SOC 53-7064 · Transportation and Material Moving Occupations · May 2025

How much do Packers and Packagers, Hand make in Salinas, CA?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Packers and Packagers, Hand in Salinas, CA is $35,480. The 10th percentile is $34,820 and the 90th percentile is $39,570. Employment is 2,700.

Median annual wage

$35,480

10th percentile
$34,820
25th percentile
$35,240
Median
$35,480
75th percentile
$37,330
90th percentile
$39,570
Mean
$37,090

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

Farmworkers picking asparagus in a field in Baja California
Asparagus pickers in the Maneadero valley, Baja California. Photograph by Tomas Castelazo. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Percentile spread

For Packers and Packagers, Hand, the published 10th percentile is $34,820 and the 90th percentile is $39,570. The difference is $4,750, which is 13.4% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $35,240 to the 75th at $37,330, covers $2,090.

The mean annual wage is $37,090, which sits above the median of $35,480. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Salinas, CA median is 2.2% lower than the national median of $36,280 for Packers and Packagers, Hand. In 2024 national prices the local median is $32,538, which is 10.3% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 4.8% lower than the California median of $37,260.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Salinas, CA is 109.042, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $35,480 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Packers and Packagers, Hand at $32,538 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

17 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Packers and Packagers, Hand. Salinas, CA ranks 14th of 18 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 46 miles away, with a median of $42,410 and employment of 3,600. That median is 19.5% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $38,407, against $32,538 here.
  • Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA is 66 miles away, with a median of $36,510 and employment of 390. That median is 2.9% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $33,222, against $32,538 here.
  • Merced, CA is 74 miles away, with a median of $34,320 and employment of 1,160. That median is 3.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $34,922, against $32,538 here.

Employment share

Packers and Packagers, Hand accounts for 1.4% of wage-and-salary employment in Salinas, CA (2,700 of 186,430). Nationally the occupation is 0.36% of employment (559,820 of 155,495,730). The local share is 4.02 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Salinas, CA · Packers and Packagers, Hand by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Packers and Packagers, Hand make in Salinas, CA?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Packers and Packagers, Hand in Salinas, CA is $35,480. The 10th percentile is $34,820 and the 90th percentile is $39,570. Employment is 2,700.

How does that compare with the national median for Packers and Packagers, Hand?

The local median is 2.2% lower than the national median of $36,280.

What is Packers and Packagers, Hand pay in Salinas, CA after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Salinas, CA is 109.042, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $35,480 is $32,538. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Salinas, CA compare with nearby metros for Packers and Packagers, Hand?

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 46 miles away, at $42,410. Salinas, CA ranks 14th of 18 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.