Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,757
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$16,323
21.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,565
West Virginia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the top tenth percentile for this work in West Virginia — 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
$76,080
Kept after tax
$59,757
Worth in national money
$66,565
State rank
1
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $76,080, which ranks 1 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 61.25% above the national middle.
- Within West Virginia this is well-paid work. Of 473 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 94 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where West Virginia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $76,080 you keep $59,757, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $66,565 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $65,210, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- West Virginia ranks 1 of 45 states publishing a median for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, at $76,080 — about 61.25% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation West Virginia publishes a median for, multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits 94 of 473 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and West Virginia income tax, retained pay for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic on $76,080 is $59,757. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $66,565 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 $65,210 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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 | $39,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,080 |
| This salary | $76,080 |
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 West Virginia | $59,757 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,352 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,400 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $72,391 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,316 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in West Virginia earn less than $76,080. The published range is $39,920 up to $76,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In West Virginia the take-home figure of $59,757, from $76,080, 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 94 of 473 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,565, the adjusted value of that $76,080 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 94 of 473 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,920 to $76,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for West Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,757 from $76,080. 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 94 of 473 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $66,565 — the adjusted value of that $76,080 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 94 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $65,210 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,920 and the top tenth $76,080, so most people doing this work in West Virginia sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $66,565.
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 West Virginia's own levy, $59,757 remains.
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.
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 West Virginia is $65,210. 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 ($39,920 to $76,080) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to West Virginia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
West Virginia'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 $66,565 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 $59,757 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and West Virginia 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.