Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,908
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$7,772
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,815
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — 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
$45,680
Kept after tax
$37,908
Worth in national money
$34,815
State rank
32
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $45,680, ranking 32 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in New Jersey, this one sits low: 397 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $45,680 the take-home is $37,908. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $34,815 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $47,670, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey occupies the middle band for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic: a median of $45,680, ranking 32 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic occupies position 397 of 490 in New Jersey'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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $37,908 for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, from $45,680. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,815. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $47,670 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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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 | $36,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,950 |
| This salary | $45,680 |
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 New Jersey | $37,908 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,884 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,199 |
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 | $44,465 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,288 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 New Jersey earn under $45,680 and half over. The published range runs $36,700 at the tenth percentile to $60,950 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 New Jersey's $37,908, worked from $45,680. 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 397 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,815 uses one figure for the whole of New Jersey. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 397.
- Figures are distribution medians for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,700 to $60,950; 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 New Jersey take-home of $37,908, on $45,680 for work ranking 397 of 490 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 397 of 490 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,815, worked from $45,680, 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 New Jersey address, on work sitting at 397 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $47,670, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,700 and the top tenth $60,950, so most people doing this work in New Jersey sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in New Jersey run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $34,815 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; New Jersey then takes its own share, leaving $37,908.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 New Jersey is $47,670. 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 ($36,700 to $60,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New Jersey rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,815 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $37,908 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey 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.