Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,616
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$9,744
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,067
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$50,360
Kept after tax
$40,616
Worth in national money
$39,067
State rank
8
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Maryland's middle earner gets $50,360, putting the state 8 of 48 — about 9.08% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Maryland reports figures for, this is number 329.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $50,360 the take-home is $40,616. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $39,067 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $52,260, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic, Maryland sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $50,360, ranking 8 of 48 and running about 9.08% 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 Maryland's occupational distribution, molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic sits at 329 of 489 — 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 Maryland income tax is $40,616 for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic, from $50,360. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,067. ⚠️ 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 $52,260 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $67,480 |
| This salary | $50,360 |
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 Maryland | $40,616 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,644 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,817 |
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 | $47,835 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,826 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $50,360. The published range is $36,910 up to $67,480, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $40,616 take-home in Maryland comes from $50,360. 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 329 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,067 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 329.
- Reported values are medians; for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,910 to $67,480. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $40,616, from $50,360, assumes a single Maryland 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 329 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,067, worked from $50,360, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 329 of 489 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 $52,260, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $36,910 at the bottom tenth to $67,480 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $39,067 of national purchasing power.
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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $40,616 of this wage survives to your account.
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 48 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 Maryland is $52,260. 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 ($36,910 to $67,480) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $39,067 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 $40,616 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.