Pay guide
How much do CNC machinists make in Texas?
By Sauban Bhura, founder of Melben. Updated October 9, 2026
Short answer
The median offer for a CNC machinist in Texas is $24.50 an hour, from 11 Texas job orders Melben received from employers since July 2026. Most jobs started around $22 and topped out around $28, and offers ran from $16 to $44. At 40 hours a week, the median is about $51,000 a year. Houston had 8 of them, at a median $30.
Texas CNC machinist pay at a glance
| Measure | Hourly pay |
|---|---|
| Median offer (11 jobs) | $24.50 |
| Median as yearly pay (40 hours a week) | $51,000 |
| Middle half of jobs (range midpoints) | $22.75 to $31.25 |
| Typical starting rate | $22 |
| Typical top of range | $28 |
| Lowest offer | $16 |
| Highest offer | $44 |
Pay by city
| City | Jobs | Median offer | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 8 | $30.00 | $24.25 to $31.75 |
Cities with at least 5 CNC machinist job orders. Jobs in smaller towns count toward the Texas numbers above.
Why Houston pays more
From the job orders we counted by hand, July 15 to September 22, 2026, before the live numbers above.
Most of our Texas machining openings are in Houston, where many shops compete for the same experienced machinists. The Houston jobs paid $18 to $44, and the top offer was for a machinist running live-tool lathes. The jobs outside the city in our data (Spring, Baytown, and central Texas) paid $16 to $27.
What gets you the higher offers
From the job orders we counted by hand, July 15 to September 22, 2026, before the live numbers above.
As in other states, the top of the range goes to machinists who set up their own jobs and can edit programs. In Houston, the best-paid machinist job asked for live-tool lathe experience.
Pay figures are the hourly ranges employers set on job orders they gave Melben over the last 12 months (since July 2026), recounted every day. "Median" is the middle of each job's range, then the middle of those; the "middle half" is where the middle 50% of jobs landed. Places with fewer than 5 job orders are left out. Salary sites average what people report; these are what employers were offering.
Common questions
- What is the starting pay for a CNC machinist in Texas?
- The typical starting rate on Texas CNC machinist jobs is $22 an hour: half of the 11 job orders Melben has received since July 2026 started below that and half above. The lowest offer was $16.
- What do the best-paid CNC machinists in Texas make?
- The highest offer in 11 Texas job orders was $44 an hour, and a quarter of the jobs had a midpoint of $31.25 or more.
- How much do CNC machinists make in Houston?
- Across 8 CNC machinist job orders in Houston, TX, the median offer was $30 an hour, and half of the jobs had a midpoint between $24.25 and $31.75.
City pay pages: CNC Machinist pay in Houston, TX
Hiring CNC Machinists in Texas? How Melben recruits them →
Sauban Bhura founded Melben, a recruiting firm that places CNC machinists, welders, maintenance technicians and drivers with manufacturers and fleets.