Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · SOC 51-9012

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Salary in the San Francisco Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area

Figures describe the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not San Francisco city limits.

Median annual wage$62,320
Median hourly wage$29.96

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area earned a median of $62,320 per year ($29.96 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $47,360 at the 10th percentile to $91,410 at the 90th. BLS estimates 730 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in the San Francisco metro area earn more than $62,320 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $52,210 and $75,850.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$47,360$52,210$62,320$75,850$91,410
Hourly$22.77$25.10$29.96$36.46$43.95

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • San Francisco metro areathis metro area
    $62,320 median for San Francisco metro area; middle half earns $52,210 to $75,850
  • Californiastate (CA)
    $52,910 median for California; middle half earns $44,970 to $71,510
  • $51,610 median for United States; middle half earns $44,410 to $63,930

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +18% vs California overall and +21% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$28,330$46,397$64,463$82,530San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $28,330Erie, PA — $35,530Grand Island, NE — $36,310Chattanooga, TN-GA — $36,680Vineland, NJ — $38,970Albuquerque, NM — $39,070Toledo, OH — $39,630Ogden, UT — $40,590Knoxville, TN — $40,970Grand Junction, CO — $41,420North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $41,450Killeen-Temple, TX — $41,600Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $41,730Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $41,970Columbia, MO — $42,050Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $42,920Jonesboro, AR — $43,160Valdosta, GA — $43,990Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $44,240Colorado Springs, CO — $44,450Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $44,650Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV — $44,730El Centro, CA — $44,790San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $44,910El Paso, TX — $45,060Pueblo, CO — $45,100Lancaster, PA — $45,190Fort Smith, AR-OK — $45,380Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $45,490Tulsa, OK — $45,570Billings, MT — $45,590Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $45,700Lafayette, LA — $45,910Medford, OR — $45,950Eugene-Springfield, OR — $46,260Wilmington, NC — $46,320Jackson, MI — $46,380Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $46,380Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA — $46,430Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $46,520Urban Honolulu, HI — $46,540Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $46,870Traverse City, MI — $46,870Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $46,900Amarillo, TX — $46,910Omaha, NE-IA — $47,030Topeka, KS — $47,040St. Cloud, MN — $47,070Lincoln, NE — $47,080Cleveland, OH — $47,100Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $47,240Yakima, WA — $47,330Fresno, CA — $47,440Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $47,440Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $47,510Chico, CA — $47,680Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $47,950Madison, WI — $48,000Winston-Salem, NC — $48,100Niles, MI — $48,250York-Hanover, PA — $48,390Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $48,570Pittsburgh, PA — $48,590Roanoke, VA — $48,610Duluth, MN-WI — $48,620Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $48,630Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $48,660Springfield, MO — $48,780Glens Falls, NY — $48,860Worcester, MA — $48,890Fort Wayne, IN — $48,930Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $49,040Ann Arbor, MI — $49,070Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA — $49,180Oshkosh-Neenah, WI — $49,250Kansas City, MO-KS — $49,290Columbia, SC — $49,320Altoona, PA — $49,350Lexington-Fayette, KY — $49,440Baton Rouge, LA — $49,460Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ — $49,480Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $49,620Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $49,830Boise City, ID — $49,850Columbus, OH — $49,920Missoula, MT — $49,920Anchorage, AK — $49,960Tucson, AZ — $49,980Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $50,000Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $50,150Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $50,260Asheville, NC — $50,310Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $50,310Albany, OR — $50,340Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $50,360Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $50,380Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA — $50,440Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $50,470Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $50,470Kingston, NY — $50,530Spartanburg, SC — $50,540La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN — $50,590Manchester-Nashua, NH — $50,740Green Bay, WI — $50,840Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $50,900New Haven, CT — $50,930Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $51,030Raleigh-Cary, NC — $51,050Kahului-Wailuku, HI — $51,070Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $51,150Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $51,180Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $51,300Utica-Rome, NY — $51,320Reno, NV — $51,340Lynchburg, VA — $51,520Walla Walla, WA — $51,540Bellingham, WA — $51,580Kalamazoo-Portage, MI — $51,600Bend, OR — $52,000Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $52,000Youngstown-Warren, OH — $52,000Twin Falls, ID — $52,160Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN — $52,170Chambersburg, PA — $52,300Salinas, CA — $52,320Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ — $52,790Rochester, NY — $52,800Birmingham, AL — $53,330Boulder, CO — $53,340St. Louis, MO-IL — $53,360Wichita, KS — $53,410Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $53,570Canton-Massillon, OH — $53,690Reading, PA — $53,890Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $53,920Stockton-Lodi, CA — $53,940San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $54,190Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $54,500Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $54,830Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $54,990Salem, OR — $55,100Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — $55,560Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA — $55,680Greensboro-High Point, NC — $55,800Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $55,920Richmond, VA — $55,960Charlottesville, VA — $55,970Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $55,990Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA — $56,050Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $56,370Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $56,490Bozeman, MT — $56,560Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $56,790Sioux City, IA-NE-SD — $56,850San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $56,910Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $57,060Kennewick-Richland, WA — $57,400Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $57,700Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $57,890Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $57,900Joplin, MO-KS — $58,170Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $58,430Visalia, CA — $58,490Portland-South Portland, ME — $58,580Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $58,970Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $59,020Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $59,080New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $59,100Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $59,220Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $59,600Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $59,610Greeley, CO — $59,670New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $59,690Rochester, MN — $59,970Fargo, ND-MN — $60,320Oklahoma City, OK — $60,480Savannah, GA — $60,710San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $61,300Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $61,550Merced, CA — $61,920San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $62,320Owensboro, KY — $63,700Napa, CA — $64,000Hanford-Corcoran, CA — $66,310Modesto, CA — $73,690Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $76,350Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $80,140Vallejo, CA — $82,440Syracuse, NY — $82,530

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The San Francisco metro area has the 9th-highest published median for this occupation among the 189 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in California

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • San Francisco metro areathis page
    $62,320 median for San Francisco metro area; middle half earns $52,210 to $75,850
  • $82,440 median for Vallejo metro area; middle half earns $51,780 to $82,440
  • $73,690 median for Modesto metro area; middle half earns $56,090 to $74,980
  • $66,310 median for Hanford metro area; middle half earns $66,290 to $67,960
  • $64,000 median for Napa metro area; middle half earns $50,040 to $84,300
  • $61,920 median for Merced metro area; middle half earns $45,260 to $66,560
  • $61,550 median for Santa Rosa metro area; middle half earns $49,480 to $80,470

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Highest-paying metro areas for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenderss · Highest-paying occupations in San Francisco Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.