Salary guide, May 2025
Semiconductor Fab Technician pay, United States
Manufacturing Headhunters uses the published BLS OEWS figures below. They describe the mapped occupation and area, not an individual offer.
This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.
The median annual wage for Semiconductor Processing Technicians in the United States was $51,430 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $45,640 and $65,010.
Also searched as: Manufacturing Technician (Fab), Cleanroom Operator, Semiconductor Process Technician. These titles share this page because BLS reports them under one occupation.
Broader occupation · SOC 51-9141 Semiconductor Processing Technicians
The Semiconductor Fab Technician title maps to the published occupation. BLS does not separate this process, credential, shift or plant-specific title from other work in the occupation.
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $37,690 | $45,640 | $51,430 | $65,010 | $82,540 |
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $18.12 | $21.94 | $24.73 | $31.25 | $39.68 |
BLS estimated 31,460 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. SOC 51-9141 Semiconductor Processing Technicians, U.S.. Official occupation data · Official area tables. Released 2026-05-15.
How does pay compare in the target metros?
| Metro | Median | 25th to 75th | Employment | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $62,320 | $48,490 to $64,510 | 100 | 0.34 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $54,280 | $49,940 to $59,030 | 70 | 0.03 |
| Northern New Jersey within New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $54,280 | $49,940 to $59,030 | 70 | 0.03 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $38,440 | $37,160 to $50,120 | 3,190 | 3.9 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | Not published by BLS for this area. National figures above apply. | |||
Rank every metro for Semiconductor Fab Technician
What should you know about pay by manufacturing industry, United States?
Same BLS occupation, national estimates for each manufacturing industry (NAICS) BLS publishes, May 2025. Industry names are BLS labels.
- Transportation Equipment Manufacturing$64,510
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing$64,510
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing$57,120
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing$52,450
- Manufacturing$51,440
- Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing$51,440
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing$49,000
- Communications Equipment Manufacturing$46,940
Bars show up to 15 industries with exact annual medians. The table lists every published industry.
| NAICS | Industry | Employment | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31-33 | Manufacturing | 30,810 | $45,720 | $51,440 | $64,920 |
| 334000 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | 30,690 | $45,720 | $51,440 | $65,010 |
| 334400 | Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | 27,820 | $45,640 | $52,450 | $71,960 |
| 334100 | Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing | 2,780 | $46,270 | $49,000 | $55,640 |
| 336000 | Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | 90 | $44,690 | $64,510 | $64,510 |
| 334500 | Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | 50 | $47,710 | $57,120 | $72,010 |
| 334200 | Communications Equipment Manufacturing | 40 | $46,020 | $46,940 | $48,140 |
| 336400 | Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | Not published by BLS | $44,070 | $64,510 | $64,510 |
What should you know about manufacturing pay mix?
For Semiconductor Fab Technician, write the straight-time rate separately from shift coverage and extra hours. OEWS includes base rate, guaranteed pay and production incentive pay. It excludes overtime premium, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses. An attendance bonus is not a production bonus; confirm its purpose and treatment rather than adding every bonus to the BLS figure.
Skills-based pay steps affect the base rate when they are part of straight-time pay; BLS does not publish a separate rate for each plant's skill grade. Ask whether a tool allowance is expense reimbursement or wage pay. OEWS does not publish a separate tool-allowance component. Keep these items separate in the offer so the published wage is not mistaken for the whole package.
Pay mix here means how published medians for this one BLS occupation differ across manufacturing industries and against the all-industry median. It does not split pay into base, incentive or overtime. BLS wages are straight-time gross pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials and nonproduction bonuses.
What should you know about two BLS releases?
| Release period | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | $45,320 | $51,180 | $74,640 |
| May 2025 | $45,640 | $51,430 | $65,010 |
These are two separate BLS estimates from different survey panels. The workers and employers behind them differ, so the gap is not like-for-like pay for the same workers and is not a growth rate. We show no percentage change.
What should you know about supervisory and worker occupations?
BLS publishes these as separate occupations. Pay for one is not a pay step for the other.
- Supervisor occupation: Production Supervisor pay (SOC 51-1011)
Recruiter's read. Qualitative, not BLS data.
What should you know about sPC and tool alarms?
Technicians respond to charts and alarms. We ask what they monitored, how they interpreted shifts and when they escalated. A Semiconductor Process Technician should explain what they did before phoning engineering.
What should you know about questions?
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
What is the median pay for a Semiconductor Fab Technician?
The median annual wage for Semiconductor Processing Technicians in the United States was $51,430 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of workers earned between $45,640 and $65,010. This is the broader occupation BLS publishes, not a figure for this exact title.
What does the 10th percentile mean here?
10% of workers in this occupation and area earned less than $37,690. 90% earned less than $82,540.
Does this include overtime or bonuses?
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
Is this the pay for a Semiconductor Fab Technician at a plant?
The Semiconductor Fab Technician title maps to the published occupation. BLS does not separate this process, credential, shift or plant-specific title from other work in the occupation. These are occupation estimates across all industries, not an offer for a particular manufacturing title.
How many people work in this occupation?
BLS estimated 31,460 workers employed in this occupation in the United States.
What should you know about related?
What does this data mean for your opening?
Manufacturing Headhunters analyzes the Semiconductor Fab Technician role, mapped to SOC 51-9141 for Semiconductor Processing Technicians. The national median annual wage is $51,430, a minor increase of $250 since May 2024. This position necessitates mastery of cleanroom protocols, wafer handling, and MES transaction management.
As this SOC captures the broad scope of semiconductor processing, these figures include various roles ranging from entry-level processing to specialized equipment monitoring.
The national middle-band width for this occupation is $19,370, spanning from $45,640 at the P25 to $65,010 at the P75. Industry data shows that Transportation Equipment Manufacturing reports a median of $64,510, while the Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing sector reflects a median of $57,120. These industry figures show how different manufacturing contexts significantly alter the compensation profile for processing technicians.
Geographically, the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, area shows a median of $62,810 with a location quotient of 29.81. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, area shows a lower median of $38,440 with a location quotient of 3.9. These metrics highlight that the extreme location quotient in Portland signifies a high concentration of the industry, but regional wage medians remain subject to local labor market conditions rather than solely employment density.
The provided medians are base figures and do not account for critical compensation components such as rotating 12-hour shift differentials, which are common in fabrication environments. Furthermore, because the BLS dataset is broad, it aggregates diverse technical skills. Hiring managers should view these numbers as a benchmark and anticipate that specific requirements, such as proficiency in etch or litho tool alarm response, will often command pay at the higher end of the range.
Which pay questions should you settle before hiring?
What is the P25/P75 middle-band width for this occupation?
The national middle-band width is $19,370, calculated as the difference between the 25th percentile ($45,640) and the 75th percentile ($65,010).
How did the median annual wage change between May 2024 and May 2025?
The median increased by $250, moving from $51,180 in May 2024 to $51,430 in May 2025. This shows minimal change in the national median over the last year.
Does the 29.81 location quotient in Portland suggest high local pay?
No: A location quotient indicates the concentration of employment relative to the nation. It does not dictate or correlate directly with the level of local wages.
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