Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, & Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Salaries by State

Q: How much do grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic make in the U.S.?

The median grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic salary in the United States is $46,550 per year (mean $48,170), and about 80% earn between $36,110 and $62,600.

Q: How much do grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic make per hour?

Roughly $23 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $48,170 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic the most?

Oregon has the highest average pay for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic at $58,530 per year (median $57,290).

Q: What is the job outlook for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic?

Employment is projected to change -12% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 5,500 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastics across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $48,170 ≈ $23/hr

National median salary $46,550

Total employment 67,000 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth -12% Decline

Annual openings 5,500 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 70,100 → 61,700 (-8,400)

Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $40,000–$43,000 $43,000–$46,000 $46,000–$48,000 $48,000–$50,000 $50,000–$59,000 U.S. mean $48,170

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Oregon$58,530
Minnesota$56,470
Massachusetts$54,320
Vermont$54,310
Washington$53,290

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

South Dakota$40,130
New Mexico$40,490
Louisiana$41,150
Alabama$41,330
Oklahoma$41,490

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Oregon	$58,530	$57,290	$28	+21.5%	1,180
2	Minnesota	$56,470	$51,780	$27	+17.2%	1,400
3	Massachusetts	$54,320	$50,910	$26	+12.8%	2,420
4	Vermont	$54,310	$50,640	$26	+12.7%	300
5	Washington	$53,290	$49,300	$26	+10.6%	1,870
6	New York	$52,640	$49,290	$25	+9.3%	2,410
7	Kentucky	$51,730	$49,160	$25	+7.4%	850
8	North Dakota	$51,360	$47,670	$25	+6.6%	—
9	Missouri	$50,700	$46,270	$24	+5.3%	1,210
10	South Carolina	$49,970	$48,040	$24	+3.7%	1,730
11	Connecticut	$49,690	$48,590	$24	+3.2%	1,530
12	Rhode Island	$49,300	$43,650	$24	+2.3%	140
13	Wyoming	$49,190	$46,800	$24	+2.1%	30
14	Nevada	$49,150	$46,140	$24	+2%	170
15	Iowa	$49,130	$46,380	$24	+2%	890
16	West Virginia	$48,900	$49,950	$24	+1.5%	200
17	Illinois	$48,750	$46,180	$23	+1.2%	4,100
18	Indiana	$48,670	$47,310	$23	+1%	4,170
19	Wisconsin	$48,520	$47,330	$23	+0.7%	3,570
20	California	$48,450	$45,890	$23	+0.6%	7,800
21	New Hampshire	$48,230	$46,580	$23	+0.1%	600
22	Pennsylvania	$47,840	$47,650	$23	-0.7%	3,830
23	Maine	$47,440	$47,230	$23	-1.5%	170
24	Nebraska	$47,420	$48,500	$23	-1.6%	300
25	Colorado	$47,210	$46,120	$23	-2%	500
26	Ohio	$47,070	$45,270	$23	-2.3%	5,960
27	North Carolina	$47,010	$47,770	$23	-2.4%	1,610
28	Michigan	$46,830	$45,460	$23	-2.8%	4,180
29	Georgia	$46,330	$45,850	$22	-3.8%	940
30	New Jersey	$45,940	$44,450	$22	-4.6%	860
31	Arizona	$45,910	$44,990	$22	-4.7%	670
32	Mississippi	$45,900	$42,660	$22	-4.7%	430
33	Utah	$45,490	$44,320	$22	-5.6%	400
34	Idaho	$45,270	$45,980	$22	-6%	170
35	Tennessee	$44,740	$44,710	$22	-7.1%	1,340
36	Maryland	$43,890	$43,530	$21	-8.9%	160
37	Delaware	$43,760	$44,390	$21	-9.2%	50
38	Virginia	$43,310	$43,170	$21	-10.1%	620
39	Florida	$43,250	$40,310	$21	-10.2%	1,020
40	Arkansas	$42,920	$39,590	$21	-10.9%	340
41	Kansas	$42,810	$42,710	$21	-11.1%	1,010
42	Montana	$42,390	$41,740	$20	-12%	160
43	Texas	$42,170	$42,250	$20	-12.5%	2,960
44	Oklahoma	$41,490	$38,570	$20	-13.9%	870
45	Alabama	$41,330	$38,170	$20	-14.2%	1,500
46	Louisiana	$41,150	$38,650	$20	-14.6%	160
47	New Mexico	$40,490	$38,020	$19	-15.9%	30
48	South Dakota	$40,130	$39,060	$19	-16.7%	130

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 256 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Canton-Massillon, OH	$67,210	$57,590	350
2	West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area	$61,900	$59,580	170
3	Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area	$60,270	$55,120	290
4	Bend, OR	$60,180	$57,600	40
5	Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI	$59,750	$51,830	460
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$58,680	$59,420	930
7	Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	$58,250	$57,290	100
8	Utica-Rome, NY	$57,420	$57,880	130
9	St. Cloud, MN	$57,110	$55,160	50
10	Sandusky, OH	$56,670	$52,680	120

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastics (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Motor Vehicle Manufacturing	$77,120	$63,750	340
2	Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing	$59,590	$59,150	560
3	Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing	$58,390	$59,280	820
4	Support Activities for Transportation	$58,380	$56,500	50
5	Support Activities for Rail Transportation	$58,380	$58,770	40
6	Sectors 48 and 49 - Transportation and Warehousing	$58,360	$48,210	70
7	Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing	$58,040	$54,500	810
8	Ship and Boat Building	$53,130	$53,330	650
9	Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing	$53,090	$49,790	420
10	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	$51,260	$55,010	4,590
11	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$50,560	$54,340	—
12	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$50,560	$54,340	—

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

12,171

$10-20k

5,371

$20-30k

6,262

$30-40k

6,846

$40-50k

7,611

$50-60k

8,755

$60-70k

2,570

$70-80k

1,748

$80-90k

699

$90-100k

726

$100-110k

151

$120-130k

124

$160-170k

219

Pay by age band

16-24

$21,886

25-34

$38,659

35-44

$37,190

45-54

$38,836

55-64

$39,050

65+

$16,981

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$36,061

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$28,047

Some college, but less than 1 year

$33,332

GED or alternative credential

$43,371

Grade 11

$25,102

No schooling completed

$29,648

Grade 10

$30,680

Associates Degree

$46,000

Bachelors Degree

$27,459

12th grade - no diploma

$29,650

Grade 6

$39,797

Grade 9

$21,978

Grade 8

$22,258

Masters Degree

$25,156

Grade 7

$38,328

Grade 5

$22,143

Grade 4

—

Grade 1

$53,015

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

35,647 · $45,041

Part-time

4,922 · $19,522

Race / ethnicity

White

$33,412

Black

$28,389

Other

$31,557

Two or More Races

$35,781

Asian

$40,559

American Indian

$41,360

Top fields of study

Neuroscience

$26,406

Accounting

$24,614

Biology

$59,132

General Engineering

$20,390

Marketing And Marketing Research

—

Environmental Engineering

$25,488

Business Management And Administration

$10,333

English Language And Literature

$41,634

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic make in the U.S.?

The median grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic salary in the United States is $46,550 per year (mean $48,170), and about 80% earn between $36,110 and $62,600.

How much do grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic make per hour?

Roughly $23 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $48,170 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic the most?

Oregon has the highest average pay for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic at $58,530 per year (median $57,290).

What is the job outlook for grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic?

Employment is projected to change -12% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 5,500 openings per year.