Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 51-4021 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$47,715
$22.94/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $47,715 per year ($22.94/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $40,456 and $56,846 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $63,710 per year. There are approximately 60,840 extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+1.2%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
7K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
66K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
1% from new growth99% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Plastics Product Manufacturing
NAICS 326100
30K
$46,760
Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing
NAICS 331400
6K
$56,130
Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing
NAICS 335900
5K
$51,220
Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing
NAICS 331300
3K
$47,400
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)
NAICS 3320A1
3K
$46,630
Wage range across top 5 industries: $46,630 to $56,130 (20% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.65
$36,712
P25
$19.45
$40,456
P50MEDIAN
$22.94
$47,715
P75
$27.33
$56,846
P90
$30.63
$63,710
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · manufacturing sector
Stable
Openings Rate
3.5%
Quits Rate
1.4%
Manufacturing openings ticked up to 462K (+19K) in March, with the rate at 3.5%. Hires rose to 310K. The sector has stabilized after late-2025 softening.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary?
The national median salary for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $47,715 per year ($22.94/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $40,456 and $56,846 annually.
How much do top-earning extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic make?
The 90th percentile salary for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $63,710 per year ($30.63/hr). The 75th percentile is $56,846 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
Entry-level Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,712 per year ($17.65/hr). The 25th percentile is $40,456 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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