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

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $41K, rent takes 57% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,561/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $800/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 $2,139/month.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $41K locally vs. $44K nationally, a 8% difference.

Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area pays $41K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s -8%.

The median is $40,710 a year, that works out to about $20 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $35,650, and experienced molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics can clear $60,770. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,738/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,561/month, which eats 57% 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.

Southeast 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 $40,710 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.