What Machinists earn in Harris County, TX
The median pay for Machinists in Harris County, TX is $61,280 per year, which works out to $29.46 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, the labor market that Harris County, TX belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $62,470, which is 1.9% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 8,140 people working in this occupation across the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Harris County, TX has roughly 4,838,303 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Machinists in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $39,960 a year ($19.21 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $81,470 or more ($39.17 an hour). That is a gap of $41,510 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $49,480 at the 25th percentile and $71,770 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.0 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Machinists in Harris County, TX is $29.46. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $61,280, and the same salary is $5,107 a month before taxes or about $2,357 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $24.70 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Machinists
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Machinists this way: "Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders"; "Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers"; "Align and secure holding fixtures, cutting tools, attachments, accessories, or materials onto machines"; "Monitor the feed and speed of machines during the machining process".
Job outlook for Machinists
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 288,300 jobs in 2025 to 291,200 in 2035, a change of +1%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 26,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 9.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: long-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $58,750 for this occupation; the Harris County, TX median of $61,280 is 4.3% above it.
How pay in Harris County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
Harris County, TX pays above the state benchmark. The Texas employment-weighted average for Machinists is $57,926; the local median of $61,280 beats it by $3,354, or 5.8%. Within Texas, Harris County, TX already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Machinists is $57,760 across the contiguous United States. At $61,280, Harris County, TX pays $3,520 more, which is 6.1% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Harris County, TX
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Harris County, TX, Machinists ranks number 284 by median pay, ahead of about 54% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $172,160 a year, which is $110,880 more than the median for Machinists.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $61,280 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $9,913 a year, which leaves $51,367, or $4,281 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $45,530. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $5,225, an effective 8.5% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,799 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $889. FICA totals $4,688, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
There is no state income tax on wages in Texas, which means Machinists in Harris County, TX keep the full $51,367 left after federal and payroll taxes. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $3,064 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $255 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Harris County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Harris County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $93,479 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.1% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 6.9%, compared with the 8.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Harris County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Harris County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $51,367 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Harris County, TX is $1,261 a month, or $15,132 a year. A two-bedroom costs $1,497 a month. For Machinists, a one-bedroom absorbs 29.5% of take-home pay and 24.7% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 5.6% of gross pay for Machinists in Harris County, TX. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Texas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,578 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $719, for $2,297 in total. Gasoline in Texas averages $2.88 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,334.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $22,199 a year, 43% of take-home pay. That leaves $29,168 a year, or $2,431 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 47.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Harris County, TX
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Harris County, TX: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Harris County, TX, set beside the Texas and national medians.
Property taxes in Harris County, TX
Homeowners in Harris County, TX pay a median of $4,489 a year in real estate taxes, 6% above the Texas median of $4,232 and 44% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $276,600, the median tax bill is 1.62% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Machinists median of $61,280, a tax bill of that size would equal 7.3% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Harris County, TX
Renters in Harris County, TX pay a median gross rent of $1,401 a month in the Census survey, in line with the Texas median of $1,403. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,261 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $276,600, 3% below the Texas median of $283,800. Median household income is $74,983, 4% below the Texas median of $78,476, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 20.2% of that income.
Commuting in Harris County, TX
Workers in Harris County, TX who travel to a workplace spend an average of 29.0 minutes each way, 9% above the Texas average of 26.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 12.9% of workers in Harris County, TX work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Machinists afford to live in Harris County, TX?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $61,280 that ceiling is $1,532 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,261 is $271 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $24.25 an hour; the median for Machinists is $29.46, which is 21% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $24.70 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 11.8 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,497 a month means $749 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,150 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $35,318.
How fast you can save
At $2,431 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 5 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 10 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Machinists pay in Harris County, TX
What is the hourly wage for Machinists in Harris County, TX?
The median is $29.46 per hour, based on $61,280 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $19.21 at the 10th percentile to $39.17 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Machinists in Harris County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $61,280 becomes $51,367 a year. That is $4,281 a month, $1,976 every two weeks or $988 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Machinists in Harris County, TX?
Total taxes are $9,913 a year, an effective rate of 16.2%: $5,225 federal income tax, $4,688 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Is pay for Machinists in Harris County, TX above the Texas average?
Yes. The local median of $61,280 is +5.8% versus the Texas average of $57,926, a difference of $3,354 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Machinists salary in Harris County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $1,261 a month against take-home pay of $4,281, which is 29.5% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,532 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Machinists in Harris County, TX?
About $2,431 a month ($29,168 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $22,199 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Harris County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$24.25 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $15,132 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Machinists is $29.46.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Texas rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.