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Manufacturing Compass

Alabama manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Alabama manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Alabama combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

6,515

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
1.7%

Employment

273,897

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
2.1%

Total wages

$18.4 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Average weekly wage

$1,291

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.6%

Average annual pay

$67,119

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.6%

Location quotient

1.59

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Alabama is 1.59 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    70,042
    Establishments
    524
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,539
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.7%
    Location quotient
    3.03
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    31,620
    Establishments
    468
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,705
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.5%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    26,568
    Establishments
    1,200
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,544
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.6%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,505
    Establishments
    428
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,791
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.0%
    Location quotient
    3.38
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    17,832
    Establishments
    238
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,558
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.1%
    Location quotient
    1.77
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    17,568
    Establishments
    148
    Avg. annual pay
    $95,619
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.3%
    Location quotient
    3.56
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    11,805
    Establishments
    392
    Avg. annual pay
    $95,397
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.1%
    Location quotient
    0.98
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    11,096
    Establishments
    101
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,098
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.9%
    Location quotient
    2.27
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    10,271
    Establishments
    483
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,682
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.6%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,523
    Establishments
    386
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,162
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.4%
    Location quotient
    1.87
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    8,075
    Establishments
    414
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,554
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.8%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,624
    Establishments
    334
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,139
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −47.4%
    Location quotient
    0.52
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    7,564
    Establishments
    460
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,112
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −26.7%
    Location quotient
    0.89
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,358
    Establishments
    140
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,043
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.9%
    Location quotient
    1.16
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    4,897
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,703
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.3%
    Location quotient
    3.76
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    3,386
    Establishments
    107
    Avg. annual pay
    $41,707
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.3%
    Location quotient
    2.39
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    3,225
    Establishments
    434
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,443
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.2%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,690
    Establishments
    95
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,504
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +20.5%
    Location quotient
    0.62
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,155
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $102,418
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.8%
    Location quotient
    1.53
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    2,067
    Establishments
    63
    Avg. annual pay
    $32,917
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −38.4%
    Location quotient
    1.65
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    27
    Establishments
    12
    Avg. annual pay
    $32,029
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −42.0%
    Location quotient
    0.08

03By year

Alabama manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Alabama by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022273,897$67,119−15.6%
2023280,961$70,368−14.8%
2024285,184$73,670−13.8%
2025284,216$77,189−13.7%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology