Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,069
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$8,541
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,525
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$47,610
Kept after tax
$39,069
Worth in national money
$38,525
State rank
16
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Rhode Island is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $47,610, which ranks 16 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 3.12% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 452 occupations Rhode Island reports figures for, this is number 334.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $47,610, take-home of $39,069 is worth roughly $38,525 in national money. The average comes to $50,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island ranks 16 of 48 states publishing a median for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic, at $47,610 — about 3.12% 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 Rhode Island's occupational distribution, molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic sits at 334 of 452 — 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic, whose median is $47,610, the adjusted figure of $38,525 differs little from $39,069 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $50,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,540 |
| This salary | $47,610 |
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 Rhode Island | $39,069 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,435 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,085 |
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 | $45,911 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,731 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 Rhode Island earn under $47,610 and half over. The published range runs $42,500 at the tenth percentile to $69,540 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Rhode Island's $39,069, worked from $47,610. 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 334 of 452.
- Two cautions on $38,525, the adjusted value of that $47,610 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Rhode Island. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 334 of 452 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic in Rhode Island, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $42,500 to $69,540; 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.
- The Rhode Island take-home of $39,069, on $47,610 for work ranking 334 of 452 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 334 of 452 in the state.
- This $38,525 adjusted figure, worked from $47,610, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 334 of 452 in the state. The occupation ranks 334 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $50,940, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $42,500 at the bottom tenth to $69,540 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Rhode Island costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $38,525 rather than its face figure.
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 Rhode Island's own levy, $39,069 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.
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 Rhode Island is $50,940. 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 ($42,500 to $69,540) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,525 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 $39,069 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.