Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders in Missouri

Machined metal parts and a CNC machine in a clean manufacturing workshop.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$41,426

after federal, FICA and Missouri tax

Tax takes

$9,214

18.2% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$45,146

Missouri costs less than average

One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.

Median here

$50,640

Kept after tax

$41,426

Worth in national money

$45,146

State rank

35

of 47 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Missouri is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $50,640, ranking 35 of 47 states — about 12.75% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
  • Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Missouri reports figures for, this is number 284.
  • Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $50,640 you keep $41,426 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $45,146 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $54,290, since top earners drag the number up.
  • Missouri ranks 35 of 47 for chemical equipment operators and tenders, with a median of $50,640 — about 12.75% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
  • In Missouri's occupational distribution, chemical equipment operators and tenders sits at 284 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
  • Retained pay in Missouri is $41,426 after the full tax stack, from $50,640. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $45,146 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $54,290 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.

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Pay band: Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$36,370
Half earn under$50,640
Top tenth earn over$76,120
This salary$50,640

Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.

The same pay, somewhere else

The state median for this job

Compare with
+$1,443take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Missouri$41,426
Take-home in Texas$42,869
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$1,030

The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.

State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.

What you would need there

The state median for this job

Moving to
$0$51,886
$51,886in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$48,844
Raise you would need+$1,246
Prices in Texas97 vs 92

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • Treat $50,640 as a midpoint for Missouri, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,370 and the ninetieth is $76,120 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
  • In Missouri the take-home figure of $41,426, from $50,640, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 284 of 488 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Missouri, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,146, the adjusted value of that $50,640 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 284 of 488 in the state.
  • The Missouri median of $50,640 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,370 to $76,120. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
  • Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $41,426 from $50,640. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 284 of 488 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Missouri, so $45,146 — the adjusted value of that $50,640 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 284 of 488 locally.

Questions people ask

Is this the average pay for the job?

Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $54,290 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.

Why is the pay range for this job so wide?

The label is broader than the work. From $36,370 at the bottom tenth to $76,120 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $45,146 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.

Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?

Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $41,426.

Why is this job missing from some states?

The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.

How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?

The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Missouri is $54,290. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.

What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?

Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($36,370) and the ninetieth ($76,120) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Missouri's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $45,146 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.

What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?

Take-home of $41,426 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.

Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?

BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.