Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $54K, rent takes 47.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,742/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders typically earn — is $38K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,291/month. At HUD’s $1,742/month FMR, rent would take 76% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 18% above the national median — $54K here vs. $46K nationally. Keep in mind cost of living here is 5% above the national average, which offsets some of that premium.

Stockton-Lodi pays $54K median vs. the U.S. average of $46K — that’s +18%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 105.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $52K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $54,200 a year, that works out to about $26 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $38,180, and experienced extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders can clear $74,590. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,670/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,742/month, which eats 47.5% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Stockton-Lodi has a Regional Price Parity of 105.09 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders salary is worth about $51,575 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.