Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Career, Salary and Skills

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $38,020 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 6,060. Wage data is published for 52 locations.

Occupation description

Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.

O*NET code

51-9031.00

Job zone

2

Typical education

Less than a High School Diploma

Experience

None

National salary and employment

Median annual

$38,020

Hourly median

$18.28

Employment

6,060

Data year

2025

National salary distribution

$26,630
10th
$34,050
25th
$38,020
Median
$47,850
75th
$57,870
90th

Top skills

All skill ratings →

Typical tasks

  • Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
  • Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
  • Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.
  • Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.
  • Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.
  • Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.
  • Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.
  • Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
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Technology

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word
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Cutters and Trimmers, Hand salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

All 52 locations →

Related careers

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.