Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,977
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$7,583
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,230
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$43,560
Kept after tax
$35,977
Worth in national money
$37,230
State rank
39
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $43,560, ranking 39 of 49 states — about 5.98% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Vermont, this one sits low: 399 of 453 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Vermont does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $43,560 you keep $35,977, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,230 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Vermont ranks 39 of 49 for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, with a median of $43,560 — about 5.98% 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, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic occupies position 399 of 453 in Vermont'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 Vermont income tax, retained pay for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic on $43,560 is $35,977. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,230 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 $46,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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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 | $38,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,160 |
| This salary | $43,560 |
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 Vermont | $35,977 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,180 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,031 |
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 | $42,063 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,247 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,560 as a midpoint for Vermont, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,110 and the ninetieth is $56,160 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $35,977 take-home in Vermont comes from $43,560. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 399 of 453.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,230 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 399.
- The Vermont median of $43,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,110 to $56,160. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $35,977, from $43,560, assumes a single Vermont filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 399 of 453 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,230, worked from $43,560, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 399 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $46,870, 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 $38,110 and the top tenth $56,160, so most people doing this work in Vermont 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 $37,230.
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 Vermont adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,977 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 Vermont is $46,870. 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 ($38,110 to $56,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $37,230 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 $35,977 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.