How much do millwrights make in Massachusetts in 2026?

The median millwright salary in Massachusetts is $65,220 a year, which works out to $31.36 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the middle of the pack — half of millwrights in the state earn more, half earn less. All figures come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

At the 25th percentile, millwrights in Massachusetts earn $62,200 annually, or roughly $29.90 an hour. If you're newer to the trade, recently switched employers, or working in a region or industry with lower demand, you're likely landing in this range. It's a livable wage, but there's clear room to move up as you build hours and specialization.

The 75th percentile sits at $74,530 a year — about $35.83 an hour. Millwrights hitting this number typically have several years of hands-on experience with industrial machinery, precision alignment, and equipment installation across multiple industries. Getting from the median to the 75th percentile is a $9,310 annual difference, or roughly $4.47 more per hour. That gap is real and worth chasing.

Massachusetts millwrights work across a range of industries: food and beverage processing plants, paper and packaging facilities, power generation, and pharmaceutical manufacturing are all significant employers in the state. Pharmaceutical and biotech facilities in particular tend to pay at or above the 75th percentile because the equipment tolerances are tight and downtime is expensive. A millwright who can install, align, and troubleshoot precision machinery in a cleanroom-adjacent environment commands a premium.

Geography matters inside Massachusetts too. The Greater Boston area, with its concentration of manufacturing and industrial facilities, generally supports stronger wages than more rural parts of the state. The I-495 corridor and the North Shore have a solid base of industrial employers that keep demand for millwrights steady.

Certifications and specialized skills move the needle. Millwrights who hold rigging certifications, have documented experience with laser alignment tools, or can work on CNC and automated conveyor systems are consistently easier to place and easier to negotiate with. If you're sitting at the median and want to push toward the 75th percentile, adding a concrete skill — not just years — is the most direct path.

Overtime is a significant factor in actual take-home pay that the base salary figures don't capture. Millwrights are frequently called in for planned shutdowns, emergency breakdowns, and weekend installations. At $31.36 an hour straight time, overtime at time-and-a-half comes to $47.04 an hour. A millwright pulling 200 hours of overtime in a year adds roughly $9,400 gross on top of their base — pushing effective annual earnings well above the published 75th percentile figure.

No union scale data was available for millwrights in Massachusetts at the time of this publication. Union agreements, where they exist, typically set floor wages by classification and can include benefit contributions that increase total compensation beyond the hourly rate alone. If you're weighing a union versus non-union shop, ask specifically about the total package — health, pension, and annuity contributions — not just the base rate.

The spread from 25th to 75th percentile in Massachusetts — $62,200 to $74,530 — is a $12,330 range. That's not trivial. Where you land depends on your experience depth, your industry, the specific employer, and whether you've built skills that are hard to replace. The numbers here give you a benchmark. Use them when you're evaluating an offer or deciding whether it's time to have a pay conversation with your current employer.