Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,640
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$10,180
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,885
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$51,820
Kept after tax
$41,640
Worth in national money
$42,885
State rank
2
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $51,820, which ranks 2 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 11.85% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Maine reports figures for, this is number 297.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $51,820, take-home of $41,640 is worth roughly $42,885 in national money. The average comes to $52,050, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 2 of 49 states publishing a median for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, at $51,820 — about 11.85% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Maine's occupational distribution, cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits at 297 of 484 — 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.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, whose median is $51,820, the adjusted figure of $42,885 differs little from $41,640 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $52,050 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,800 |
| This salary | $51,820 |
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 Maine | $41,640 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,817 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,207 |
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 | $49,110 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,669 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Maine earn under $51,820 and half over. The published range runs $38,290 at the tenth percentile to $64,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $41,640, worked from $51,820. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 297 of 484.
- Two cautions on $42,885, the adjusted value of that $51,820 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Maine. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 297 of 484 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Maine, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,290 to $64,800; 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.
- The Maine take-home of $41,640, on $51,820 for work ranking 297 of 484 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 297 of 484 in the state.
- This $42,885 adjusted figure, worked from $51,820, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 297 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 297 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,290 at the bottom tenth to $64,800 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $42,885 in national terms.
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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $41,640 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,290 to $64,800) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $42,885 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 $41,640 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.