Production
CNC Programmers
SOC 51-9162
Write the programs that tell CNC machines how to cut a part.
The job
Median pay
$68k
$58k to $82k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+5.9% projected
Openings a year
3k
BLS projection
Typical education
Postsecondary cert
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
20/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
59th pct
More exposed than 59% of occupations · modeled estimate · 99th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
50/100
Key skills
- Monitoring
- Mathematics
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,990 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $82k |
| Ohio | 2,370 | 0.4 | 2.3× | $60k |
| Michigan | 2,300 | 0.5 | 2.9× | $65k |
| Texas | 1,930 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $70k |
| Wisconsin | 1,610 | 0.5 | 3.0× | $67k |
| Indiana | 1,490 | 0.5 | 2.5× | $63k |
| Minnesota | 1,250 | 0.4 | 2.3× | $74k |
| New York | 1,140 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $69k |
| Pennsylvania | 1,080 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $66k |
| Illinois | 1,070 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $69k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 770 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $64k |
| North Carolina | 760 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $64k |
| Kansas | 680 | 0.5 | 2.6× | $76k |
| Massachusetts | 680 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $82k |
| Washington | 660 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $81k |
| Iowa | 640 | 0.4 | 2.2× | $58k |
| New Jersey | 520 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $70k |
| Connecticut | 500 | 0.3 | 1.6× | $86k |
| Oregon | 500 | 0.3 | 1.4× | $75k |
| Arizona | 470 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $74k |
| Missouri | 430 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $78k |
| Alabama | 420 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $65k |
| Georgia | 420 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $61k |
| Colorado | 410 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $70k |
| Louisiana | 340 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $72k~ |
| South Carolina | 340 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $69k |
| Oklahoma | 330 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $66k |
| Tennessee | 330 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $70k |
| Virginia | 330 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $74k |
| New Hampshire | 290 | 0.4 | 2.3× | $72k |
| Kentucky | 230 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $65k |
| Arkansas | 210 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $56k |
| Maryland | 200 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $66k |
| Utah | 150 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $66k |
| Mississippi | 140 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $50k |
| Vermont | 140 | 0.5 | 2.5× | $78k |
| Nevada | 130 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $57k |
| Idaho | 120 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $64k |
| West Virginia | 114 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $67k~ |
| New Mexico | 96 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $64k~ |
| South Dakota | 80 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $67k |
| Nebraska | 70 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $63k |
| Rhode Island | 70 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $63k |
| Delaware | 63 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $58k~ |
| Montana | 60 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $71k |
| Maine | 50 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $73k |
| Hawaii | 45 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $71k~ |
| Wyoming | 44 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $86k~ |
| North Dakota | 40 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $76k |
| Alaska | 31 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $79k~ |
| Washington DC | 17 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $87k~ |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA1,350 jobs · $83k median
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI1,030 jobs · $66k median
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI850 jobs · $78k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN800 jobs · $69k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ780 jobs · $71k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX720 jobs · $70k median
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI650 jobs · $67k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH540 jobs · $86k median
Explore the rankings
Explore CNC Programmers 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.