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Manufacturing Compass

Pennsylvania manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Pennsylvania manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

14,545

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
3.7%

Employment

566,154

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
4.4%

Total wages

$42.2 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
4%

Average weekly wage

$1,434

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−9.7%

Average annual pay

$74,572

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−9.7%

Location quotient

1.13

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Pennsylvania is 1.13 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.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    80,227
    Establishments
    1,511
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,243
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.1%
    Location quotient
    1.19
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    79,740
    Establishments
    2,866
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,340
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.5%
    Location quotient
    1.42
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    45,091
    Establishments
    1,227
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,496
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.0%
    Location quotient
    1.03
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    44,215
    Establishments
    698
    Avg. annual pay
    $118,526
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.2%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    39,930
    Establishments
    642
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,937
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.5%
    Location quotient
    1.40
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    37,546
    Establishments
    419
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,897
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.0%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    34,025
    Establishments
    389
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,859
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.9%
    Location quotient
    2.35
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    28,381
    Establishments
    594
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,021
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −45.6%
    Location quotient
    0.67
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    26,545
    Establishments
    1,059
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,638
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.3%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    25,491
    Establishments
    320
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,503
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.8%
    Location quotient
    1.58
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    22,416
    Establishments
    1,000
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,817
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.4%
    Location quotient
    1.37
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    21,517
    Establishments
    251
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,427
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.1%
    Location quotient
    1.54
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,532
    Establishments
    709
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,112
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.2%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    17,934
    Establishments
    1,007
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,370
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.9%
    Location quotient
    1.25
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    15,154
    Establishments
    641
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,433
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.0%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,491
    Establishments
    609
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,759
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.9%
    Location quotient
    1.03
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    4,951
    Establishments
    117
    Avg. annual pay
    $98,678
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.3%
    Location quotient
    1.18
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,525
    Establishments
    161
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,965
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.7%
    Location quotient
    1.03
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,909
    Establishments
    87
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,369
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.9%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,830
    Establishments
    198
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,722
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.8%
    Location quotient
    0.73
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    706
    Establishments
    42
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,904
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.7%
    Location quotient
    0.69

03By year

Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022563,640$72,152−9.2%
2023566,154$74,572−9.7%
2024563,001$77,198−9.7%
2025557,029$80,766−9.7%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (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