Production
Water Treatment Operators
SOC 51-8031
Run the plants that make water safe to drink and treat waste.
The job
Median pay
$60k
$48k to $75k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Declining
-5.7% projected
Openings a year
10k
BLS projection
Typical education
High school
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
29/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
49th pct
More exposed than 49% of occupations · modeled estimate · 1st pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
41/100
Key skills
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Mathematics
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 | 11,630 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $82k |
| Texas | 10,520 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $49k |
| Florida | 7,440 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $59k |
| Ohio | 5,870 | 1.1 | 1.3× | $59k |
| New York | 5,300 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $64k |
| Pennsylvania | 4,660 | 0.8 | 0.9× | $63k |
| Arizona | 3,950 | 1.2 | 1.5× | $61k |
| North Carolina | 3,620 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $52k |
| Illinois | 3,500 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $68k |
| Virginia | 3,460 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $59k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 3,400 | 0.8 | 0.9× | $59k |
| Georgia | 3,310 | 0.7 | 0.8× | $49k |
| Indiana | 3,140 | 1.0 | 1.2× | $54k |
| Tennessee | 3,140 | 1.0 | 1.2× | $51k |
| Missouri | 3,000 | 1.0 | 1.2× | $50k |
| Alabama | 2,770 | 1.3 | 1.6× | $52k |
| South Carolina | 2,650 | 1.1 | 1.4× | $52k |
| Colorado | 2,620 | 0.9 | 1.1× | $74k |
| Kentucky | 2,540 | 1.3 | 1.5× | $45k |
| Massachusetts | 2,510 | 0.7 | 0.8× | $69k |
| New Jersey | 2,500 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $79k |
| Louisiana | 2,450 | 1.3 | 1.5× | $46k |
| Iowa | 2,370 | 1.5 | 1.8× | $61k |
| Minnesota | 2,290 | 0.8 | 0.9× | $75k |
| Oklahoma | 2,280 | 1.3 | 1.6× | $46k |
| Wisconsin | 2,230 | 0.8 | 0.9× | $64k |
| New Mexico | 2,110 | 2.4 | 2.9× | $48k |
| Washington | 2,030 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $81k |
| Arkansas | 2,010 | 1.5 | 1.9× | $44k |
| Utah | 1,900 | 1.1 | 1.3× | $61k |
| Maryland | 1,770 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $62k |
| Kansas | 1,560 | 1.1 | 1.3× | $47k |
| Idaho | 1,480 | 1.7 | 2.1× | $52k |
| Oregon | 1,240 | 0.6 | 0.8× | $70k |
| Mississippi | 1,150 | 1.0 | 1.2× | $46k |
| West Virginia | 1,100 | 1.6 | 1.9× | $48k |
| South Dakota | 1,060 | 2.3 | 2.8× | $53k |
| Connecticut | 980 | 0.6 | 0.7× | $79k |
| Nevada | 836 | 0.5 | 0.7× | $81k~ |
| Alaska | 750 | 2.3 | 2.8× | $60k |
| Nebraska | 740 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $61k |
| Maine | 710 | 1.1 | 1.3× | $62k |
| Montana | 690 | 1.3 | 1.6× | $58k |
| Hawaii | 610 | 1.0 | 1.2× | $66k |
| North Dakota | 550 | 1.3 | 1.6× | $60k |
| New Hampshire | 510 | 0.7 | 0.9× | $63k |
| Wyoming | 500 | 1.8 | 2.2× | $63k |
| Rhode Island | 420 | 0.8 | 1.0× | $62k |
| Delaware | 340 | 0.7 | 0.8× | $65k |
| Vermont | 320 | 1.1 | 1.3× | $64k |
| Washington DC | 75 | 0.1 | 0.1× | $76k~ |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ3,690 jobs · $83k median
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ2,570 jobs · $64k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA2,230 jobs · $82k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX1,980 jobs · $52k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX1,910 jobs · $52k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1,770 jobs · $79k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD1,650 jobs · $67k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV1,630 jobs · $74k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Water Treatment 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.