What the data shows
- 1
The median open US robot training role that states an hourly rate advertises 2.1 times the minimum wage where it is (68 roles compared on 11 Oct 2026).
- 2
None of the 68 roles advertises less than the local minimum wage; 18 (26.5%) advertise less than 1.5 times it.
- 3
Among states and cities with at least 5 compared roles, the median sits furthest above the floor in Texas ($34.75 against $7.25, 4.8 times) and closest to it in Los Angeles, CA ($22 against $18.42, 1.2 times).
- 4
By kind of work, roles in AV & Drone Operators advertise the most above the local floor (median 4.6 times the minimum) and roles in Data & Demonstration Collection the least (1.2 times).
- 5
38 more open roles state a dollar rate but are remote or name no single US state, so they are not compared.
Figure 1
Advertised robot training pay against the local minimum wage
In each US state, and in the cities that set their own minimum, how does the hourly rate robot training jobs advertise compare with the minimum wage there?
Base: 68 open US roles stating an hourly rate in dollars, at the close of 11 Oct 2026, each compared with the minimum wage where it is (minimums as in force on 12 Oct 2026).
A row with fewer than 5 compared roles is shown and marked as a small sample.
The advertised rate is the midpoint of the range a posting states. The lowest quarter is the rate a quarter of the row's compared roles fall below.
The minimum is the general adult rate. A role whose location names a city with its own minimum (San Francisco, Mountain View, Santa Clara, San Jose, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Chicago, New York City, Flagstaff) is compared with that city's; any other role with its state's. A county minimum is applied only where the county is the city (New York City).
Where a state has no minimum of its own, or one below the federal $7.25, the federal minimum is used.
Sources: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Minimum Wage
Credit: RobotTraining.jobs Research, Robot Training Pay Against the Minimum Wage, daily data.
Figure 2
How far above the floor each kind of robot training work pays
Which kinds of robot training work advertise the most, and the least, above the local minimum wage?
| Kind of work | Median role over its local minimum | Roles at 2x the minimum or more | Roles compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| AV & Drone Operators | 4.6x | 88.5% | 26 |
| Robot Fleet Operations | 1.8x | 50.0% | 18 |
| Robot Teleoperation | 1.6x | 16.7% | 12 |
| Embodied-AI Data AnnotationSmall sample | 1.6x | 0.0% | 2 |
| Data & Demonstration Collection | 1.2x | 20.0% | 10 |
Base: The same 68 roles, grouped by kind of work. Each role is divided by the minimum where it is before the median is taken.
A kind with fewer than 5 compared roles is marked as a small sample.
Credit: RobotTraining.jobs Research, Robot Training Pay Against the Minimum Wage, daily data.
Figure 3
The open roles that pay closest to the minimum wage
Which open robot training roles advertise the least above the minimum wage where they are?
| Role | Employer | Advertised rate | Over the local minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robotics Data Collection Operator - Seattle | Collaborative Robotics | $22.00 | 1.0x |
| Robotics Assistant | Collaborative Robotics | $20.00 | 1.1x |
| Robotics Data Collection Operator - Santa Clara | Collaborative Robotics | $20.00 | 1.1x |
| Robotics Data Collection Operator, Shift Lead - Seattle | Collaborative Robotics | $24.50 | 1.2x |
| Operations Associate - Part Time (San Jose, CA) | Serve Robotics | $22.00 | 1.2x |
| Operations Associate - Part Time (North Hollywood) | Serve Robotics | $22.00 | 1.2x |
| Operations Associate - Part Time (Hollywood, LA) | Serve Robotics | $22.00 | 1.2x |
| Operations Associate - Part Time (West LA) | Serve Robotics | $22.00 | 1.2x |
| Operations Associate - Part Time (Los Angeles) | Serve Robotics | $22.00 | 1.2x |
| Robotics Data Collection Operator, Shift Lead - Santa Clara | Collaborative Robotics | $22.50 | 1.2x |
Base: The 10 lowest of the 68 compared roles, open at the close of 11 Oct 2026.
The rate is the midpoint of the range the posting states, so the bottom of a wide range can sit lower.
Credit: RobotTraining.jobs Research, Robot Training Pay Against the Minimum Wage, daily data.
Robotics labs · Fleet operators · Data vendors · Research teams
Buy the data behind these reports
- employer job boards read every day
- 91employer job boards read every day
- every role's history kept since
- 12 Sep 2026every role's history kept since
- apply clicks in the last 30 days
- 356apply clicks in the last 30 days
The raw records
Every robot training role we track: title, employer, place, kind of work, pay as stated, and the days it was first and last open.
A regular feed
New and closed roles every week or month, as file drops or through the data endpoints.
A custom cut
Any figure here by country, city, kind of work, vehicle, employer or date, or your own hiring benchmarked against the market.
Each report's own figures stay free to download and reuse under CC BY 4.0.
How it was measured
Every day this site reads the public job boards of the robot training employers and programs it follows. Each role's stated hourly rate and location are read from its posting. Minimum wages come from each state's labour department or the US Department of Labor's state table, and from each city's own ordinance page for the eleven cities with a minimum of their own, as in force on 12 Oct 2026, with the source beside each row. A single database query produces each figure for the window shown, and the live page and every monthly edition run that identical query. The note under each figure gives its base.
- Compared role
- An open role whose posting states an hourly rate in dollars, whose location names exactly one US state, and that is not remote. A remote role is not done in the state its posting names, so it is left out.
- Advertised rate
- The hourly rate a posting states, the midpoint of a range.
- Local minimum
- The general adult minimum wage per hour in force on 12 Oct 2026 where the job is: the city's own where the location names one of the eleven cities that set one (San Francisco, Mountain View, Santa Clara, San Jose, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Chicago, New York City, Flagstaff), else the state's, or the federal $7.25 where the state has none or a lower one. Tipped, youth and training rates are not used.
- Multiple
- A role's advertised rate divided by its local minimum. The state, city and kind-of-work figures give the median of these.
- Open role
- On a given day, a role that has been posted and still shows in the employer's feed.
- Window
- Live page: the 28 most recent full days (UTC). Edition: a single calendar month (UTC).
Limits of this data
- Only the eleven cities named above are applied. Other local minimums (counties such as Montgomery County, Maryland, and smaller cities) are not, so a role in one of them is compared with the lower state floor.
- Only roles that state a dollar rate are compared, and employers that state one are not a random sample of employers.
- A posting that lists several states is left out rather than assigned to one.
- The minimum wages are a table read on 12 Oct 2026; a state that raises its minimum later is compared with the new rate only once the table is updated.
Collection and classification of listings are explained on the methodology page. Freshness, completeness and consistency are tested daily in the data quality report.
Monthly editions
The live page spans the 28 most recent full days and updates daily. Every finished month also gets its own edition, locked two days after month end, so a number quoted from it stays fixed.
- Live page28 most recent full days, rebuilt daily
Quoting this report
You may quote, chart or republish these figures under CC BY 4.0, provided you link back to this page. The live numbers shift every day. For a figure that stays put, quote a monthly edition, or note the date you accessed this page.
Citation
RobotTraining.jobs (2026). Robot Training Pay Against the Minimum Wage (live data, 14 Sep 2026 to 11 Oct 2026). https://robottraining.jobs/research/robot-training-pay-vs-minimum-wage (accessed 12 Oct 2026)
BibTeX
@misc{robottrainingjobs_robot_training_pay_vs_minimum_wage_live,
author = {{RobotTraining.jobs}},
title = {Robot Training Pay Against the Minimum Wage (live data, 14 Sep 2026 to 11 Oct 2026)},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://robottraining.jobs/research/robot-training-pay-vs-minimum-wage}},
note = {Accessed 12 Oct 2026},
}Files: every figure in one CSV (a row per value) or as JSON. Each figure can also be downloaded separately. Other open data: datasets and API.
Keep reading
- Robot Training Pay Transparency: Who States a RateHow many robot training job ads name a pay rate, where do those rates fall, and how far apart are the low and high ends of a range?Open report
- Robot Training Jobs by Country: Who Can ApplyWhich countries' residents can apply for robot training jobs, and to how many?Open report
- Is Robot Training Pay Rising? Rates Week by WeekAre advertised rates for each kind of robot training work going up or down?Open report
- Which Robot Training Jobs Pay a PremiumHolding the kind of work constant, which features of a robot training job go with a higher advertised rate?Open report
- On-Site Robot Training Jobs: Labs, Depots and Test TracksHow many robot training jobs require showing up in person instead of working from home, in which places, and doing what?Open report
- Robot Training Pay Structures: Hourly, Per Task or SalaryDo robot training jobs pay hourly, per task or video, or a salary, under what kind of contract, and on what payout schedule?Open report
- Robot Training Pay Report 2026How much do robot training jobs pay, broken down by kind of work and employer?Open report