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Manufacturing Compass

Rhode Island 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

Rhode Island manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

1,514

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
0.4%

Employment

40,390

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Total wages

$2.8 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Average weekly wage

$1,330

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.2%

Average annual pay

$69,174

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−16.2%

Location quotient

0.98

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Rhode Island is 0.98 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. 4 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    7,260
    Establishments
    53
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,789
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.0%
    Location quotient
    1.29
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,229
    Establishments
    219
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,886
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.3%
    Location quotient
    0.92
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    4,101
    Establishments
    182
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,745
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.1%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    4,083
    Establishments
    209
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,396
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.4%
    Location quotient
    2.06
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,770
    Establishments
    99
    Avg. annual pay
    $91,354
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −40.1%
    Location quotient
    1.08
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    2,595
    Establishments
    85
    Avg. annual pay
    $98,600
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.5%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,378
    Establishments
    53
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,651
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.6%
    Location quotient
    1.02
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    1,951
    Establishments
    102
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,459
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.4%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    1,615
    Establishments
    110
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,193
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.2%
    Location quotient
    1.37
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    1,285
    Establishments
    46
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,635
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.7%
    Location quotient
    1.08
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    1,085
    Establishments
    28
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,112
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −27.4%
    Location quotient
    0.95
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,055
    Establishments
    58
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,115
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.2%
    Location quotient
    0.93
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    953
    Establishments
    39
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,613
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.9%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    766
    Establishments
    49
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,479
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.4%
    Location quotient
    0.58
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    670
    Establishments
    52
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,209
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.5%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    407
    Establishments
    41
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,825
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.9%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    138
    Establishments
    12
    Avg. annual pay
    $41,409
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.7%
    Location quotient
    0.49
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    38
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    31
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    5
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed

03By year

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202240,174$66,927−15.8%
202340,390$69,174−16.2%
202439,858$71,956−15.8%
202539,249$75,424−15.7%

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