Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,709
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$9,441
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,778
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$51,150
Kept after tax
$41,709
Worth in national money
$42,778
State rank
7
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Pennsylvania pays this job a middle wage of $51,150, ranking 7 of 46 states and sitting about 7.19% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 304 among 492 occupations Pennsylvania publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $51,150, take-home of $41,709 is worth roughly $42,778 in national money. The average comes to $54,770, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania's median for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is $51,150, about 7.19% above the national figure and 7 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 304 of 492 in Pennsylvania places extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, whose median is $51,150, the adjusted figure of $42,778 differs little from $41,709 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $54,770 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,080 |
| This salary | $51,150 |
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 Pennsylvania | $41,709 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,279 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,759 |
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 | $49,196 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,127 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $51,150. The published range is $39,120 up to $73,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $41,709, worked from $51,150. 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 304 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,778, the adjusted value of that $51,150 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 304 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,120 to $73,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $41,709, on $51,150 for work ranking 304 of 492 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 304 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $42,778 — the adjusted value of that $51,150 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 304 of 492 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 $54,770 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,120 at the bottom tenth to $73,080 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. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $42,778 in national terms.
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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $41,709.
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 46 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 Pennsylvania is $54,770. 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 ($39,120 to $73,080) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $42,778 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 $41,709 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.