varies widely by client, refinery turnaround work pays substantially above pharma validation work, which pays above general manufacturing integration work.
By employer: what specific companies pay automation technicians
The BLS does not publish employer-specific wages, so this section pulls from posted job listings, employer-disclosed compensation ranges, and Indeed and Glassdoor aggregates. Most employers do not separate "automation technician" pay from "controls technician" or "I&C technician" pay, so the figures below cover the closest titled role at each employer, not the BLS SOC specifically. Treat as posting-derived ranges, not offers.
| Employer | Role basis | Posted range | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExxonMobil (Gulf Coast) | I&C Technician | $95K-$120K base | Refinery and petrochem; PSM and DCS expected. Heavy OT |
| Chevron / Phillips 66 | I&C Technician | $88K-$115K base | Same refinery profile; apprenticeship pipelines preferred |
| Marathon Petroleum | I&C Technician | $85K-$110K base | Multiple US refineries; rotating shift schedule |
| Pfizer (Kalamazoo, Andover) | Automation Tech | $78K-$95K base | Pharma GMP; DeltaV common; Part 11 audit exposure |
| Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, Lebanon) | Automation Tech | $75K-$92K base | Major capacity expansion at Lebanon site; large hiring pipeline |
| Merck / J&J / Amgen | Automation Tech | $72K-$92K base | DeltaV or Experion plus batch-control / ISA-95 fluency |
| PepsiCo / Coca-Cola bottling | Automation Tech | $62K-$78K base | Allen-Bradley dominant; shift diff plus OT pushes total ~10-15% |
| Nestle / Kraft Heinz / Mars | Automation Tech | $60K-$76K base | Food-safe plant work; multi-line ownership at year 3-5 |
| Tyson Foods / JBS | Automation Tech | $58K-$72K base | Meat-processing line automation; rural plant locations |
| Pro Mach (field) | Field Service Tech | $72K-$92K base | Packaging OEM; per-diem and lodging covered; 60-80% travel |
| Krones / Sidel / Tetra Pak | Field Service Tech | $78K-$98K base | European OEMs; bottling and filling lines; international travel possible |
| Coesia (R.A Jones, Hapa) | Field Service Tech | $72K-$90K base | Packaging plus pharma fill-finish equipment; lower travel % |
Posted ranges compiled from Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, and employer career-site postings retrieved 2026. Refinery I&C and pharma automation figures are role-specific. Packaging OEM field service figures exclude per-diem and lodging, both of which are typically employer-paid.
The pattern that matters: same skill set, the refinery I&C and pharma automation tracks pay 25-50% above food-and-beverage and consumer-packaging plant roles. The premium is partly compensating differential (rotating shifts, PSM exposure, GMP audit pressure) and partly supply: the pool of technicians who hold an apprenticeship card, PSM familiarity, and DCS fluency is much smaller than the pool of Allen-Bradley generalists. The clearest upgrade path for an early-career bottling or food plant technician is to pick up a DCS platform and target a pharma or chemical employer at year three to five.
By certification: what each credential is worth at posting time
Posted wage data from Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and OEM training programs shows real pay deltas for automation-relevant credentials. These are posting medians, not BLS-authoritative, but they reflect what employers advertise:
- MSSC CPT-MT (maintenance) + AAS: $55K-$68K base. The common floor at regional food and beverage plants.
- PMMI Mechatronics Certification: $62K-$78K base. The packaging-vertical credential, widely recognized at Pro Mach, Coesia, and CPG plants that run packaging-line automation.
- Rockwell ControlLogix / Studio 5000 fluency: $68K-$88K base. The dominant PLC platform in US discrete and CPG manufacturing.
- Siemens TIA Portal / S7-1500 fluency: $70K-$90K base. Common at European OEM-served plants (Krones, Sidel, BMW, VW, Mercedes) and pharma sites running Siemens PCS 7.
- Emerson DeltaV credential (DCS): $80K-$105K base. Pharma, chemical, and downstream oil and gas standard. DeltaV training plus 3-5 years pharma plant time is a fast track into the upper percentiles.
- Honeywell Experion credential (DCS): $85K-$110K base. Refinery and petrochemical standard. Combined with OSHA PSM familiarity, this is the highest-leverage cert stack in this field.
- OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) familiarity: Not a standalone credential, but plants subject to 29 CFR 1910.119 (refineries, large chemical plants) hire automation technicians specifically for PSM-qualified roles at a meaningful premium over comparable non-PSM postings.
- ISA Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) Level 1-3: $72K-$92K base depending on level. The vendor-neutral credential that signals controls competence across PLC and DCS platforms.
See our full mechatronics certification guide for the credential-by-credential cost, length, and employer-recognition breakdown.
Year-over-year wage trend
BLS OEWS releases roll one year at a time. Here is how SOC 17-3024 has moved across the last three releases:
| Data period | Median annual | YoY change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | $66,490 | n/a | Baseline |
| May 2024 | $70,760 | +6.4% | Pharma capacity expansion (Lilly Lebanon, Pfizer) accelerates |
| May 2025 | $73,900 | +4.4% | Continued growth, retirement-driven supply tightening in process verticals |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2023, May 2024, and May 2025 national releases for SOC 17-3024.
For context: NAM's manufacturing wage index reported +4.5% growth across production occupations in 2025. The automation-titled segment has tracked slightly above the broader SOC because of two compounding pressures: pharma capacity expansion (Lilly's Lebanon, IN site, Pfizer Kalamazoo, Novo Nordisk Clayton, NC) is pulling DCS-fluent technicians out of the contractor pool, and refinery I&C retirements are not being replaced at the same rate they are leaving. Both pressures should continue through the 2024-2034 projection window.
How to push your automation technician salary higher: three real levers
Lever 1: Cross-train from PLC into a DCS platform
The single highest-leverage in-career move is platform expansion from a PLC-only profile into a DCS platform (Emerson DeltaV, Honeywell Experion, ABB 800xA, or Yokogawa CENTUM). DCS technician postings in pharma and refining run $8K-$15K above comparable PLC-only postings in the same metro, and the upper percentiles ($90K-$110K base) almost all require DCS fluency. The fastest path: get assigned to a DCS-running line at your current plant if possible, or transfer into a system integrator (Maverick, Wood, Burns & McDonnell) that staffs DCS turnaround work and trains technicians on the platform before deploying them. Vendor-direct training (Emerson Educational Services, Honeywell Process Solutions training, ABB University) is the next-best route, employers will frequently pay for it when you frame it as moving toward a controls specialist role.
Lever 2: Earn the PMMI Mechatronics Certification for packaging credibility
The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) Mechatronics Certification is the packaging-vertical credential that travels well. It is widely recognized at packaging OEMs (Pro Mach, Coesia, Krones, R.A Jones), at CPG plants running packaging-line automation (Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola), and at the regional packaging integrators that staff line installations. Holders consistently post in the $72K-$88K band, $8K-$12K above the PLC-only generalist median. PMMI exam prep is also relatively short (2-4 weeks of focused study for an experienced technician) and the exam fee is modest compared to vendor credentials.
Lever 3: Target a regulated-industry employer
Two regulated-industry segments pay automation technicians at a structural premium: pharma GMP (FDA 21 CFR Part 11, ISA-88 batch control) and process-safety-managed plants (OSHA PSM, 29 CFR 1910.119). The reason is the same in both cases: the qualified-technician supply is small relative to demand, and the regulatory liability of running production with under-qualified controls staff is high enough that employers pay up rather than gamble. Concrete pivots: a senior automation tech at a Nestle or Kraft Heinz plant who completes a DeltaV course and an ISA-95 batch-control fundamentals class can credibly target Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, J&J, or Amgen openings. A senior tech at a packaging integrator with PSM exposure (often picked up at a chemical client engagement) can target ExxonMobil, Chevron, Phillips 66, or Marathon openings. The pay delta is typically $15K-$30K base plus better shift differential.
Automation technician salary vs adjacent roles
Useful for orienting your next career move:
| Role | SOC | BLS median | Education to get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automation Technician (you) | 17-3024 | $73,900 | AAS or industry certs |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanic | 49-9041 | $63,510 | Apprenticeship or AAS |
| Instrumentation & Control Tech | 17-3023 | $73,920 | AAS plus apprenticeship card |
| Mechatronics Technician | 17-3024 | $73,900 | AAS plus PLC certs |
| Controls Engineer | 17-2071 | ~$108K (BLS EE median) | ABET-EAC BS in EE or CompE |
| Automation Engineer | 17-2199 | $104,930 | ABET BS plus controls experience |
| Electrical Engineer | 17-2071 | $120,630 | ABET-EAC BS plus FE |
All BLS medians from OEWS May 2025. Controls Engineer roles are typically classified under SOC 17-2071 (Electrical Engineers), the median shown is the EE median.
Two clean step-ups: (1) move horizontally into an instrumentation and control technician title (often via a process-industry apprenticeship card) for a small bump and a stronger refinery and pharma posting profile, or (2) commit to an ABET-accredited engineering BS for the $30K+ jump into a controls or automation engineer role. See our controls engineer career guide and automation engineer guide for the bridges.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average automation technician salary in 2026?
Do automation technicians earn more in pharma than in food and beverage?
Is DCS experience worth more than PLC experience for an automation technician?
How much do packaging OEM field service technicians earn?
What does an automation technician at a refinery actually earn?
How much can I earn at PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, or Nestle as an automation technician?
Is the automation technician role growing?
Sources & methodology
All wage and employment data on this page is sourced from primary US government publications and posted employer data, retrieved 2026-05-28:
- BLS OEWS, 17-3024 Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians, May 2025 national release.
- BLS OEWS state-level estimates (oesm25st.zip), used for all state tables.
- BLS OEWS metropolitan area estimates (oesm25ma.zip), used for metro tables.
- BLS OEWS industry-level estimates (oesm25in4.zip), used for industry tables.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, for 2024-2034 employment projections.
- BEA Regional Price Parities, used for cost-of-living context in state and metro discussion.
- PMMI Mechatronics Certification, packaging-vertical credential.
- ISA Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST), vendor-neutral controls credential.
- OSHA Process Safety Management standard, 29 CFR 1910.119, for PSM-qualified role context.
- National Association of Manufacturers, for 2025 manufacturing-wide wage growth (+4.5%).
Refinery I&C and pharma automation employer figures are posted ranges from Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, and employer career-site postings. Most employers do not disclose automation-specific compensation separately, so several rows in the employer table reflect the closest titled role (controls technician, I&C technician, automation tech) rather than the BLS SOC specifically. Treat as posting-derived ranges, not offers.