Robotics workforce
Who keeps the robots running, and what they earn: $64,520
The people who keep factory robots and machinery running earn a median of $64,520 a year, and there are 439,600 of them. Unlike the narrow 'robotics technician' title, this job is growing much faster than average.
The occupation is Industrial Machinery Mechanics, and it is where most hands-on robot maintenance actually sits. It is a larger, faster-growing field than the robotics-technician line, and it pays somewhat less.
This page traces the wage, the headcount, and the outlook to the government data behind them, and distinguishes it from the robotics-technician figure it is often confused with.
Data covers 2025 wage data and 2024 to 2034 projections (BLS, via O*NET). Last reviewed by a human editor before publication.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $64,520 / year | Median annual wage (2025) | [A] | High | Median annual wage for industrial machinery mechanics, the occupation that does most hands-on robot and machinery maintenance. |
| $31.02 / hour | Median hourly wage (2025) | [A] | High | The same median expressed hourly. |
| 439,600 employed | Employment (2024) | [A] | High | A large occupation, far bigger than the narrow robotics-technician line. This is where most robot maintenance labor sits. |
| 45,700 / year | Projected annual openings | [A] | Medium | Projected average annual job openings over 2024 to 2034, a large replacement and growth demand. |
| much faster than average | Projected growth (2024-2034) | [A] | Medium | Projected growth of 7% or higher, in contrast to the robotics-technician line, which is projected to grow slower than average. |
Why the numbers disagree
There are two different jobs behind 'the person who works on robots,' and they get confused. The narrow title Robotics Technician (a detailed O*NET code inside a mechatronics occupation) has a higher median, about $73,900, but is a small, slower-growing line. Industrial Machinery Mechanics, at $64,520, is a far larger occupation, 439,600 strong, growing much faster than average, and it is where most day-to-day robot and machinery maintenance actually happens.
So a single 'robot maintenance salary' is misleading without saying which occupation you mean. The mechatronics-linked robotics-technician figure describes a specialized role; the industrial-machinery-mechanic figure describes the broad maintenance workforce that keeps automated lines running. They pay differently and grow differently.
The outlook is the sharper contrast. Robotics technician is projected to grow slower than average, while industrial machinery mechanics is projected to grow much faster than average, with 45,700 openings a year. If the question is where the jobs are, it is the broad maintenance occupation, not the narrow title.
How to cite these figures
Cite the maintenance wage as the median for Industrial Machinery Mechanics, $64,520 a year in 2025, and say it is the broad occupation that does most robot maintenance.
Distinguish it from the robotics-technician figure ($73,900), which is a smaller, specialized, slower-growing line. Name which occupation you mean.
For the outlook, use industrial machinery mechanics: 439,600 employed, 45,700 openings a year, growing much faster than average.
Where people go wrong
Quoting one 'robot maintenance salary' without saying which occupation. Robotics technician and industrial machinery mechanic are different jobs with different pay and growth.
Assuming the higher robotics-technician figure describes the maintenance workforce. It is a small specialized line; most maintenance sits in the larger machinery-mechanic occupation.
Reading robotics jobs as slow-growing. The narrow title is, but the broad maintenance occupation is growing much faster than average.
How we checked
The figures trace to the O*NET summary for Industrial Machinery Mechanics, which republishes Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data and 2024 to 2034 projections. We fetched the page and confirmed the wage, employment, openings, and growth in its text.
We cite O*NET because the BLS occupational pages block automated verification while O*NET carries the same BLS figures in a fetchable form. The numbers are BLS data either way.
We pair this occupation with the robotics-technician line deliberately, because the two are routinely conflated and they answer different questions about robot maintenance pay and outlook.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor)Accessed July 15, 2026 (BLS 2025 wage data)
O*NET OnLine, "49-9041.00 Industrial Machinery Mechanics" (BLS 2025 wage data and 2024-2034 projections)
https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-9041.00
Common questions
- What does a robot maintenance technician earn?
- Most hands-on robot maintenance sits in the Industrial Machinery Mechanics occupation, median $64,520 a year in 2025. The narrower 'robotics technician' title pays more, about $73,900, but is a smaller, slower-growing line.
- Which robot job is growing?
- Industrial machinery mechanics, projected to grow much faster than average with 45,700 openings a year. The narrow robotics-technician title is projected to grow slower than average.
- Why are there two different salary figures?
- Because they are two occupations. Robotics Technician is a specialized detailed title inside mechatronics; Industrial Machinery Mechanics is the broad maintenance workforce. They pay and grow differently.
- How many people do this work?
- About 439,600 industrial machinery mechanics were employed in 2024, a far larger group than the specialized robotics-technician line.
More data, traced to source
- What a robotics technician actually earns, and why the wage is hard to find
There is no federal wage line for a robotics technician. The government folds the job into a broader category, whose 2025 median is $73,900 a year. This page shows where the number comes from and what it does and does not cover.
- Will automation wipe out factory jobs? BLS projects a 1% decline
Against the automation-apocalypse narrative, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects US production jobs to decline just 1.0% over 2023 to 2033, while total employment grows 4.0%. The official projection, traced to source.
- US manufacturing jobs: 17.1 million then, 12.6 million now
US manufacturing employed 17.1 million people at the start of the century and 12.6 million now. Here are the figures behind 'manufacturing is dying' and 'manufacturing is back,' traced to Congress's own research service.