Foundry Mold and Coremakers salary

SOC 51-4071 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$48,110

per year, nationally

Middle half

$41,870–$57,350

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

12,790

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-25.9%

900 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.

$37,160$62,640

10th: $37,160
25th: $41,870
Median: $48,110
75th: $57,350
90th: $62,640

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 foundry mold and coremakers 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	$67,060	103.4	270	1.64×
2	Missouri	$61,480	90.8	590	2.44×
3	Illinois	$57,110	100.0	390	0.78×
4	Minnesota	$56,840	98.6	470	1.95×
5	Massachusetts	$55,940	105.8	60	0.20×
6	New Jersey	$55,210	108.8	330	0.92×
7	New York	$54,380	107.9	110	0.14×
8	Alabama	$51,040	88.8	850	4.87×
9	Indiana	$49,860	93.3	720	2.73×
10	Iowa	$49,060	87.8	480	3.76×
11	Ohio	$49,040	92.8	980	2.15×
12	Washington	$48,440	107.0	160	0.53×
13	Kansas	$47,910	90.1	150	1.29×
14	Connecticut	$47,310	103.6	110	0.78×
15	California	$46,930	110.7	420	0.28×
16	North Carolina	$46,910	94.3	260	0.63×
17	Georgia	$46,220	96.3	220	0.55×
18	Michigan	$46,150	96.2	2,050	5.67×
19	Nebraska	$45,910	90.1	90	1.03×
20	Utah	$44,970	98.9	110	0.78×
21	Pennsylvania	$44,750	97.6	1,230	2.47×
22	Wisconsin	$44,130	94.1	1,270	5.27×
23	Kentucky	$43,610	90.2	—	—
24	Oklahoma	$43,550	87.8	120	0.88×
25	New Hampshire	$43,210	104.2	40	0.63×
26	Virginia	$43,130	101.1	110	0.31×
27	Colorado	$42,240	103.1	40	0.18×
28	Arkansas	$42,200	86.9	60	0.59×
29	Texas	$42,190	97.1	230	0.20×
30	South Carolina	$41,100	93.7	150	0.77×
31	Mississippi	$39,560	87.0	70	0.73×
32	Florida	$38,330	103.4	140	0.17×
33	Tennessee	$37,310	91.9	190	0.69×

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 foundry mold and coremakers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for foundry mold and coremakers

The 34 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	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$67,060	105.4	230	2.35×
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$58,090	111.1	60	0.37×
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$57,630	104.8	210	1.31×
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$55,210	112.6	320	0.41×
5	Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA	$54,920	87.1	80	10.98×
6	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$54,080	102.6	120	0.49×
7	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$52,010	97.3	80	0.75×
8	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$50,610	103.6	170	0.45×
9	Anniston-Oxford, AL	$50,420	85.9	170	47.87×
10	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$49,600	95.4	—	—
11	Cleveland, OH	$49,040	93.9	330	3.85×
12	Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH	$48,190	92.7	40	1.39×
13	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$47,560	98.2	60	2.30×
14	Pittsburgh, PA	$47,550	94.7	150	1.65×
15	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$47,520	108.3	70	0.30×
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$47,440	113.6	240	0.47×
17	Columbus, OH	$46,970	95.5	40	0.39×
18	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$46,740	89.1	50	3.59×
19	York-Hanover, PA	$46,660	96.0	50	3.38×
20	Monroe, MI	$46,600	93.5	50	13.73×
21	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$46,360	106.4	50	0.36×
22	Erie, PA	$46,290	91.0	80	7.87×
23	Reading, PA	$46,260	97.1	50	3.40×
24	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$46,200	96.9	400	5.93×
25	Elkhart-Goshen, IN	$46,110	90.3	50	5.16×
26	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$46,110	103.1	60	0.18×
27	Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC	$45,950	93.3	40	1.00×
28	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$45,610	100.3	230	1.47×
29	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$44,180	95.5	170	3.39×
30	Madison, WI	$44,130	97.3	90	2.77×
31	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$43,440	100.0	340	10.97×
32	Akron, OH	$40,220	93.4	60	2.40×
33	Niles, MI	$39,450	92.4	100	21.26×
34	Tulsa, OK	$36,720	89.2	40	1.12×

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 foundry mold and coremakers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

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