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

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $78K, rent takes 55.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,642/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,400/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 $56K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,357/month. At HUD’s $2,642/month FMR, rent would take 79% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 75% above the national median — $78K here vs. $44K nationally. Keep in mind cost of living here is 11% above the national average, which offsets some of that premium.

Urban Honolulu pays $78K median vs. the U.S. average of $44K — that’s +75%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 110.96), the purchasing-power equivalent is $70K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $77,560 a year, that works out to about $37 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $55,950, and experienced molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics can clear $96,350. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,790/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,642/month, which eats 55.2% 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.

Urban Honolulu has a Regional Price Parity of 110.96 (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 molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary is worth about $69,899 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.