Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $65K, rent takes 48% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,044/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,300/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics typically earn — is $58K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,453/month.

Local pay is 28% above the national median — $65K here vs. $51K nationally.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial pays $65K median vs. the U.S. average of $51K — that’s +28%.

The median is $64,790 a year, that works out to about $31 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $57,550, and experienced lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics can clear $96,240. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,260/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,044/month, which eats 48% 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.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary is worth about $64,790 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.