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Pay by state · 53 areas

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector Salary by State (2026)

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors earn the most in Illinois at $75,050 a year and the least in South Dakota at $32,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $49,690. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, Guam and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$75,050Illinois
National median
$49,690BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$32,950South Dakota
Areas reporting
53of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for refuse and recyclable material collectors

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Illinois$75,050
  2. 2Washington$74,620
  3. 3New York$64,950
  4. 4California$64,890
  5. 5Oregon$63,210

Lowest median pay

  1. 1South Dakota$32,950
  2. 2South Carolina$34,880
  3. 3Arkansas$35,640
  4. 4West Virginia$35,840
  5. 5Connecticut$38,220

All states

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of refuse and recyclable material collectors OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1ILIllinois
$75,050
$58,750$84,3004,910$75,082
2WAWashington
$74,620
$61,700$80,7503,750$69,730
3NYNew York
$64,950
$47,020$86,31011,630$60,183
4CACalifornia
$64,890
$55,420$75,07013,930$58,607
5OROregon
$63,210
$59,960$66,1802,500$61,155
6MNMinnesota
$62,570
$52,030$65,9802,500$63,445
7NVNevada
$61,310
$50,490$79,860770$61,323
8DEDelaware
$61,290
$48,130$63,290600$61,408
9COColorado
$60,310
$46,770$64,4103,700$58,524
10WIWisconsin
$59,810
$48,440$63,4301,550$63,563
11UTUtah
$59,310
$48,010$61,640960$59,992
12NDNorth Dakota
$59,000
$47,770$61,640360$66,323
13INIndiana
$58,900
$49,840$61,2103,180$63,110
14HIHawaii
$56,270
$39,150$64,080770$51,177
15RIRhode Island
$55,970
$47,790$59,970470$54,722
16DCDistrict of Columbia
$55,490
$45,740$63,710540$50,491
17NJNew Jersey
$54,630
$41,920$65,3704,330$50,209
18VTVermont
$51,960
$49,780$60,460160$53,043
19MIMichigan
$51,030
$37,510$61,4604,020$53,036
20MAMassachusetts
$50,310
$45,040$62,3601,010$47,571
21MOMissouri
$50,010
$36,420$61,3601,930$55,067
22IDIdaho
$49,880
$46,350$55,270730$52,234
23IAIowa
$49,850
$46,190$58,0501,780$56,801
24MTMontana
$49,420
$45,330$58,090370$52,216
25NENebraska
$49,390
$39,450$54,140910$54,815
26OHOhio
$49,330
$42,610$59,2504,710$53,172
27WYWyoming
$48,820
$42,850$52,530280$52,670
28PAPennsylvania
$48,240
$37,440$61,9606,220$49,440
29FLFlorida
$47,820
$39,400$58,09011,650$46,241
30NMNew Mexico
$47,660
$41,870$50,1401,070$51,685
31GAGeorgia
$46,960
$37,220$55,9904,830$48,768
32AZArizona
$46,910
$34,860$60,0102,380$46,595
33NHNew Hampshire
$46,580
$40,420$53,890340$44,718
34VAVirginia
$46,530
$34,230$57,4304,330$46,022
35TXTexas
$46,330
$35,880$50,04012,860$47,735
36ALAlabama
$46,240
$36,280$54,9102,790$52,059
37AKAlaska
$45,740
$36,030$71,840250$44,686
38KSKansas
$45,510
$35,020$48,120910$50,528
39NCNorth Carolina
$44,670
$34,650$49,0307,250$47,357
40MEMaine
$43,360
$37,170$48,780770$44,678
41TNTennessee
$43,270
$35,410$57,3302,550$47,099
42KYKentucky
$43,100
$34,710$48,8701,580$47,804
43OKOklahoma
$43,060
$36,300$48,9002,030$49,019
44MDMaryland
$41,870
$38,290$51,1903,120$39,892
45MSMississippi
$39,170
$35,530$48,1001,970$45,047
46LALouisiana
$38,810
$34,110$49,2702,200$43,999
47CTConnecticut
$38,220
$35,480$51,080810$36,888
48WVWest Virginia
$35,840
$29,430$43,4601,000$40,046
49ARArkansas
$35,640
$29,320$41,4201,600$40,995
50SCSouth Carolina
$34,880
$27,850$42,1502,020$37,206
51SDSouth Dakota
$32,950
$29,620$37,820340$37,195
52GUGuam
$32,520
$28,270$38,81040N/A
53PRPuerto Rico
$21,840
$21,840$22,2301,800N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For refuse and recyclable material collectors, the adjustment does not change the leader: Illinois is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $75,082.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays refuse and recyclable material collectors the most?

Illinois reports the highest median wage for refuse and recyclable material collectors at $75,050 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($74,620) and New York ($64,950).

Which state pays refuse and recyclable material collectors the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, South Dakota reports the lowest median for refuse and recyclable material collectors at $32,950 a year, $42,100 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Guam reports $32,520 and Puerto Rico reports $21,840.

Is the highest-paying state the best for refuse and recyclable material collectors after cost of living?

Yes. Illinois stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $75,082 in national-average dollars from a raw $75,050. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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