Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,879
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$8,831
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,011
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$46,710
Kept after tax
$37,879
Worth in national money
$39,011
State rank
22
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $46,710, ranking 22 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Maine, this one sits low: 375 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $46,710 the take-home is $37,879, which is worth about $39,011 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $46,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine occupies the middle band for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic: a median of $46,710, ranking 22 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic occupies position 375 of 484 in Maine's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic on its $46,710 median: $37,879 retained after tax becomes $39,011 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $46,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,630 |
| This salary | $46,710 |
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 Maine | $37,879 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,711 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,855 |
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 | $44,429 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,243 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $46,710. The published range is $38,110 up to $58,630, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Maine the take-home figure of $37,879, from $46,710, 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 375 of 484 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $39,011, the adjusted value of that $46,710 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Maine. 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 375 of 484 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,110 to $58,630. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Maine is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,879 from $46,710. 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 375 of 484 locally.
- This $39,011 adjusted figure, worked from $46,710, 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 375 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 375 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,110 at the bottom tenth to $58,630 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Maine sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,011 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,879 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 ($38,110 to $58,630) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $39,011 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 $37,879 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.