Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,387
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$8,233
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,633
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
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
$44,620
Kept after tax
$36,387
Worth in national money
$38,633
State rank
33
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $44,620, ranking 33 of 47 states — about 4.19% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Michigan, this one sits low: 373 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,620 you keep $36,387, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,633 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 33 of 47 for cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders, with a median of $44,620 — about 4.19% 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.
- Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders occupies position 373 of 493 in Michigan's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders on $44,620 is $36,387. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,633 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $46,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,160 |
| This salary | $44,620 |
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
| Take-home in Michigan | $36,387 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,032 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$504 |
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
| To match take-home only | $42,572 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$610 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders in Michigan earn under $44,620 and half over. The published range runs $37,210 at the tenth percentile to $59,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $36,387, from $44,620, 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 373 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,633 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 373.
- Figures are distribution medians for cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,210 to $59,160; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,387 from $44,620. 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 373 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,633, worked from $44,620, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Michigan address, on work sitting at 373 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $46,740, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,210 and the top tenth $59,160, so most people doing this work in Michigan sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $38,633.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,387 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Michigan is $46,740. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,210 to $59,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $38,633 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 $36,387 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.