NueCareer

Pay by state · 49 states

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic Salary by State (2026)

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn the most in Oregon at $57,290 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $31,400 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $46,550. All 49 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$57,290Oregon
National median
$46,550BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$31,400Puerto Rico
States reporting
49of 54 OEWS areas

All states

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 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
#
1OROregon
$57,290
$47,290$67,1501,180$55,427
2MNMinnesota
$51,780
$46,840$60,5601,400$52,504
3MAMassachusetts
$50,910
$45,440$60,3802,420$48,139
4VTVermont
$50,640
$50,280$59,420300$51,696
5WVWest Virginia
$49,950
$37,750$58,270200$55,812
6WAWashington
$49,300
$45,130$59,2501,870$46,069
7NYNew York
$49,290
$43,590$60,2702,410$45,672
8KYKentucky
$49,160
$42,790$58,490850$54,526
9CTConnecticut
$48,590
$39,080$58,7201,530$46,897
10NENebraska
$48,500
$38,980$49,680300$53,827
11SCSouth Carolina
$48,040
$45,020$58,3401,730$51,243
12NCNorth Carolina
$47,770
$38,210$53,7601,610$50,644
13NDNorth Dakota
$47,670
$47,210$52,170N/A$53,586
14PAPennsylvania
$47,650
$40,090$53,0903,830$48,836
15WIWisconsin
$47,330
$41,190$55,4303,570$50,300
16INIndiana
$47,310
$42,730$51,0304,170$50,692
17MEMaine
$47,230
$42,950$50,950170$48,666
18WYWyoming
$46,800
$46,280$47,80030$50,490
19NHNew Hampshire
$46,580
$41,390$50,910600$44,718
20IAIowa
$46,380
$41,280$50,390890$52,847
21MOMissouri
$46,270
$40,010$59,4401,210$50,949
22ILIllinois
$46,180
$40,190$54,0004,100$46,199
23NVNevada
$46,140
$40,580$51,110170$46,150
24COColorado
$46,120
$39,750$52,590500$44,754
25IDIdaho
$45,980
$38,940$46,760170$48,150
26CACalifornia
$45,890
$39,440$53,8207,800$41,447
27GAGeorgia
$45,850
$38,380$52,990940$47,615
28MIMichigan
$45,460
$38,210$56,1604,180$47,247
29OHOhio
$45,270
$38,480$52,0005,960$48,796
30AZArizona
$44,990
$38,420$49,630670$44,687
31TNTennessee
$44,710
$37,860$48,5401,340$48,667
32NJNew Jersey
$44,450
$36,300$51,540860$40,853
33DEDelaware
$44,390
$38,360$44,39050$44,475
34UTUtah
$44,320
$38,540$50,800400$44,829
35RIRhode Island
$43,650
$38,480$60,510140$42,677
36MDMaryland
$43,530
$36,260$48,580160$41,473
37VAVirginia
$43,170
$34,760$47,830620$42,699
38KSKansas
$42,710
$37,290$46,4001,010$47,420
39MSMississippi
$42,660
$36,650$63,620430$49,061
40TXTexas
$42,250
$36,920$46,4602,960$43,531
41MTMontana
$41,740
$38,180$46,660160$44,102
42FLFlorida
$40,310
$36,820$48,1201,020$38,979
43ARArkansas
$39,590
$37,670$47,220340$45,539
44SDSouth Dakota
$39,060
$31,710$43,590130$44,093
45LALouisiana
$38,650
$33,380$45,970160$43,817
46OKOklahoma
$38,570
$34,920$49,910870$43,908
47ALAlabama
$38,170
$33,700$46,6101,500$42,973
48NMNew Mexico
$38,020
$36,670$45,10030$41,231
49PRPuerto Rico
$31,400
$27,060$42,97060N/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 Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, that changes the ranking: Oregon leads on raw pay at $57,290, while West Virginia leads once prices are taken into account at $55,812.

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

Questions

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic the most?

Oregon reports the highest median wage for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic at $57,290 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Minnesota ($51,780) and Massachusetts ($50,910).

Which state pays Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic at $31,400 a year, $25,890 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts West Virginia first at $55,812 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $49,950. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

Back to the full Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic career profilefor outlook, skills and how to become one