Production
Chemical Plant Operators
SOC 51-8091
Run and monitor the equipment that turns chemicals into products.
The job
Median pay
$78k
$60k to $99k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Declining
-5.2% projected
Openings a year
1k
BLS projection
Typical education
High school
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
7/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
15th pct
More exposed than 15% of occupations · modeled estimate · 10th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
42/100
Key skills
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
- Speaking
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 3,400 | 1.8 | 16.4× | $100k |
| Texas | 2,360 | 0.2 | 1.6× | $103k |
| California | 780 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $88k |
| Pennsylvania | 770 | 0.1 | 1.2× | $70k |
| Virginia | 760 | 0.2 | 1.7× | $63k |
| North Carolina | 660 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $63k |
| South Carolina | 610 | 0.3 | 2.5× | $69k |
| Massachusetts | 570 | 0.2 | 1.5× | $84k |
| Iowa | 490 | 0.3 | 2.9× | $60k |
| Missouri | 450 | 0.2 | 1.4× | $55k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 400 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $63k |
| West Virginia | 380 | 0.5 | 5.1× | $82k |
| Tennessee | 350 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $46k |
| Washington | 350 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $60k |
| New Jersey | 330 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $87k |
| Indiana | 320 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $49k |
| Mississippi | 320 | 0.3 | 2.6× | $71k |
| Utah | 320 | 0.2 | 1.7× | $63k |
| Wyoming | 300 | 1.1 | 10.0× | $108k |
| Maryland | 290 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $95k |
| Arizona | 247 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $79k~ |
| Arkansas | 240 | 0.2 | 1.7× | $92k |
| Ohio | 240 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $68k |
| Alabama | 230 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $92k |
| Kansas | 227 | 0.2 | 1.5× | $80k~ |
| Georgia | 220 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $49k |
| Oklahoma | 195 | 0.1 | 1.1× | $76k~ |
| South Dakota | 180 | 0.4 | 3.7× | $60k |
| Connecticut | 162 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $82k~ |
| Illinois | 160 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $66k |
| Minnesota | 150 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $67k |
| Nebraska | 142 | 0.1 | 1.3× | $80k~ |
| New York | 120 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $63k |
| Oregon | 120 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $87k |
| Nevada | 108 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $78k~ |
| Wisconsin | 90 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $63k |
| New Hampshire | 76 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $82k~ |
| Maine | 67 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $82k~ |
| Florida | 60 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $129k |
| Idaho | 60 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $83k |
| New Mexico | 56 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $73k~ |
| Rhode Island | 54 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $82k~ |
| North Dakota | 46 | 0.1 | 1.0× | $84k~ |
| Kentucky | 40 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $98k |
| Michigan | 40 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $72k |
| Delaware | 37 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $66k~ |
| Montana | 34 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $80k~ |
| Vermont | 30 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $82k~ |
| Hawaii | 26 | 0.0 | 0.4× | $81k~ |
| Alaska | 18 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $91k~ |
| Washington DC | 10 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $99k~ |
Top metro areas
- Baton Rouge, LA1,720 jobs · $104k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX1,420 jobs · $106k median
- Lake Charles, LA740 jobs · $102k median
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA460 jobs · $92k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH410 jobs · $82k median
- Richmond, VA340 jobs · $78k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD310 jobs · $77k median
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA300 jobs · $112k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Chemical Plant Operators interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.