Pay · 51-9041
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders earn $45,760 a year at the midpoint
From about $34,630 at the low end to $63,450 at the top, with $45,760 in the middle — the 2025 survey, published as reported.
National figures for extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders, 51-9041, 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.”
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine operator earnings, from starting pay up to the top 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.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
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 →
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine operator wages by state
The 36 states where the most people do this work, of 45 with a published figure: their medians range by 1.48 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $53,580 | $40,020 | $40,020 — $78,670 | 2,450 |
| Minnesota | $52,070 | $40,660 | $40,660 — $64,140 | 560 |
| South Carolina | $51,620 | $35,360 | $35,360 — $72,860 | 2,460 |
| Virginia | $49,390 | $37,790 | $37,790 — $63,830 | 1,810 |
| Iowa | $49,340 | $40,290 | $40,290 — $62,100 | 500 |
| Colorado | $49,100 | $33,860 | $33,860 — $73,970 | 280 |
| Utah | $49,100 | $33,280 | $33,280 — $61,670 | 250 |
| Nebraska | $48,760 | $39,080 | $39,080 — $64,800 | 750 |
| Oregon | $48,360 | $39,380 | $39,380 — $64,880 | 370 |
| Arkansas | $48,320 | $38,220 | $38,220 — $48,320 | 2,190 |
| New Hampshire | $47,730 | $40,000 | $40,000 — $59,200 | 410 |
| Missouri | $47,470 | $33,280 | $33,280 — $61,810 | 1,040 |
| Illinois | $47,370 | $36,290 | $36,290 — $77,050 | 1,690 |
| California | $47,300 | $37,260 | $37,260 — $71,130 | 4,210 |
| Massachusetts | $47,220 | $40,430 | $40,430 — $56,010 | 950 |
| New Jersey | $47,080 | $35,350 | $35,350 — $62,570 | 1,880 |
| Ohio | $47,070 | $37,650 | $37,650 — $68,160 | 3,970 |
| Indiana | $46,790 | $37,480 | $37,480 — $59,580 | 3,150 |
| Maryland | $46,640 | $34,740 | $34,740 — $64,040 | 280 |
| Mississippi | $46,560 | $34,440 | $34,440 — $70,690 | 660 |
| Arizona | $46,440 | $37,370 | $37,370 — $60,320 | 700 |
| Wisconsin | $46,370 | $38,520 | $38,520 — $58,480 | 1,730 |
| North Dakota | $46,220 | $42,290 | $42,290 — $56,070 | 270 |
| Georgia | $45,670 | $32,720 | $32,720 — $57,240 | 1,150 |
| New York | $44,660 | $33,840 | $33,840 — $70,260 | 3,260 |
| Washington | $44,510 | $39,560 | $39,560 — $69,960 | 750 |
| Kansas | $44,290 | $34,870 | $34,870 — $51,140 | 600 |
| South Dakota | $43,240 | $36,090 | $36,090 — $61,460 | 610 |
| North Carolina | $43,050 | $26,510 | $26,510 — $66,810 | 3,420 |
| Oklahoma | $42,180 | $33,150 | $33,150 — $57,640 | 1,310 |
| Tennessee | $41,970 | $34,770 | $34,770 — $56,050 | 4,210 |
| Florida | $39,800 | $28,530 | $28,530 — $53,250 | 780 |
| Michigan | $39,790 | $32,080 | $32,080 — $58,770 | 1,970 |
| Alabama | $38,650 | $29,170 | $29,170 — $48,940 | 1,510 |
| Texas | $37,710 | $32,860 | $32,860 — $54,400 | 3,420 |
| Kentucky | $36,180 | $31,110 | $31,110 — $45,710 | 1,690 |
Resumes for extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Adjusted machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.
- Pressed control buttons to activate machinery and equipment.
- Examined, measured, and weighed materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.
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.
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting 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.
Number 618 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 22% of the occupations in the survey.
- 616 Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers $45,850
- 617 Printing Press Operators $45,780
- 618 Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders $45,760
- 619 Pharmacy technicians $45,750
- 620 Medical assistants $45,690
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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Questions people ask most
What is an extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine operator’s yearly income?
An extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine operator makes a median of $45,760 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $38,360 and $52,580.
What is an extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine operator’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $22.00 an hour; the average is $47,260 a year.
What is the starting pay for an extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine operator?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $38,360 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $34,630.
Which state pays extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders the most?
Maine, with a median of $57,990 a year.
How many people work as extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders?
About 58,770 in the United States — number 618 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays roughly the same
Median pay within $160 of what extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders earn — $45,760 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $10 less Pharmacy technicians $45,750median a year 10th percentile: $36,020 90th percentile: $61,040
- $70 less Medical assistants $45,690median a year 10th percentile: $36,050 90th percentile: $59,310
- $160 more Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan $45,920median a year 10th percentile: $33,900 90th percentile: $62,810