Pay · 51-4072
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn $44,350 a year at the midpoint
From about $34,170 at the low end to $61,600 at the top, with $44,350 in the middle — the 2025 survey, published as reported.
National figures for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, 51-4072, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator earnings, from starting pay to the highest 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
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An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Writing a resume for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Measured and visually inspect products for surface and dimension defects to ensure conformance to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.
- Observed continuous operation of automatic machines to ensure that products meet specifications and to detect jams or malfunctions, making adjustments as necessary.
- Set up, operate, or tended metal or plastic molding, casting, or coremaking machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic parts or products.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator pay rate, from hourly to yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator wages in each state
Across 49 states the median ranges by 2.03 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $77,560 | $55,950 | $55,950 — $96,350 | 140 |
| Maryland | $63,460 | $36,630 | $36,630 — $73,060 | 230 |
| Maine | $59,230 | $46,350 | $46,350 — $78,830 | 470 |
| Minnesota | $49,590 | $37,060 | $37,060 — $79,200 | 2,230 |
| Nevada | $49,590 | $35,490 | $35,490 — $79,960 | 350 |
| Nebraska | $48,500 | $31,710 | $31,710 — $61,780 | 1,000 |
| Washington | $48,290 | $38,880 | $38,880 — $70,000 | 1,800 |
| Colorado | $48,200 | $41,670 | $41,670 — $59,220 | 2,160 |
| North Dakota | $47,780 | $40,590 | $40,590 — $62,260 | 160 |
| New Hampshire | $47,610 | $39,070 | $39,070 — $62,590 | 1,080 |
| California | $47,240 | $36,790 | $36,790 — $61,470 | 9,250 |
| Kentucky | $47,110 | $33,970 | $33,970 — $67,810 | 4,340 |
| Arizona | $46,930 | $33,340 | $33,340 — $61,240 | 1,430 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,760 | $33,810 | $33,810 — $61,370 | 7,000 |
| Utah | $46,750 | $37,570 | $37,570 — $72,970 | 2,400 |
| Connecticut | $46,240 | $36,120 | $36,120 — $67,040 | 1,100 |
| Oregon | $46,200 | $34,310 | $34,310 — $66,730 | 1,780 |
| Oklahoma | $45,680 | $31,890 | $31,890 — $62,480 | 2,030 |
| Illinois | $45,500 | $36,090 | $36,090 — $61,950 | 10,680 |
| Virginia | $45,370 | $29,360 | $29,360 — $64,090 | 1,680 |
| South Carolina | $45,270 | $34,670 | $34,670 — $62,150 | 3,240 |
| Delaware | $45,220 | $36,310 | $36,310 — $58,330 | 120 |
| Iowa | $45,220 | $35,650 | $35,650 — $66,280 | 3,670 |
| Ohio | $44,830 | $35,700 | $35,700 — $61,860 | 11,050 |
| Arkansas | $44,790 | $31,110 | $31,110 — $58,940 | 2,520 |
| Vermont | $44,530 | $37,900 | $37,900 — $70,890 | 110 |
| New York | $44,500 | $35,560 | $35,560 — $63,120 | 3,320 |
| Indiana | $44,290 | $31,880 | $31,880 — $62,940 | 8,810 |
| Wisconsin | $44,230 | $34,630 | $34,630 — $59,530 | 8,590 |
| Missouri | $44,120 | $33,290 | $33,290 — $58,890 | 3,340 |
| Montana | $43,340 | $28,850 | $28,850 — $63,240 | 110 |
| Georgia | $43,250 | $35,030 | $35,030 — $66,980 | 2,060 |
| Kansas | $43,050 | $32,890 | $32,890 — $50,580 | 1,240 |
| Idaho | $42,690 | $34,100 | $34,100 — $57,770 | 520 |
| Massachusetts | $42,570 | $35,920 | $35,920 — $58,670 | 3,810 |
| West Virginia | $42,500 | $33,790 | $33,790 — $62,230 | 420 |
| Rhode Island | $42,020 | $31,200 | $31,200 — $60,760 | 430 |
| New Mexico | $41,990 | $33,110 | $33,110 — $49,200 | 250 |
| North Carolina | $41,630 | $31,370 | $31,370 — $59,170 | 7,570 |
| Texas | $41,140 | $29,780 | $29,780 — $59,540 | 7,460 |
| South Dakota | $40,750 | $34,420 | $34,420 — $54,850 | 840 |
| New Jersey | $39,950 | $32,220 | $32,220 — $60,800 | 2,450 |
| Mississippi | $39,730 | $31,250 | $31,250 — $57,350 | 550 |
| Michigan | $39,490 | $34,630 | $34,630 — $59,770 | 13,550 |
| Alabama | $39,010 | $29,010 | $29,010 — $58,810 | 5,900 |
| Tennessee | $38,820 | $30,750 | $30,750 — $57,450 | 3,730 |
| Louisiana | $38,650 | $30,260 | $30,260 — $49,020 | 90 |
| Florida | $38,440 | $31,200 | $31,200 — $58,040 | 3,290 |
| Wyoming | $38,160 | $36,940 | $36,940 — $52,260 | 60 |
Examples
Resumes written for this line of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
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Number 642 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 19% of the occupations in the survey.
- 640 Emergency medical technicians $44,470
- 641 Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks $44,390
- 642 Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic $44,350
- 643 Helpers--Roofers $44,160
- 644 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers $44,080
Questions people often ask
What is a molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator’s yearly income?
A molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator makes a median of $44,350 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $37,270 and $51,020.
What is a molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $21.32 an hour; the average is $45,960 a year.
What is the starting pay for a molding, coremaking, and casting machine operator?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $37,270 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $34,170.
Which state pays molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic the most?
Hawaii, with a median of $77,560 a year.
How many people work as molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
About 150,470 in the United States — number 642 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays roughly the same
Median pay within $180 of what molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn — $44,350 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $40 more Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks $44,390median a year 10th percentile: $32,140 90th percentile: $78,150
- $120 more Emergency medical technicians $44,470median a year 10th percentile: $34,130 90th percentile: $62,500
- $180 more Woodworkers, All Other $44,530median a year 10th percentile: $30,510 90th percentile: $64,150