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Pay by state · 50 areas

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic Salary by State (2026)

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn the most in Hawaii at $77,560 a year and the least in Wyoming at $38,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $44,350. The table below covers 49 states and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$77,560Hawaii
National median
$44,350BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$38,160Wyoming
Areas reporting
50of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

Ranked on the state median among the 49 reporting states. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Hawaii$77,560
  2. 2Maryland$63,460
  3. 3Maine$59,230
  4. 4Minnesota$49,590
  5. 5Nevada$49,590

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Wyoming$38,160
  2. 2Florida$38,440
  3. 3Louisiana$38,650
  4. 4Tennessee$38,820
  5. 5Alabama$39,010

All states

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of molding, coremaking, and casting machine 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
#
1HIHawaii
$77,560
$71,240$89,170140$70,541
2MDMaryland
$63,460
$47,840$67,500230$60,462
3MEMaine
$59,230
$47,580$64,500470$61,030
4MNMinnesota
$49,590
$40,270$57,7002,230$50,283
5NVNevada
$49,590
$40,290$67,900350$49,600
6NENebraska
$48,500
$37,340$52,6101,000$53,827
7WAWashington
$48,290
$45,240$57,5101,800$45,125
8COColorado
$48,200
$43,950$55,9702,160$46,773
9NDNorth Dakota
$47,780
$45,650$53,130160$53,710
10NHNew Hampshire
$47,610
$39,070$52,4501,080$45,706
11CACalifornia
$47,240
$41,190$51,9209,250$42,666
12KYKentucky
$47,110
$38,970$57,6404,340$52,252
13AZArizona
$46,930
$37,900$58,2801,430$46,614
14PAPennsylvania
$46,760
$37,410$54,4707,000$47,924
15UTUtah
$46,750
$42,370$59,0202,400$47,287
16CTConnecticut
$46,240
$38,010$59,1401,100$44,629
17OROregon
$46,200
$37,550$59,0401,780$44,698
18OKOklahoma
$45,680
$37,690$57,5202,030$52,002
19ILIllinois
$45,500
$38,140$50,56010,680$45,519
20VAVirginia
$45,370
$36,180$50,3101,680$44,875
21SCSouth Carolina
$45,270
$37,010$50,6503,240$48,289
22DEDelaware
$45,220
$37,400$48,700120$45,307
23IAIowa
$45,220
$37,230$55,5503,670$51,526
24OHOhio
$44,830
$37,780$49,74011,050$48,322
25ARArkansas
$44,790
$36,170$49,6102,520$51,520
26VTVermont
$44,530
$37,910$47,530110$45,458
27NYNew York
$44,500
$39,330$48,9103,320$41,234
28INIndiana
$44,290
$35,810$53,1108,810$47,456
29WIWisconsin
$44,230
$36,840$49,5608,590$47,006
30MOMissouri
$44,120
$38,150$53,3403,340$48,581
31MTMontana
$43,340
$37,210$50,350110$45,792
32GAGeorgia
$43,250
$37,790$56,0502,060$44,915
33KSKansas
$43,050
$37,540$44,8901,240$47,797
34IDIdaho
$42,690
$34,590$47,860520$44,704
35MAMassachusetts
$42,570
$37,460$49,3303,810$40,253
36WVWest Virginia
$42,500
$39,990$53,570420$47,488
37RIRhode Island
$42,020
$34,220$50,430430$41,083
38NMNew Mexico
$41,990
$41,990$43,630250$45,536
39NCNorth Carolina
$41,630
$36,150$49,4407,570$44,134
40TXTexas
$41,140
$35,530$49,4407,460$42,387
41SDSouth Dakota
$40,750
$37,270$44,730840$46,000
42NJNew Jersey
$39,950
$34,870$48,1102,450$36,717
43MSMississippi
$39,730
$35,900$48,050550$45,691
44MIMichigan
$39,490
$36,960$47,36013,550$41,043
45ALAlabama
$39,010
$33,310$46,9905,900$43,919
46TNTennessee
$38,820
$34,380$46,4203,730$42,255
47LALouisiana
$38,650
$34,520$45,27090$43,817
48FLFlorida
$38,440
$35,750$47,3003,290$37,171
49WYWyoming
$38,160
$38,160$46,86060$41,169
50PRPuerto Rico
$23,080
$22,220$30,090920N/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 molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, the adjustment does not change the leader: Hawaii is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $70,541.

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

Questions

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic the most?

Hawaii reports the highest median wage for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic at $77,560 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Maryland ($63,460) and Maine ($59,230).

Which state pays molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic the least?

Among the 49 reporting states, Wyoming reports the lowest median for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic at $38,160 a year, $39,400 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $23,080.

Is the highest-paying state the best for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic after cost of living?

Yes. Hawaii stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $70,541 in national-average dollars from a raw $77,560. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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