Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

SOC 53-7080

The median annual wage for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors is $45,760, based on BLS OEWS 2023 data. The mean annual wage is $47,810, and an estimated 135,430 workers are employed in this occupation nationally. Between 2020 and 2023, pay rose +17% while consumer prices rose 17.7% — a real change of -0.6% (pay did not keep up with inflation).

Wage Trend & Inflation Adjustment

How the national median wage for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors has moved across BLS OEWS release years, and what each year's wage is worth in 2023 dollars after adjusting for CPI inflation. "Real" change strips out inflation — the truest measure of whether pay is actually rising.

National median wage trend for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors, nominal and inflation-adjusted, BLS OEWS.
Year Median (nominal) In 2023 $ (real) Employment
2023 $45,760 $45,760 135,430
2022 $43,540 $45,332 132,240
2021 $38,500 $43,293 126,050
2020 $39,100 $46,033 120,850

Nominal change

+17%

Inflation (CPI)

+17.7%

Real change

-0.6%

Wage Distribution (National, 2023)

10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentile annual wages from BLS OEWS — the full spread, not just an average.

10th Pct

$30,050

25th Pct

$36,100

Median

$45,760

75th Pct

$58,360

90th Pct

$67,970

Related Occupations in Transportation & Material Moving

Other occupations in the same SOC major group, ranked by national median wage.

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $219,140 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers $145,076 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand $142,018 Air Traffic Controllers $137,380 Commercial Pilots $113,080 Ship Engineers $94,270 Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $88,730 Transportation Inspectors $87,290
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