Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,822
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,498
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,239
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — 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
$47,320
Kept after tax
$38,822
Worth in national money
$41,239
State rank
20
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Carolina is 20 of 45 states for this job, with a middle wage of $47,320. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations North Carolina reports figures for, this is number 323.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,320 you keep $38,822, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $41,239 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $49,070, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Carolina ranks 20 of 45 for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic at $47,320. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In North Carolina's occupational distribution, multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits at 323 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.
- After federal, FICA and North Carolina income tax, retained pay for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic on $47,320 is $38,822. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $41,239 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $49,070 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 | $37,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $67,660 |
| This salary | $47,320 |
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 North Carolina | $38,822 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,202 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$131 |
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 | $45,603 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$158 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in North Carolina earn under $47,320 and half over. The published range runs $37,360 at the tenth percentile to $67,660 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 North Carolina's $38,822, worked from $47,320. 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 323 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,239 uses one figure for the whole of North Carolina. 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 323.
- Figures are distribution medians for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in North Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,360 to $67,660; 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 North Carolina take-home of $38,822, on $47,320 for work ranking 323 of 489 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 323 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,239, worked from $47,320, 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 North Carolina address, on work sitting at 323 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 $49,070, 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 $37,360 at the bottom tenth to $67,660 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $41,239.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $38,822.
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 45 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 North Carolina is $49,070. 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 ($37,360 to $67,660) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Carolina'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 $41,239 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 $38,822 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina 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.