Foundry Mold and Coremakers
Median $48,110
Occupation · SOC 51-4072
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: pay and where the jobs are
What molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$44,350 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $45,960
- Median hourly wage
- $21.32
- Mean hourly wage
- $22.10
- Employment
- 150,470
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 51-4072.
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See where your pay falls among molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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How much do molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic make?
The median annual wage for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic was $44,350 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,170 and the highest-paid 10% more than $61,600. As an hourly rate, the median is $21.32. About 150,470 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Hawaii ($77,560), Maryland ($63,460) and Maine ($59,230). Hawaii also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $34,170 | $16.43 | $2,848 | $2,470 |
| 25th percentile | $37,270 | $17.92 | $3,106 | $2,677 |
| Median | $44,350 | $21.32 | $3,696 | $3,151 |
| 75th percentile | $51,020 | $24.53 | $4,252 | $3,598 |
| 90th percentile | $61,600 | $29.62 | $5,133 | $4,306 |
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: pay by state
50 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$53,583 take-home in national prices
2
$48,588 take-home in national prices
3
$48,135 take-home in national prices
Where a median molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 140 | $77,560 | $55,950 | $96,350 | $58,915 | $53,583 |
| Maryland | 230 | $63,460 | $36,630 | $73,060 | $50,522 | $48,135 |
| Maine | 470 | $59,230 | $46,350 | $78,830 | $47,155 | $48,588 |
| Minnesota | 2,230 | $49,590 | $37,060 | $79,200 | $39,959 | $40,517 |
| Nevada | 350 | $49,590 | $35,490 | $79,960 | $42,026 | $42,034 |
| Nebraska | 1,000 | $48,500 | $31,710 | $61,780 | $39,823 | $44,197 |
| Washington | 1,800 | $48,290 | $38,880 | $70,000 | $40,311 | $37,669 |
| Colorado | 2,160 | $48,200 | $41,670 | $59,220 | $39,284 | $38,121 |
| North Dakota | 160 | $47,780 | $40,590 | $62,260 | $40,571 | $45,607 |
| New Hampshire | 1,080 | $47,610 | $39,070 | $62,590 | $40,435 | $38,818 |
| California | 9,250 | $47,240 | $36,790 | $61,470 | $38,649 | $34,907 |
| Kentucky | 4,340 | $47,110 | $33,970 | $67,810 | $38,502 | $42,704 |
| Arizona | 1,430 | $46,930 | $33,340 | $61,240 | $39,109 | $38,846 |
| Pennsylvania | 7,000 | $46,760 | $33,810 | $61,370 | $38,283 | $39,236 |
| Utah | 2,400 | $46,750 | $37,570 | $72,970 | $38,258 | $38,698 |
| Connecticut | 1,100 | $46,240 | $36,120 | $67,040 | $37,272 | $35,973 |
| Oregon | 1,780 | $46,200 | $34,310 | $66,730 | $36,113 | $34,939 |
| Oklahoma | 2,030 | $45,680 | $31,890 | $62,480 | $37,374 | $42,546 |
| Illinois | 10,680 | $45,500 | $36,090 | $61,950 | $36,632 | $36,647 |
| Virginia | 1,680 | $45,370 | $29,360 | $64,090 | $36,840 | $36,438 |
| South Carolina | 3,240 | $45,270 | $34,670 | $62,150 | $37,868 | $40,393 |
| Delaware | 120 | $45,220 | $36,310 | $58,330 | $36,501 | $36,571 |
| Iowa | 3,670 | $45,220 | $35,650 | $66,280 | $37,448 | $42,670 |
| Ohio | 11,050 | $44,830 | $35,700 | $61,860 | $37,412 | $40,326 |
| Arkansas | 2,520 | $44,790 | $31,110 | $58,940 | $36,999 | $42,559 |
| Vermont | 110 | $44,530 | $37,900 | $70,890 | $36,902 | $37,671 |
| New York | 3,320 | $44,500 | $35,560 | $63,120 | $35,906 | $33,271 |
| Indiana | 8,810 | $44,290 | $31,880 | $62,940 | $36,490 | $39,098 |
| Wisconsin | 8,590 | $44,230 | $34,630 | $59,530 | $36,426 | $38,712 |
| Missouri | 3,340 | $44,120 | $33,290 | $58,890 | $36,494 | $40,184 |
| Montana | 110 | $43,340 | $28,850 | $63,240 | $35,723 | $37,745 |
| Georgia | 2,060 | $43,250 | $35,030 | $66,980 | $35,522 | $36,889 |
| Kansas | 1,240 | $43,050 | $32,890 | $50,580 | $35,168 | $39,046 |
| Idaho | 520 | $42,690 | $34,100 | $57,770 | $35,327 | $36,994 |
| Massachusetts | 3,810 | $42,570 | $35,920 | $58,670 | $34,281 | $32,415 |
| West Virginia | 420 | $42,500 | $33,790 | $62,230 | $35,201 | $39,332 |
| Rhode Island | 430 | $42,020 | $31,200 | $60,760 | $34,522 | $33,752 |
| New Mexico | 250 | $41,990 | $33,110 | $49,200 | $35,081 | $38,044 |
| North Carolina | 7,570 | $41,630 | $31,370 | $59,170 | $34,477 | $36,551 |
| Texas | 7,460 | $41,140 | $29,780 | $59,540 | $35,236 | $36,304 |
| South Dakota | 840 | $40,750 | $34,420 | $54,850 | $34,923 | $39,422 |
| New Jersey | 2,450 | $39,950 | $32,220 | $60,800 | $33,261 | $30,570 |
| Mississippi | 550 | $39,730 | $31,250 | $57,350 | $33,246 | $38,234 |
| Michigan | 13,550 | $39,490 | $34,630 | $59,770 | $32,483 | $33,760 |
| Alabama | 5,900 | $39,010 | $29,010 | $58,810 | $31,939 | $35,958 |
| Tennessee | 3,730 | $38,820 | $30,750 | $57,450 | $33,372 | $36,325 |
| Louisiana | 90 | $38,650 | $30,260 | $49,020 | $32,462 | $36,802 |
| Florida | 3,290 | $38,440 | $31,200 | $58,040 | $33,067 | $31,975 |
| Wyoming | 60 | $38,160 | $36,940 | $52,260 | $32,842 | $35,431 |
| Puerto Rico | 920 | $23,080 | $21,840 | $37,220 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 51-4072. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.