Pay · 51-4033
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn $46,550 a year at the midpoint
Most grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic are paid close to one another — the middle is $46,550, and even the ends, $36,110 and $62,600, are not far off.
National figures for grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, 51-4033, 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.”
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator earnings, from starting pay up to the top 10%
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Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator pay rate, 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.
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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Resumes for grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool 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 workpieces and laid out work, using precision measuring devices.
- Inspected or measured finished workpieces to determine conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as gauges or micrometers.
- Set and adjusted machine controls according to product specifications, using knowledge of machine operation.
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.
No. 598 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 24% of the occupations in the survey.
- 596 Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters $46,680
- 597 Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders $46,570
- 598 Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic $46,550
- 599 Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders $46,460
- 600 Industrial truck and tractor operators $46,420
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator wages across the states
The 37 states where the most people do this work, of 48 with a published figure: their medians range by 1.50 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $57,290 | $41,330 | $41,330 — $75,290 | 1,180 |
| Minnesota | $51,780 | $42,030 | $42,030 — $81,810 | 1,400 |
| Massachusetts | $50,910 | $39,610 | $39,610 — $75,340 | 2,420 |
| Vermont | $50,640 | $48,360 | $48,360 — $59,960 | 300 |
| West Virginia | $49,950 | $32,130 | $32,130 — $69,760 | 200 |
| Washington | $49,300 | $38,630 | $38,630 — $70,320 | 1,870 |
| New York | $49,290 | $37,300 | $37,300 — $73,220 | 2,410 |
| Kentucky | $49,160 | $37,260 | $37,260 — $73,540 | 850 |
| Connecticut | $48,590 | $36,470 | $36,470 — $63,510 | 1,530 |
| Nebraska | $48,500 | $33,280 | $33,280 — $59,510 | 300 |
| South Carolina | $48,040 | $38,540 | $38,540 — $60,050 | 1,730 |
| North Carolina | $47,770 | $34,690 | $34,690 — $58,950 | 1,610 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,650 | $36,540 | $36,540 — $60,040 | 3,830 |
| Wisconsin | $47,330 | $37,030 | $37,030 — $60,540 | 3,570 |
| Indiana | $47,310 | $38,790 | $38,790 — $61,360 | 4,170 |
| Maine | $47,230 | $37,780 | $37,780 — $56,630 | 170 |
| New Hampshire | $46,580 | $38,730 | $38,730 — $60,020 | 600 |
| Iowa | $46,380 | $38,330 | $38,330 — $70,410 | 890 |
| Missouri | $46,270 | $37,140 | $37,140 — $64,030 | 1,210 |
| Illinois | $46,180 | $37,530 | $37,530 — $63,400 | 4,100 |
| Colorado | $46,120 | $37,960 | $37,960 — $58,460 | 500 |
| California | $45,890 | $36,510 | $36,510 — $62,630 | 7,800 |
| Georgia | $45,850 | $36,950 | $36,950 — $60,530 | 940 |
| Michigan | $45,460 | $35,850 | $35,850 — $60,090 | 4,180 |
| Ohio | $45,270 | $35,730 | $35,730 — $63,620 | 5,960 |
| Arizona | $44,990 | $37,340 | $37,340 — $57,060 | 670 |
| Tennessee | $44,710 | $34,880 | $34,880 — $55,240 | 1,340 |
| New Jersey | $44,450 | $32,490 | $32,490 — $67,180 | 860 |
| Utah | $44,320 | $34,950 | $34,950 — $56,250 | 400 |
| Virginia | $43,170 | $29,310 | $29,310 — $60,410 | 620 |
| Kansas | $42,710 | $35,520 | $35,520 — $49,980 | 1,010 |
| Mississippi | $42,660 | $30,440 | $30,440 — $63,620 | 430 |
| Texas | $42,250 | $29,380 | $29,380 — $52,260 | 2,960 |
| Florida | $40,310 | $34,790 | $34,790 — $56,670 | 1,020 |
| Arkansas | $39,590 | $33,690 | $33,690 — $50,490 | 340 |
| Oklahoma | $38,570 | $29,290 | $29,290 — $54,590 | 870 |
| Alabama | $38,170 | $29,340 | $29,340 — $56,180 | 1,500 |
What people often ask
What is a grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator’s yearly income?
A grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator makes a median of $46,550 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $39,390 and $54,290.
What is a grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $22.38 an hour; the average is $48,170 a year.
What is the starting pay for a grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine operator?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $39,390 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $36,110.
Which state pays grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic the most?
Oregon, with a median of $57,290 a year.
How many people work as grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
About 67,000 in the United States — number 598 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Jobs that pay about the same
Median pay within $130 of what grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn — $46,550 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $90 less Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders $46,460median a year 10th percentile: $31,460 90th percentile: $60,810
- $130 more Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters $46,680median a year 10th percentile: $35,650 90th percentile: $63,720
- $130 less Industrial truck and tractor operators $46,420median a year 10th percentile: $36,840 90th percentile: $62,520