01 — MethodologyHow to read these numbersThere is no federal wage series called “production planner,” and that is the first thing a production planner salary search should absorb. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program splits the work across three codes. 43-5061, production, planning, and expediting clerks (390,160 jobs, May 2025 median $59,650) is where most shop-floor planners, schedulers, and production controllers land. 13-1081, logisticians (251,040 jobs, median $82,320) is where material planners, supply planners, and degreed master schedulers are coded. 11-3071, transportation, storage, and distribution managers (median $107,230) and 11-3051, industrial production managers (median $126,060) split the production control manager seat depending on whether the manager owns material flow or the plant.The 43-5061 series is the right floor because it codes the person who releases work orders, sequences the shop, and expedites shortages, whatever the req calls the seat. Its May 2025 distribution runs $40,080 at the 10th percentile, $47,820 at the 25th, $59,650 at the median, $75,000 at the 75th, and $86,000 at the 90th. The industry cuts are where reindustrialization shows up: aerospace product and parts manufacturing (NAICS 3364) employs 7,340 of these clerks at a $71,760 median, motor vehicle manufacturing (3361) pays $74,200, and both sit 20–24% above the national line. Logisticians inside aerospace earn a $101,510 median across 8,290 jobs, 23% above the $82,320 national figure.The federal series measure base wages only and lag the market by roughly a year, so we layered two kinds of posting data: aggregator figures from ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Salary.com, each labeled with its retrieval date, and employer-published base ranges read from the public Greenhouse job boards of space, defense-tech, propulsion, and EV manufacturers on September 15, 2026, cited by employer type and state rather than name. Those ranges exist because California, Washington, Colorado, and a handful of other states require pay disclosure; the same employers’ Texas, Florida, and Nevada reqs for identical planner and scheduler titles publish no range at all.What these figures are — and are notFigures as of September 2026. These are public-market benchmarks, not iRecruit placement data and not an offer range. OEWS medians blend a first-year expediter with a twenty-year master scheduler inside one code and measure base pay only; employer-published ranges are the top and bottom of a level band, not a midpoint; ZipRecruiter and Indeed averages measure what is advertised, not what is accepted. Read all of it as a frame for a compensation conversation, then price your own rate, program, and clearance requirement.02 — At a glanceThe benchmarks at a glanceThe whole guide in one screen. Each row jumps to the full section.01Production planner / production controller (BLS 43-5061)$59,650 median, BLS OEWS May 2025; aerospace (3364) $71,760, motor vehicle (3361) $74,200; employer production planner ranges $67,000–$115,000 across two levels, California (postings retrieved Sep 15, 2026)$60K med02Production scheduler, Levels I–II (posting data)Launch vehicle and satellite manufacturer publishes $80,000–$95,000 (Level I) and $95,000–$130,000 (Level II) in California, $82,000–$120,000 across both levels in Washington; defense-tech missile scheduler $86,000–$114,000, California (Sep 15, 2026)$80-130K03Material / supply planner (BLS 13-1081 spine)$82,320 median, BLS OEWS May 2025; 25th–75th $64,440–$106,190; aerospace cut $101,510; defense-tech material planner $99,000–$130,000 California, $86,000–$112,000 Ohio and Georgia (Sep 15, 2026)$82K med04Master schedulerEmployer bands $112,000–$155,000 for S&OP and production master schedulers at defense-tech, launch, satellite, and space-station manufacturers in California; program IMS schedulers $146,000–$200,600; Indeed average $100,533 (Sep 6, 2026)$112-155K05Production control / planning manager and directorSalary.com production control manager median $117,309 (Sep 1, 2026); employer planning-manager bands $120,000–$175,000 California and Colorado; director of planning and fulfillment $170,000–$215,000, California (Sep 15, 2026)$117K medAnchor numbers for 2026: the federal spine puts a production planner or controller at $59,650, a material planner or logistician at $82,320, a distribution manager at $107,230, and an industrial production manager at $126,060, all BLS OEWS May 2025 medians. The employer-published ladder at space and defense-tech manufacturers in California runs $67,000 at the bottom of a Manufacturing Planner I band to $155,161 at the top of a master scheduler band and $215,000 at the top of a director of planning and fulfillment band. ZipRecruiter’s $63,451 production planner average (September 15, 2026) sits on the federal median, a fair general-industry frame and a low one for a launch site or missile plant.
03 — BenchmarksThe production planning salary ladder by rung in 2026Six rungs, from production controller to director. The federal series set the floor and the shape of each distribution; employer-published ranges from launch, satellite, defense-tech, propulsion, and EV manufacturers fill in the titles BLS does not code. Where OEWS publishes a cut for aerospace (3364), motor vehicle (3361), semiconductor (3344), or other electrical equipment including batteries (3359), it is shown against the national median.$59,650Production planner / production controller, national medianBLS OEWS May 2025 median for 43-5061 production, planning, and expediting clerks (390,160 jobs): 25th $47,820, 75th $75,000, 90th $86,000. Industry cuts: motor vehicle 3361 $74,200, aerospace 3364 $71,760, semiconductor 3344 $59,270, battery and other electrical equipment 3359 $59,140. Posting data: ZipRecruiter production planner $63,451 (Sep 15, 2026), Indeed production scheduler $74,136 (Sep 6, 2026); a space-station manufacturer in California publishes $67,000–$95,000 (Planner I) and $76,000–$108,000 (Planner II).$80,000–$130,000Production scheduler, Levels I–II, launch and satellite manufacturingEmployer-provided base ranges at a launch vehicle and satellite manufacturer (Greenhouse, retrieved September 15, 2026): $80,000–$95,000 Level I and $95,000–$120,000 Level II for a Starship scheduler in California, $82,000–$95,000 and $95,000–$120,000 for a precision machining scheduler in Washington, and $85,000–$105,000 and $100,000–$130,000 for a Falcon production control scheduler, the California reqs requiring a bachelor’s plus one year or three years without a degree and the Washington req a high school diploma plus two years. A defense-tech manufacturer publishes $86,000–$114,000 for a missile production scheduler in California and $77,000–$100,000 in Mississippi.$82,320Material / supply planner, national median (13-1081 logisticians)BLS OEWS May 2025 median for logisticians (251,040 jobs): 25th $64,440, 75th $106,190, 90th $133,160, mean $89,730. Industry cuts: aerospace 3364 $101,510, semiconductor 3344 $101,430, motor vehicle 3361 $101,060, battery and other electrical equipment 3359 $92,680. Posting data: Indeed material planner $77,826 (Sep 7, 2026); a defense-tech manufacturer publishes $99,000–$130,000 for a material planner in California and $86,000–$112,000 in Ohio and Georgia; a launch vehicle manufacturer in Long Beach publishes $100,800–$151,200 for a material planner and $134,800–$202,200 for a senior with five-plus years.$112,000–$155,000Master scheduler, production and S&OPEmployer-provided base ranges retrieved September 15, 2026: a defense-tech manufacturer’s S&OP master scheduler $112,000–$149,000 (three-plus years, California); a launch and spacecraft manufacturer’s senior master scheduler II $125,000–$155,000 (eight-plus years, California); a space-station manufacturer’s master scheduler $129,301–$155,161 (five-plus years on integrated master schedules); a satellite manufacturer’s production master scheduler $115,000–$150,000 in San Francisco. Aggregators sit lower: Indeed $100,533 (Sep 6, 2026), Salary.com master scheduler IV $107,200 (Sep 1, 2026), ZipRecruiter $83,891 (Sep 15, 2026).$120,000–$175,000Production control / planning managerEmployer-provided bands retrieved September 15, 2026: a launch vehicle and satellite manufacturer publishes $120,000–$160,000 for supply chain planning managers, $120,000–$170,000 on the engine program, and $125,000–$175,000 for a manager of materials management, all California; a defense-tech manufacturer $129,000–$171,000 for a manager of material planning with eight-plus years; a propulsion manufacturer in Colorado $120,000–$151,000. Salary.com’s production control manager median is $117,309, middle band $104,288–$129,432 (Sep 1, 2026); BLS OEWS May 2025 puts 11-3071 distribution managers at $107,230 nationally and $138,870 in aerospace.$170,000–$215,000Director of planning and fulfillmentEmployer-provided base range at a launch and spacecraft manufacturer in California (retrieved September 15, 2026) for a director owning material planning, master scheduling, and fulfillment, requiring twelve-plus years in a leadership role. A defense-tech manufacturer publishes $166,000–$220,000 for a senior supply chain manager over procurement and planning in Massachusetts and $220,000–$292,000 for a senior director of supply chain planning in California. The federal frame is 11-3051 industrial production managers: $126,060 median, $205,520 at the 90th, $140,800 in aerospace (BLS OEWS May 2025).Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 national, state, and national industry-specific estimates for SOC 43-5061, 13-1081, 11-3071, and 11-3051 via the BLS OEWS query system (retrieved September 15, 2026); BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 2025–35 projections for logisticians, industrial production managers, and material recording clerks; employer job postings read via the Greenhouse public job board API on September 15, 2026 for a launch vehicle and satellite manufacturer (CA, WA, TX, FL), a launch and spacecraft manufacturer (CA), a second launch vehicle manufacturer (CA), a space-station manufacturer (CA), a satellite manufacturer (CA), a defense-tech manufacturer (CA, OH, GA, RI, MA, MS), a directed-energy defense manufacturer (CA), a rocket propulsion manufacturer (CO), an EV manufacturer (SC), and a battery materials manufacturer (NV); ZipRecruiter salary pages as of September 15, 2026; Salary.com benchmark pages as of September 1, 2026; Indeed Career Explorer pages updated September 6–7, 2026; ASCM 2025 Supply Chain Salary and Career Report.Why the same title scatters by $60,000Title inflation runs both directions. “Master scheduler” at a defense-tech manufacturer means either an S&OP seat at $112,000–$149,000 or an earned-value program scheduler with a Secret clearance at $146,000–$194,000, and a directed-energy manufacturer prices a twelve-year master integrated scheduler at $171,800–$200,600; the same three words on a general-industry req pull ZipRecruiter’s $83,891 average. “Production planner” is a $77,000–$115,000 band at a launch vehicle manufacturer in Long Beach and a $72,000–$90,000 Level II band at a launch and spacecraft manufacturer three miles away. The federal series code the work rather than the title, which is why 43-5061 at $59,650 and 13-1081 at $82,320 are the anchors and the aerospace cuts of $71,760 and $101,510 the better frame for a program seat. The other split is pay-transparency law: every range on this page comes from a disclosure state, so a Starbase or Cape Canaveral offer gets priced off the Hawthorne and Costa Mesa bands. 04 — Cost driversPremiums that move a planning offerBase rung is half the story. Industry, level, MRP and schedule-tool depth, certification, clearance, and site each carry a documented premium, and at a missile plant or launch site they stack.+20%Aerospace and motor vehicle industry cutBLS OEWS May 2025 puts production, planning, and expediting clerks in aerospace product and parts manufacturing (3364) at a $71,760 median and in motor vehicle manufacturing (3361) at $74,200, 20% and 24% above the $59,650 national line; logisticians in aerospace earn $101,510 against $82,320, a 23% premium. The 90th percentile gap is wider still: $99,680 for aerospace planning clerks against $86,000 nationally.+$25KLevel II over Level I schedulerAt a launch vehicle and satellite manufacturer, the Level II band tops out $25,000 above Level I for the same production scheduler title: $95,000–$130,000 against $80,000–$105,000 in California (postings retrieved September 15, 2026). The reqs set the level case-by-case on job-related knowledge, skills, education, and experience; the higher-paid Falcon req asks for complete ownership of a work center’s rate-based schedule rather than assisting with it.+44%Master scheduler over production planner at the same employerA space-station manufacturer in California publishes $76,000–$108,000 for a Manufacturing Planner II and $129,301–$155,161 for a master scheduler, a 44% lift at the top of band; a defense-tech manufacturer’s S&OP master scheduler ($112,000–$149,000) sits 15% above its material planner ($99,000–$130,000). The scheduler bands ask for integrated master schedule ownership and SQL or Power BI reporting, not just MRP execution.+20%APICS CPIM or CSCP certificationThe ASCM 2025 Supply Chain Salary and Career Report (3,500-plus respondents) puts the median salary of professionals holding at least one APICS credential at $103,000 against $86,000 without, a 20% premium. A rocket propulsion manufacturer in Colorado lists CPIM or CSCP as preferred on both its $62,000–$77,000 production controller and $90,000–$121,000 senior supply planner reqs (retrieved September 15, 2026).+$45KProgram IMS scheduling with a clearanceA defense-tech manufacturer prices a master scheduler running an earned-value integrated master schedule for a large development program, current Secret clearance required, at $146,000–$194,000 against $112,000–$149,000 for its S&OP master scheduler in the same California office (retrieved September 15, 2026). A directed-energy defense manufacturer requires twelve years and the ability to obtain a Secret clearance for its $171,800–$200,600 master integrated scheduler, and lists an active Secret clearance and DCMA 14-point assessment fluency as preferred.+15%California over Ohio and Georgia for the same reqThe same defense-tech manufacturer publishes $99,000–$130,000 for a material planner in Costa Mesa and $86,000–$112,000 for the identical title in Ashville, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia, a 15–16% gap at both ends of the band (retrieved September 15, 2026). BLS OEWS May 2025 state medians for logisticians agree: California $92,890, Georgia $77,570, Ohio $83,460.The stacking is the point. A production planner who owns MRP accuracy for a rate-based launch or missile line at a cleared employer in California is competing against the $95,000–$130,000 Level II band and the $101,510 aerospace logistician median, not the $63,451 ZipRecruiter average a generic req pulls. A master scheduler stepping into a planning-manager or supply chain manager seat with a team should expect the $120,000 floor a launch manufacturer publishes for its planning managers; the industrial engineer who builds the capacity model beside them is priced off the same $99,000–$130,000 production-controls band. 05 — VariationRegional spread across the reindustrialization mapSix markets where launch, missile, satellite, propulsion, gigafactory, and fab planning seats concentrate. Each cell pairs BLS OEWS May 2025 state medians for production, planning, and expediting clerks (43-5061), logisticians (13-1081), and transportation, storage, and distribution managers (11-3071) with the employer-published ranges we read for that state on September 15, 2026.California (Hawthorne, Long Beach, Costa Mesa, Bay Area)$63.0K–$123.8KPlanning clerk median $63,000 across 56,080 jobs, the largest state headcount; logisticians $92,890 (75th $121,470, 90th $153,220); distribution managers $123,780 (BLS OEWS May 2025). Most disclosed ranges on this page are California reqs: production planner $67,000–$115,000, scheduler $80,000–$130,000, material planner $99,000–$151,200, master scheduler $112,000–$155,161, planning manager $120,000–$175,000.Texas (Starbase, Bastrop, McGregor, Austin)$55.9K–$100.7KPlanning clerk median $55,850 (33,080 jobs), logisticians $75,480 (75th $98,900), distribution managers $100,700, industrial production managers $130,890 (BLS OEWS May 2025). Texas requires no pay disclosure: the launch manufacturer’s Starbase senior scheduler, Bastrop machining scheduler, and Starship planning manager reqs publish no range and get priced off the identical Hawthorne bands.Washington (Redmond, Woodinville, Kent)$77.2K–$136.5KPlanning clerk median $77,190, the highest of any state on this page; logisticians $107,250 (75th $132,340, 90th $163,950), also the national high; distribution managers $136,500 (BLS OEWS May 2025). The launch vehicle and satellite manufacturer publishes $82,000–$95,000 and $95,000–$120,000 for a precision machining production scheduler and $85,000–$120,000 across two levels for a supply chain planner at its Woodinville site.Colorado (Berthoud, Denver, Colorado Springs)$64.0K–$132.6KPlanning clerk median $63,980, logisticians $96,090 (75th $121,850), distribution managers $132,610, industrial production managers $141,020 (BLS OEWS May 2025). A rocket propulsion manufacturer in Berthoud publishes $62,000–$77,000 for a production controller, $80,000–$99,000 for a demand planner II, $90,000–$121,000 for a senior supply planner, and $120,000–$151,000 for a manager of planning under Colorado’s disclosure law.Ohio and Michigan (Columbus, Ashville, Detroit)$57.8K–$101.6KOhio: planning clerk median $57,830 (17,700 jobs), logisticians $83,460, distribution managers $101,550; Michigan: $61,670, $83,200, and $99,100 (BLS OEWS May 2025). A defense-tech manufacturer building a munitions campus south of Columbus publishes $86,000–$112,000 for a material planner and $111,000–$147,000 for a senior material planner in Ashville, Ohio, roughly 15% under its California bands.Southeast (Space Coast, Huntsville, Atlanta, Blythewood)$51.9K–$123.3KFlorida: planning clerk median $51,940, logisticians $76,410, distribution managers $101,570; Alabama: $57,240, $98,450, and $118,320; Georgia: $56,850, $77,570, and $123,330 (BLS OEWS May 2025). Florida has no disclosure law and the launch manufacturer’s Cape Canaveral supply chain planner reqs carry no range; an EV manufacturer in Blythewood, South Carolina publishes $95,000–$120,000 for a material planner specialist and a defense-tech manufacturer $86,000–$112,000 in Atlanta.The spread inside one employer is the cleanest signal: a material planner is $99,000–$130,000 in Costa Mesa and $86,000–$112,000 in Ashville or Atlanta on the same September 2026 req template. For a Texas or Florida site with no published band, the state medians ($55,850 and $51,940 for planning clerks, $75,480 and $76,410 for logisticians) understate what a launch site or munitions plant pays, because those employers recruit planners against their California scale and the aerospace cuts of $71,760 and $101,510, not against the state’s warehouse-heavy average. 06 — TrendWhere production planning pay is headingThe federal projections split the ladder. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 2025–35 projects logisticians growing 18%, much faster than average, with about 26,600 openings a year, while the broader material recording clerk group that contains 43-5061 is projected to decline 6% as MRP execution, expediting, and work-order release automate. Industrial production managers are projected at 3% growth with about 17,000 openings a year. Read together: the pure expediter seat is shrinking, and the planner who can model capacity, own MRP master data, and run S&OP is the one whose code is growing.Employer reqs read the same way. Every September 2026 scheduler and planner posting we read at launch, satellite, and defense-tech manufacturers asks for ERP/MRP fluency, and the better-paid ones add SQL, Power BI, MES, and integrated master schedule ownership: a launch and spacecraft manufacturer’s $125,000–$155,000 senior master scheduler II req names Infor LN, SQL, and Power BI; a defense-tech manufacturer’s $112,000–$149,000 S&OP scheduler req names Oracle, NetSuite, and SQL. The ASCM 2025 report’s 20% APICS premium is the market pricing the same skill gap.The rate ramps driving demand are public. A single defense-tech manufacturer building munitions campuses in Ohio and Mississippi had 27 planner and scheduler reqs open on September 15, 2026, and a single launch manufacturer had 19 across Texas, Washington, Florida, and California. NPI-to-rate transitions are where these seats sit: the defense-tech manufacturer’s $129,000–$171,000 maritime manufacturing planner req names moving complex products from design into sustained high-rate production as the job. 07 — WorkforceWhat this means for hiring planners in 2026For employers: price the seat off the code and the industry cut, not the title. A production scheduler owning a work center at a rate-based launch or missile line is a $80,000–$130,000 two-level band in California and Washington; a material planner with three years and MRP ownership is $99,000–$130,000 in California and $86,000–$112,000 in Ohio or Georgia; a master scheduler with integrated master schedule and S&OP ownership is $112,000–$155,000; a planning manager with a team is $120,000–$175,000. Offers anchored to the $59,650 federal median or the $63,451 ZipRecruiter average will lose the candidate to the launch manufacturer down the road, disclosure state or not.For professionals: the step that moves pay is from execution to ownership. Expediting and work-order release are coded at 43-5061 and projected to shrink; MRP master data, capacity modeling, SQL or Power BI reporting, and integrated master schedule ownership are what the $112,000–$155,000 master scheduler bands and the $120,000–$175,000 manager bands require, and a CPIM or CSCP carries a documented 20% premium. iRecruit is building its network of production planners, master schedulers, and planning managers for aerospace and defense manufacturers and the wider reindustrialization manufacturing base, and shortlists for these seats on MRP ownership, rate-ramp experience, and clearance eligibility rather than title.For the hiring side of this market, see the Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing practice. 08 — FAQFrequently asked questions What is the average production planner salary in 2026?+The BLS OEWS May 2025 median for production, planning, and expediting clerks (43-5061), the code that captures most production planner seats, is $59,650, with a 25th–75th percentile band of $47,820–$75,000. Aerospace manufacturers pay a $71,760 median, and employer-published production planner bands at launch and space-station manufacturers in California run $67,000–$115,000 across two levels (postings retrieved September 15, 2026). ZipRecruiter’s posted average is $63,451 (September 15, 2026).How much does a master scheduler make?+Employer-published master scheduler bands at defense-tech, launch, satellite, and space-station manufacturers in California ran $112,000–$155,161 on September 15, 2026, with program integrated-master-schedule seats requiring a clearance or clearance eligibility at $146,000–$200,600. Aggregators sit lower: Indeed $100,533 (September 6, 2026), Salary.com master scheduler IV $107,200 (September 1, 2026), ZipRecruiter $83,891 (September 15, 2026). The federal frame is the 13-1081 logistician series at $82,320 nationally and $101,510 in aerospace (BLS OEWS May 2025).What is a production control manager salary?+Salary.com’s modeled median for a production control manager is $117,309 with a $104,288–$129,432 middle band (September 1, 2026); ZipRecruiter’s posted average is $86,057 (September 15, 2026). Space and defense employers publish higher planning-manager bands: $120,000–$175,000 at a launch manufacturer and $129,000–$171,000 at a defense-tech manufacturer in California, $120,000–$151,000 at a propulsion manufacturer in Colorado (retrieved September 15, 2026). BLS OEWS May 2025 puts 11-3071 distribution managers at $107,230 and 11-3051 industrial production managers at $126,060.Do production planners earn more in aerospace and defense?+Yes, by about a fifth on the federal data. BLS OEWS May 2025 puts production, planning, and expediting clerks in aerospace product and parts manufacturing at a $71,760 median against $59,650 nationally (+20%), and logisticians in aerospace at $101,510 against $82,320 (+23%). Employer bands add a clearance layer on top: a defense-tech manufacturer’s cleared program master scheduler is $146,000–$194,000 against $112,000–$149,000 for its uncleared S&OP master scheduler (September 15, 2026).Is an APICS CPIM or CSCP worth it for a planner?+The ASCM 2025 Supply Chain Salary and Career Report puts the median salary of professionals holding at least one APICS credential at $103,000 against $86,000 for those without, a 20% premium, and holding two or more certifications lifts the median 14% over holding none. A propulsion manufacturer lists CPIM or CSCP as preferred on its production controller, supply planner, and planning manager reqs, and a launch manufacturer on its supply chain planner and materials-management manager reqs (retrieved September 15, 2026), so the credential is priced into both the planner and manager rungs. Planners who own the rate planiRecruit is building candidate density in production planning, master scheduling, and production control ahead of the next rate ramp. We screen for MRP ownership, capacity modeling, S&OP and integrated master schedule experience, and clearance eligibility across launch, missile, satellite, battery, and semiconductor programs, from planner through director. Tell us the program and the site and we will shortlist.Scope a search →Candidates — register with us →
