Machinists in the Dalton area earn a median of $48,240 a year, 15% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #326 of 361 metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Chattanooga and Rome, but less in Cleveland.
Dalton scorecard for machinists Our calculation
Grades compare Dalton with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($57,050).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Dalton Our calculation
Prices in Dalton run 10% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $53,693 would in a typical place, ranking #289 of 359 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What machinists do
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
- Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
- Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers.
- Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations.
- Program computers or electronic instruments, such as numerically controlled machine tools.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, machinist jobs are projected to grow 1.0% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 26,100 openings a year. About 0% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, machinists have 108 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.3× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying GA metros for machinists
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warner RobinsGEORGIA · GA | $68,060 | $72,567 | 110 |
| AugustaGEORGIA · GA | $67,140 | $73,055 | 370 |
| RomeGEORGIA · GA | $62,220 | $69,010 | 90 |
| AlbanyGEORGIA · GA | $60,840 | $69,397 | 60 |
| SavannahGEORGIA · GA | $60,680 | $63,735 | 330 |
| AtlantaGEORGIA · GA | $56,270 | $56,237 | 2,500 |
| AthensGEORGIA · GA | $56,010 | $60,004 | 120 |
| GainesvilleGEORGIA · GA | $55,620 | $57,479 | 210 |
| BrunswickGEORGIA · GA | $51,670 | $58,911 | 40 |
| MaconGEORGIA · GA | $50,250 | $56,762 | 120 |
See every metro in Georgia.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Dalton area's unemployment rate was 3.9% in 2025 (all workers, not just machinists), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.6% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Dalton area is 25 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 12% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 79% drive alone, 0% take transit and 5% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Dalton are down 25% from 2021 to 2025 (732 → 550).
In 2025 the Dalton area approved permits for 550 new homes (417 single-family), or 3.8 per 1,000 residents, ranking #175 of 393 metros.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $48,240 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get machinist pricing & estimate templates →Compare Dalton with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.
The Census doesn't publish one-person business or competition figures for machinists as a separate industry, so that section is left out.