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Manufacturing Compass

Pennsylvania manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Pennsylvania manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

14,584

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
3.7%

Employment

563,001

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
4.4%

Total wages

$43.5 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,485

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−9.6%

Average annual pay

$77,198

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−9.7%

Location quotient

1.14

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Pennsylvania is 1.14 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
    81,821
    Establishments
    1,565
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,124
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.5%
    Location quotient
    1.19
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    79,222
    Establishments
    2,858
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,254
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.7%
    Location quotient
    1.42
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    44,764
    Establishments
    1,232
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,923
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.6%
    Location quotient
    1.04
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    43,398
    Establishments
    702
    Avg. annual pay
    $120,801
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.2%
    Location quotient
    1.25
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    39,698
    Establishments
    644
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,282
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.5%
    Location quotient
    1.42
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    37,875
    Establishments
    416
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,914
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.7%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    33,900
    Establishments
    388
    Avg. annual pay
    $91,736
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.8%
    Location quotient
    2.37
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    28,126
    Establishments
    613
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,171
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −42.5%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    25,775
    Establishments
    1,040
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,471
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.2%
    Location quotient
    1.08
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    25,579
    Establishments
    321
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,877
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.5%
    Location quotient
    1.57
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    22,040
    Establishments
    1,007
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,232
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.3%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    21,388
    Establishments
    248
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,027
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    1.55
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,236
    Establishments
    710
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,602
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.2%
    Location quotient
    1.19
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    17,469
    Establishments
    998
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,689
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.7%
    Location quotient
    1.26
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    14,558
    Establishments
    638
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,503
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.7%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,607
    Establishments
    616
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,226
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.2%
    Location quotient
    1.05
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    5,006
    Establishments
    119
    Avg. annual pay
    $98,234
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.5%
    Location quotient
    1.17
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,350
    Establishments
    156
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,994
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.3%
    Location quotient
    1.05
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,913
    Establishments
    82
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,273
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.0%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,620
    Establishments
    191
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,903
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.9%
    Location quotient
    0.70
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    655
    Establishments
    39
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,979
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.0%
    Location quotient
    0.67

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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