Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary

SOC 51-4031 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$46,330

per year, nationally

Middle half

$38,870–$55,410

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

171,200

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-12.1%

14,400 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$35,760$65,510

10th: $35,760
25th: $38,870
Median: $46,330
75th: $55,410
90th: $65,510

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Oregon	$53,680	103.4	1,180	0.55×
2	Maine	$51,820	97.0	180	0.25×
3	Washington	$51,160	107.0	1,750	0.45×
4	Colorado	$50,790	103.1	1,400	0.44×
5	Minnesota	$49,770	98.6	6,130	1.89×
6	Wisconsin	$49,270	94.1	7,960	2.46×
7	Alaska	$49,010	102.4	80	0.21×
8	Illinois	$48,990	100.0	8,060	1.20×
9	Nebraska	$48,690	90.1	1,320	1.17×
10	Montana	$48,490	94.6	130	0.23×
11	California	$48,450	110.7	7,710	0.38×
12	North Dakota	$48,400	89.0	230	0.49×
13	Missouri	$48,310	90.8	3,240	1.00×
14	Iowa	$48,240	87.8	2,030	1.18×
15	Rhode Island	$48,170	102.3	470	0.85×
16	New Hampshire	$48,110	104.2	600	0.80×
17	Pennsylvania	$47,860	97.6	8,890	1.33×
18	Nevada	$47,690	100.0	580	0.34×
19	Maryland	$47,320	105.0	270	0.09×
20	Virginia	$47,300	101.1	1,790	0.39×
21	Indiana	$46,980	93.3	9,680	2.75×
22	New York	$46,930	107.9	3,340	0.31×
23	Wyoming	$46,890	92.7	60	0.19×
24	Kansas	$46,840	90.1	1,900	1.20×
25	Utah	$46,670	98.9	1,050	0.55×
26	Arizona	$46,610	100.7	1,100	0.31×
27	Connecticut	$46,280	103.6	2,030	1.08×
28	Michigan	$46,120	96.2	22,060	4.55×
29	South Dakota	$46,060	88.6	490	0.97×
30	Kentucky	$45,760	90.2	7,290	3.31×
31	Massachusetts	$45,760	105.8	2,590	0.65×
32	New Jersey	$45,680	108.8	1,950	0.41×
33	Arkansas	$45,580	86.9	3,020	2.11×
34	Ohio	$45,230	92.8	13,350	2.18×
35	Georgia	$45,080	96.3	5,260	0.98×
36	Tennessee	$44,780	91.9	5,380	1.49×
37	South Carolina	$44,420	93.7	4,100	1.62×
38	Alabama	$43,830	88.8	6,000	2.58×
39	Vermont	$43,560	98.0	70	0.21×
40	North Carolina	$43,400	94.3	3,940	0.72×
41	West Virginia	$43,070	89.5	290	0.38×
42	Texas	$42,720	97.1	13,290	0.86×
43	Delaware	$41,640	99.8	240	0.45×
44	Oklahoma	$40,930	87.8	2,480	1.32×
45	Louisiana	$40,870	88.2	760	0.36×
46	Mississippi	$40,650	87.0	1,700	1.33×
47	Idaho	$39,580	95.5	720	0.77×
48	Florida	$39,440	103.4	2,740	0.25×
49	New Mexico	$39,430	92.2	220	0.23×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Flint, MI	$78,600	93.0	380	2.55×
2	Rome, GA	$63,740	90.2	200	4.07×
3	Oshkosh-Neenah, WI	$62,250	92.9	560	5.38×
4	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$60,230	93.1	3,100	4.10×
5	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$60,080	100.0	730	1.76×
6	Bellingham, WA	$59,380	103.3	30	0.32×
7	Lewiston-Auburn, ME	$59,300	94.7	60	1.07×
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$58,580	110.4	410	0.33×
9	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$58,240	105.8	640	0.36×
10	Mankato, MN	$57,850	91.0	60	0.99×
11	Lincoln, NE	$57,780	91.6	270	1.33×
12	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$57,290	102.4	30	0.55×
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$57,110	105.4	800	0.60×
14	Albany, OR	$56,410	102.1	70	1.41×
15	Saginaw, MI	$55,630	90.9	390	4.45×
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$54,920	111.1	1,000	0.43×
17	Sandusky, OH	$54,770	89.3	200	3.70×
18	Reading, PA	$54,760	97.1	610	3.19×
19	Bend, OR	$53,680	103.6	50	0.38×
20	Modesto, CA	$53,600	104.1	140	0.67×
21	Appleton, WI	$53,560	92.4	610	4.48×
22	Sheboygan, WI	$52,850	94.0	330	4.95×
23	Kansas City, MO-KS	$52,840	92.5	1,330	1.10×
24	Rochester, MN	$52,830	90.8	200	1.49×
25	Portland-South Portland, ME	$52,780	101.9	60	0.19×
26	Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN	$52,710	93.4	260	2.28×
27	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA	$52,630	93.6	750	2.65×
28	St. Louis, MO-IL	$52,630	95.1	1,270	0.86×
29	Vallejo, CA	$52,360	108.5	60	0.39×
30	Boulder, CO	$51,980	105.2	40	0.20×
31	Fond du Lac, WI	$51,780	91.6	250	5.08×
32	Glens Falls, NY	$51,630	94.9	30	0.57×
33	Jonesboro, AR	$51,610	85.9	210	3.21×
34	Pueblo, CO	$51,590	91.8	150	2.25×
35	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$51,160	91.4	690	2.28×
36	Kenosha, WI	$51,130	101.1	180	2.14×
37	Columbia, MO	$51,080	89.4	40	0.34×
38	Ithaca, NY	$50,980	103.3	70	1.35×
39	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$50,920	106.7	250	0.21×
40	Green Bay, WI	$50,820	93.1	270	1.40×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn the most

Best paying metro areas for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

Similar occupations

Compare