Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, & Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,286
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$9,304
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,888
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$48,590
Kept after tax
$39,286
Worth in national money
$37,888
State rank
9
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Connecticut is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $48,590, which ranks 9 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 4.38% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Connecticut reports figures for, this is number 358.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,590 the take-home is $39,286. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $37,888 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $49,690, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Connecticut ranks 9 of 48 states publishing a median for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic, at $48,590 — about 4.38% 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 Connecticut's occupational distribution, grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic sits at 358 of 482 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Connecticut income tax is $39,286 for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic, from $48,590. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $37,888. ⚠️ 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 $49,690 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, & Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,510 |
| This salary | $48,590 |
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 Connecticut | $39,286 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,222 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,533 |
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 | $46,180 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,482 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic in Connecticut earn under $48,590 and half over. The published range runs $36,470 at the tenth percentile to $63,510 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Connecticut the take-home figure of $39,286, from $48,590, 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 358 of 482 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Connecticut, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,888, the adjusted value of that $48,590 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 358 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic in Connecticut, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,470 to $63,510; 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 Connecticut is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,286 from $48,590. 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 358 of 482 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Connecticut, so $37,888 — the adjusted value of that $48,590 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 358 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,470 and the top tenth $63,510, so most people doing this work in Connecticut sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $37,888 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Connecticut's own levy, $39,286 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 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 ($36,470 to $63,510) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Connecticut rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $37,888 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 $39,286 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.