Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood Salaries by State

Q: How much do sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood make in the U.S.?

The median sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood salary in the United States is $42,770 per year (mean $43,580), and about 80% earn between $30,890 and $58,170.

Q: How much do sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood make per hour?

Roughly $21 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $43,580 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood the most?

Maryland has the highest average pay for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood at $68,060 per year (median $47,060).

Q: What is the job outlook for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood?

Employment is projected to change -0.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 4,800 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, woods 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 $43,580 ≈ $21/hr

National median salary $42,770

Total employment 40,850 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth -0.6% Decline

Annual openings 4,800 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 45,000 → 44,700 (-300)

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 $37,000–$40,000 $40,000–$42,000 $42,000–$45,000 $45,000–$49,000 $49,000–$68,000 U.S. mean $43,580

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Maryland$68,060
Massachusetts$54,170
Washington$53,150
Minnesota$51,610
Alaska$50,980

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Kentucky$37,320
Virginia$37,680
West Virginia$37,930
Oklahoma$38,120
Kansas$38,660

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Maryland	$68,060	$47,060	$33	+56.2%	130
2	Massachusetts	$54,170	$47,210	$26	+24.3%	60
3	Washington	$53,150	$51,940	$26	+22%	1,720
4	Minnesota	$51,610	$51,330	$25	+18.4%	500
5	Alaska	$50,980	$52,680	$25	+17%	100
6	Illinois	$50,480	$46,530	$24	+15.8%	470
7	Montana	$50,450	$49,090	$24	+15.8%	280
8	Connecticut	$50,400	$51,150	$24	+15.6%	110
9	Oregon	$49,770	$49,740	$24	+14.2%	2,010
10	Idaho	$49,310	$48,350	$24	+13.1%	700
11	Nebraska	$48,180	$46,970	$23	+10.6%	140
12	California	$47,980	$47,390	$23	+10.1%	3,230
13	Colorado	$47,420	$47,030	$23	+8.8%	350
14	Vermont	$46,530	$46,040	$22	+6.8%	230
15	Maine	$46,390	$46,210	$22	+6.4%	730
16	Iowa	$46,340	$48,090	$22	+6.3%	240
17	New Jersey	$46,010	$44,630	$22	+5.6%	80
18	Louisiana	$45,970	$46,610	$22	+5.5%	500
19	Arizona	$44,920	$42,870	$22	+3.1%	310
20	New Hampshire	$44,580	$46,090	$21	+2.3%	130
21	Ohio	$44,560	$45,010	$21	+2.2%	2,180
22	New York	$44,470	$42,250	$21	+2%	1,010
23	Indiana	$43,640	$42,620	$21	+0.1%	1,270
24	Wisconsin	$43,640	$44,440	$21	+0.1%	1,880
25	Utah	$43,360	$43,490	$21	-0.5%	180
26	Pennsylvania	$43,020	$40,590	$21	-1.3%	1,720
27	Nevada	$42,730	$39,350	$21	-2%	170
28	Arkansas	$42,480	$36,740	$20	-2.5%	1,240
29	Michigan	$42,340	$40,260	$20	-2.8%	1,510
30	North Carolina	$41,720	$38,100	$20	-4.3%	2,020
31	New Mexico	$41,380	$34,720	$20	-5%	70
32	South Carolina	$41,170	$39,300	$20	-5.5%	810
33	Florida	$40,740	$38,280	$20	-6.5%	740
34	Georgia	$40,570	$39,860	$20	-6.9%	1,930
35	Tennessee	$40,480	$39,070	$19	-7.1%	1,510
36	Wyoming	$40,310	$39,470	$19	-7.5%	70
37	South Dakota	$39,940	$37,480	$19	-8.4%	260
38	Alabama	$39,670	$37,520	$19	-9%	1,880
39	Missouri	$39,660	$38,030	$19	-9%	1,380
40	Mississippi	$39,570	$36,960	$19	-9.2%	1,910
41	Texas	$38,720	$36,740	$19	-11.2%	1,680
42	Kansas	$38,660	$36,930	$19	-11.3%	110
43	Oklahoma	$38,120	$36,140	$18	-12.5%	250
44	West Virginia	$37,930	$35,590	$18	-13%	360
45	Virginia	$37,680	$35,790	$18	-13.5%	1,580
46	Kentucky	$37,320	$36,810	$18	-14.4%	1,050

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 232 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Longview-Kelso, WA	$60,100	$56,090	180
2	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area	$59,700	$55,100	550
3	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area	$57,200	$54,070	220
4	Northwestern Idaho nonmetropolitan area	$55,840	$52,920	260
5	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$55,280	$55,770	380
6	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$54,340	$56,260	30
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$54,090	$52,370	280
8	Alaska nonmetropolitan area	$53,460	$49,870	40
9	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area	$51,790	$50,430	460
10	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$51,540	$50,380	40

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, woods (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Building Finishing Contractors	$62,460	$60,470	—
2	Specialty Trade Contractors	$57,730	$53,960	120
3	Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills	$54,830	$57,190	100
4	Sector 23 - Construction	$53,330	$52,330	210
5	Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing	$51,430	$53,500	70
6	Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$50,460	$48,640	—
7	Paper Manufacturing	$48,270	$56,490	100
8	Forestry and Logging	$48,060	$50,280	430
9	Logging	$48,060	$50,280	430
10	Sector 11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	$48,060	$50,280	430
11	Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers	$47,500	$49,070	1,330
12	Building Material and Supplies Dealers	$47,500	$49,070	1,330

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

7,981

$10-20k

2,475

$20-30k

2,968

$30-40k

6,061

$40-50k

3,787

$50-60k

2,290

$60-70k

1,064

$70-80k

1,297

$80-90k

418

$90-100k

224

$100-110k

267

$110-120k

112

$120-130k

156

$200k+

Pay by age band

16-24

$27,529

25-34

$32,401

35-44

$31,062

45-54

$43,037

55-64

$33,038

65+

$34,531

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$30,255

GED or alternative credential

$39,365

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$32,214

12th grade - no diploma

$32,445

Some college, but less than 1 year

$29,618

Grade 9

$30,012

Grade 8

$32,288

Grade 10

$25,867

Grade 11

$34,511

No schooling completed

$30,322

Bachelors Degree

$21,556

Grade 7

$39,914

Associates Degree

$18,069

Grade 6

$43,755

Masters Degree

$39,674

Doctorate degree

$35,683

Professional degree

$15,497

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

20,183 · $42,195

Part-time

2,802 · $16,091

Race / ethnicity

White

$32,253

Two or More Races

$29,630

Other

$25,009

Black

$24,607

American Indian

$67,538

Asian

$2,347

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

$49,631

Top fields of study

Forestry

$20,390

Art History And Criticism

$74,425

Mass Media

$45,063

Pre Law And Legal Studies

$5,709

Science And Computer Teacher Education

$35,683

Sociology

$15,497

Nursing

$25,488

Theology And Religious Vocations

$15,497

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Operations Monitoring

3.1

Operation and Control

3.1

Monitoring

3.0

Quality Control Analysis

3.0

Critical Thinking

3.0

Troubleshooting

3.0

Equipment Maintenance

2.8

Active Listening

2.8

Judgment and Decision Making

2.8

Time Management

2.8

Coordination

2.6

Repairing

2.6

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood make in the U.S.?

The median sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood salary in the United States is $42,770 per year (mean $43,580), and about 80% earn between $30,890 and $58,170.

How much do sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood make per hour?

Roughly $21 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $43,580 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood the most?

Maryland has the highest average pay for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood at $68,060 per year (median $47,060).

What is the job outlook for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood?

Employment is projected to change -0.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 4,800 openings per year.