Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $45K, rent takes 47.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,407/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics typically earn — is $36K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,170/month.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $45K locally vs. $44K nationally, a 1% difference.

Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area pays $45K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s +1%.

BLS reports a mean (average) wage of $44,740 a year for this occupation in Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area. The median is not published because wages exceed the BLS reportable ceiling. Entry-level workers start around $36,170. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,989/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,407/month, which eats 47.1% 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.

Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area 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 molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary is worth about $44,740 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.