SalaryExplorer

SOC 53-1047 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors — Hickory

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · 10 metro areas compared

$60,690 /year
$29.18per hour
740jobs in area
−3.5%vs US median

The median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors in Hickory, NC is $60,690 per year, close to the national median of $62,890 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $62,89010TH$39,31025TH$48,690MEDIAN$60,69075TH$75,56090TH$83,440

How pay has moved

$63,475$46,7652019202020212022202320242025$60,690
$49,550 in 2019 to $60,690 in 2025, +22.5% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+3.7%
Openings per year
61,300
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience
Less than 5 years

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors in Hickory, NC is $60,690 per year, close to the national median of $62,890 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $39,310 at the tenth percentile to more than $83,440 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $48,690 to $75,560.

Employment stands at 740, or 4.8 jobs per thousand held locally. Charlotte leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $63,470. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 126th of 385 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$39,310−37.5%
25th$48,690−22.6%
Median (50th)$60,690−3.5%
75th$75,560+20.1%
90th$83,440+32.7%
Mean$62,810−0.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in North Carolina

Median annual wage for First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Charlotte$63,4706,590
2Durham$62,000950
3Winston-Salem$61,5901,200
4Rocky Mount$60,980320
5Raleigh$60,3702,700
6Greensboro$59,9402,380
7Wilmington$59,660890
8Fayetteville$59,220470
9Goldsboro$58,300180
10Asheville$58,080810

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Hickory run 11.5% below the national average, so the median of $60,690 goes as far as $68,576 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 9.0% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$60,690as reported by BLS

Local price level

88.5US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$68,576US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $60,690 a year, 3.5% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $39,310 to $83,440 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 740 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Charlotte, at $63,470.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors in Hickory, NC?

The median annual wage is $60,690, or $29.18 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $62,890, so pay in Hickory, NC is 3.5% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Hickory, NC earns more than $83,440 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $39,310 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Charlotte, at $63,470 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 740 jobs in this occupation in Hickory, NC. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors Salary in Hickory, NC (2025): $60,690 Median | Salary Explorer