- Only 7 states pay powder coaters more at the median.
- California pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 11,570 powder coaters on payrolls in California.
- At the state median wage, a powder coating shop needs to bill about $115.30 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Powder Coater pay in California, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for powder coaters. These are its numbers for coating, painting and spraying machine setters, operators and tenders, the closest group: workers who set up and run the machines and lines that coat, paint or spray products. They count workers on a payroll, so owners who run their own coating shop are not in them.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.69 | $36,790 | $17.43 |
| 25th percentile | $21.08 | $43,840 | $19.52 |
| Median | $25.46 | $52,950 | $23.20 |
| 75th percentile | $33.12 | $68,890 | $28.69 |
| 90th percentile | $39.73 | $82,640 | $35.93 |
| Average (mean) | $27.90 | $58,030 | $25.30 |
Pay spreads out a lot in California. The bottom tenth earn $17.69 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $39.73 or more, a gap of 2.2 times against 2.1 nationally. Where a powder coater sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $17.69 against $17.43 at the bottom tenth, and $39.73 against $35.93 at the top.
The average wage, $27.90, sits 10% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical powder coater makes.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year, the California median of $52,950 is $4,700 more than the national $48,250.
In the state ranking, California sits 8th, between Mississippi ($25.56) and Connecticut ($25.43). The range runs from $20.65 in West Virginia to $33.61 in Alaska.
California pays powder coaters more than any of its neighboring states, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in California. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
Every state ranked, with the national pay range: national powder coater salary by state.
How many powder coaters work in California
BLS estimates 11,570 powder coaters on payrolls in California, 7.3% of the 158,740 nationwide. Only 1 state has more.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.6 per 1,000 jobs, 0.62 times the national share.
What a powder coating shop in California should charge
Higher wages in California go straight into the price. Take a powder coating shop in California paying the state median of $25.46 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $25.46 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $57,008 |
| Break-even rate | ($57,008 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $98.01 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $98.01 ÷ 0.85 | $115.30 |
That is $115.30 per billable hour, 4.5 times the wage, and $3.97 more than the $111.33 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $33.12 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $128.75.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.08, the rate only drops to $107.61.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a powder coater in California
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how powder coating shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 51-9124, coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: powder coater salary by state.