Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in the U.S.
$52,840avg. a year
$25.40 an hour · 96,130 employed
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in the U.S. earn an average of $52,840 a year and a median of $50,270. Pay is highest in Louisiana ($61,080) and lowest in South Dakota ($45,160).
$50,270Median pay
$25.40Average hourly
+27%Avg. pay since 2020
96,130Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
11,150 jobs
Louisiana
$61,080
$29.37 an hour
2480 jobs
Idaho
$60,810
$29.24 an hour
3740 jobs
Maine
$60,780
$29.22 an hour
42,170 jobs
Washington
$58,970
$28.35 an hour
5680 jobs
Oregon
$58,860
$28.30 an hour
62,670 jobs
Kentucky
$58,480
$28.12 an hour
71,390 jobs
Oklahoma
$58,480
$28.11 an hour
81,350 jobs
Utah
$58,230
$28.00 an hour
91,960 jobs
Minnesota
$57,470
$27.63 an hour
108,510 jobs
Wisconsin
$56,430
$27.13 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL
Under $49k$49k–$52k$52k–$55k$55k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids, IA | $70,830 | $34.06 |
| Longview-Kelso, WA | $66,350 | $31.90 |
| Pittsfield, MA | $62,350 | $29.98 |
| Wausau, WI | $62,350 | $29.98 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $60,670 | $29.17 |
| Glens Falls, NY | $60,550 | $29.11 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $60,470 | $29.07 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $59,650 | $28.68 |
Related jobs
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$53,450
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$44,590
- Production Workers, All Other$44,380
- Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$54,320
- Helpers--Production Workers$41,120
- Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$52,620
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $55,280 | $52,290 | 3,800 |
| Arizona | $47,450 | $49,160 | 1,190 |
| Arkansas | $50,660 | $48,630 | 2,060 |
| California | $51,600 | $48,730 | 5,570 |
| Colorado | $51,690 | $48,940 | 240 |
| Connecticut | $53,910 | $48,530 | 650 |
| Delaware | $46,950 | $48,110 | 160 |
| Florida | $51,980 | $48,910 | 1,360 |
| Georgia | $52,110 | $50,160 | 5,650 |
| Idaho | $60,810 | $57,950 | 480 |
| Illinois | $54,030 | $56,400 | 5,360 |
| Indiana | $49,710 | $48,780 | 2,580 |
| Iowa | $54,610 | $46,110 | 1,010 |
| Kansas | $45,740 | $45,840 | 420 |
| Kentucky | $58,480 | $58,050 | 2,670 |
| Louisiana | $61,080 | $58,230 | 1,150 |
| Maine | $60,780 | $61,780 | 740 |
| Maryland | $48,640 | $47,780 | 480 |
| Massachusetts | $52,120 | $48,840 | 1,920 |
| Michigan | $53,580 | $50,540 | 3,000 |
| Minnesota | $57,470 | $58,150 | 1,960 |
| Mississippi | $51,890 | $47,380 | 960 |
| Missouri | $49,550 | $47,560 | 1,540 |
| Nebraska | $47,010 | $47,980 | 300 |
| Nevada | $49,080 | $47,780 | 380 |
| New Hampshire | $53,990 | $50,200 | 230 |
| New Jersey | $47,890 | $45,950 | 3,210 |
| New Mexico | $52,170 | $53,930 | 100 |
| New York | $52,840 | $52,800 | 3,280 |
| North Carolina | $48,430 | $47,940 | 4,800 |
| Ohio | $50,350 | $47,450 | 4,640 |
| Oklahoma | $58,480 | $63,640 | 1,390 |
| Oregon | $58,860 | $56,810 | 680 |
| Pennsylvania | $53,220 | $51,780 | 7,410 |
| Rhode Island | $45,800 | $48,710 | 240 |
| South Carolina | $54,490 | $50,040 | 2,460 |
| South Dakota | $45,160 | $46,910 | 130 |
| Tennessee | $47,120 | $46,920 | 3,490 |
| Texas | $48,900 | $47,830 | 3,740 |
| Utah | $58,230 | $60,790 | 1,350 |
| Virginia | $52,620 | $49,900 | 2,370 |
| Washington | $58,970 | $59,410 | 2,170 |
| Wisconsin | $56,430 | $58,050 | 8,510 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$54,540
4,320 jobsNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$49,120
2,940 jobsLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$51,490
2,060 jobsGreen Bay, WI
$58,590
1,740 jobsAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
$46,860
1,690 jobsOshkosh-Neenah, WI
$57,040
1,670 jobsDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$49,220
1,590 jobsPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
$52,400
1,430 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders make?
The average is $52,840 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $50,270 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $25.40, and the median is $24.17 an hour.
Which state pays paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders the most?
Louisiana, with an average of $61,080 a year. The best-paying metro area is Cedar Rapids, IA at $70,830.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $37,300 a year, and the top 10% earn over $70,320.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 51-9196. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.