Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $52K, rent takes 51% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,787/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 grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics typically earn — is $41K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,434/month. At HUD’s $1,787/month FMR, rent would take 73% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 12% above the national median — $52K here vs. $47K nationally.

Charleston-North Charleston pays $52K median vs. the U.S. average of $47K — that’s +12%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 100.96), the purchasing-power equivalent is $51K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $51,930 a year, that works out to about $25 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $40,570, and experienced grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics can clear $70,550. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,506/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,787/month, which eats 51% 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.

Charleston-North Charleston has a Regional Price Parity of 100.96 (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 grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary is worth about $51,436 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.