Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · SOC 51-4021
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastics
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (1 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 130 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $64,760 | 50 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | $64,760 | 450 | 4.8 |
| 3 | Cedar Rapids, IA | $64,520 | 110 | 0.8 |
| 4 | Appleton, WI | $61,960 | 250 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Lincoln, NE | $61,570 | 90 | 0.5 |
| 6 | Duluth, MN-WI | $61,530 | 80 | 0.7 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh, PA | $60,820 | 520 | 0.5 |
| 8 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | $60,390 | 430 | 1.2 |
| 9 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $57,370 | 150 | 0.4 |
| 10 | Fort Wayne, IN | $56,970 | 790 | 3.5 |
| 11 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | $56,820 | 110 | 0.6 |
| 12 | Columbia, SC | $56,430 | 310 | 0.8 |
| 13 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $56,020 | 650 | 0.9 |
| 14 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $55,960 | 820 | 0.1 |
| 15 | Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | $55,790 | 130 | 2.5 |
| 16 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $55,420 | 460 | 0.7 |
| 17 | Fort Smith, AR-OK | $55,380 | 150 | 1.6 |
| 18 | St. Louis, MO-IL | $54,610 | 570 | 0.4 |
| 19 | Reading, PA | $54,490 | 140 | 0.8 |
| 20 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $54,170 | 80 | 0.2 |
| 21 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | $53,800 | 940 | 6.1 |
| 22 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $53,670 | 230 | 0.1 |
| 23 | Baton Rouge, LA | $53,240 | 290 | 0.7 |
| 24 | Terre Haute, IN | $52,510 | 130 | 2.0 |
| 25 | Birmingham, AL | $51,810 | 130 | 0.2 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.