Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic in Delaware

Machined metal parts and a CNC machine in a clean manufacturing workshop.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$38,606

after federal, FICA and Delaware tax

Tax takes

$9,334

19.5% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$38,897

Delaware costs less than average

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

$47,940

Kept after tax

$38,606

Worth in national money

$38,897

State rank

15

of 48 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Pay for this job is strong here. Delaware's middle earner gets $47,940, putting the state 15 of 48 — about 3.83% ahead of the national figure.
  • Middle of the local pack. Of 445 occupations Delaware reports figures for, this is number 306.
  • Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $47,940, tax leaves $38,606, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $38,897 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $48,250, since top earners drag the number up.
  • For molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic, Delaware sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $47,940, ranking 15 of 48 and running about 3.83% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
  • In Delaware's occupational distribution, molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic sits at 306 of 445 — 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.
  • Because Delaware sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic — median $47,940 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $38,606 retained, $38,897 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $48,250 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$38,700
Half earn under$47,940
Top tenth earn over$62,700
This salary$47,940

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

Compare with
+$2,094take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Delaware$38,606
Take-home in Texas$40,700
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity+$2,986

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

Moving to
$0now · $47,940$44,328
$44,328in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$45,334
You could take a cut of−$3,612
Prices in Texas97 vs 99

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 molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in Delaware earn under $47,940 and half over. The published range runs $38,700 at the tenth percentile to $62,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
  • In Delaware the take-home figure of $38,606, from $47,940, 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 306 of 445 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Delaware, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,897, the adjusted value of that $47,940 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 306 of 445 in the state.
  • Figures are distribution medians for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,700 to $62,700; 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 Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,606 from $47,940. 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 306 of 445 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Delaware, so $38,897 — the adjusted value of that $47,940 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 306 of 445 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,700 at the tenth percentile, $62,700 at the ninetieth.

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 $38,897.

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 Delaware's own levy, $38,606 remains.

Why is this job missing from some states?

The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,700 to $62,700) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Delaware'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 $38,897 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 $38,606 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.