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Manufacturing Compass

Alabama manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Alabama manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

7,233

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Employment

284,216

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
Share of U.S.Calc
2.3%

Total wages

$21.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Average weekly wage

$1,484

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.8%

Average annual pay

$77,189

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.7%

Location quotient

1.66

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Alabama is 1.66 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
    79,146
    Establishments
    587
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,189
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.1%
    Location quotient
    3.35
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    33,728
    Establishments
    515
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,904
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.2%
    Location quotient
    1.40
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    27,845
    Establishments
    1,281
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,344
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.6%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    18,479
    Establishments
    441
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,517
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.9%
    Location quotient
    3.38
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    18,308
    Establishments
    168
    Avg. annual pay
    $122,176
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +30.8%
    Location quotient
    3.71
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    17,492
    Establishments
    252
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,622
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.9%
    Location quotient
    1.84
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    11,366
    Establishments
    113
    Avg. annual pay
    $100,698
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.3%
    Location quotient
    2.38
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    11,327
    Establishments
    465
    Avg. annual pay
    $103,112
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.4%
    Location quotient
    0.93
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    10,982
    Establishments
    578
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,945
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.3%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,252
    Establishments
    456
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,451
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.4%
    Location quotient
    1.64
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    8,303
    Establishments
    403
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,488
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.9%
    Location quotient
    1.83
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    7,456
    Establishments
    505
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,225
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.4%
    Location quotient
    0.90
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,409
    Establishments
    412
    Avg. annual pay
    $89,187
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −45.6%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,882
    Establishments
    191
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,507
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.3%
    Location quotient
    1.17
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    3,832
    Establishments
    39
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,844
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.4%
    Location quotient
    3.47
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,056
    Establishments
    114
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,251
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +20.5%
    Location quotient
    0.68
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    3,049
    Establishments
    452
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,920
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.9%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,219
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $109,236
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.0%
    Location quotient
    1.49
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,204
    Establishments
    110
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,384
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.1%
    Location quotient
    1.74
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,843
    Establishments
    66
    Avg. annual pay
    $37,267
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −37.6%
    Location quotient
    1.72
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    38
    Establishments
    15
    Avg. annual pay
    $40,706
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −32.4%
    Location quotient
    0.12

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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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