- Only 4 states pay powder coaters more at the median.
- Maryland pays more than all 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 1,010 powder coaters on payrolls in Maryland.
- At the state median wage, a powder coating shop needs to bill about $117.46 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Powder Coater pay in Maryland, 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 | $17.89 | $37,210 | $17.43 |
| 25th percentile | $21.73 | $45,210 | $19.52 |
| Median | $26.69 | $55,510 | $23.20 |
| 75th percentile | $40.27 | $83,760 | $28.69 |
| 90th percentile | $50.32 | $104,670 | $35.93 |
| Average (mean) | $30.72 | $63,900 | $25.30 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Maryland. The bottom tenth earn $17.89 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $50.32 or more, a gap of 2.8 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: $17.89 against $17.43 at the bottom tenth, and $50.32 against $35.93 at the top.
The average wage, $30.72, sits 15% 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 Maryland compares with other states
Over a full year, the Maryland median of $55,510 is $7,260 more than the national $48,250.
In the state ranking, Maryland sits 5th, between Maine ($27.02) and Colorado ($25.76). The range runs from $20.65 in West Virginia to $33.61 in Alaska.
Maryland pays powder coaters more than any of its neighboring states, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. 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 Maryland. 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.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Maryland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | $26.69 | $55,510 | |
| Delaware | $22.17 | $46,120 | −$4.52 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $23.24 | $48,340 | −$3.45 an hour |
| Virginia | $23.98 | $49,880 | −$2.71 an hour |
| West Virginia | $20.65 | $42,950 | −$6.04 an hour |
How many powder coaters work in Maryland
About 1,010 powder coaters work on payrolls in Maryland, 0.6% of the 158,740 nationwide, the 34th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.4 per 1,000 jobs, 0.36 times the national share.
What a powder coating shop in Maryland should charge
Higher wages in Maryland go straight into the price. Take a powder coating shop in Maryland paying the state median of $26.69 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 | $26.69 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $59,762 |
| Break-even rate | ($59,762 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $99.84 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $99.84 ÷ 0.85 | $117.46 |
That is $117.46 per billable hour, 4.4 times the wage, and $6.13 more than the $111.33 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $40.27 in Maryland, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $141.31.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.73, the rate only drops to $108.75.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a powder coater in Maryland
- 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.