Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in Detroit, MI (2024)
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area earn a median of $55,470 per year ($26.67 per hour) based on 11,320 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +21.7% against the national median of $45,590 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic actually sit across the pay range in Detroit, MI, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.87 | $37,160 | |
| 25th percentile | $19.52 | $40,610 | |
| Median | $26.67 | $55,470 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $35.03 | $72,860 | |
| 90th percentile | $36.88 | $76,700 | |
| Average (mean) | $27.15 | $56,480 |
How Detroit, MI compares
The local median of $55,470 runs +21.7% above the US median of $45,590 for this occupation; it pays 9.3% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($50,740); within the metro it ranks 354th of 657 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit, MI — this occupation | $55,470 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $45,590 | +21.7% |
| Detroit, MI — all occupations | $50,740 | +9.3% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $55,470 | 0.0% |
Detroit, MI has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 5.24 means the job is roughly 524% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 1.2%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 354th of 657 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Detroit, MI
To put $55,470 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 354th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $230,450 | 1,590 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $230,060 | 730 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $218,340 | 2,470 |
| Physicists | $188,400 | 150 |
| Pediatricians, General | $182,040 | 350 |
| Dentists, General | $179,130 | 1,950 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $167,890 | 8,720 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $166,010 | 7,990 |
| Sales Managers | $157,900 | 8,260 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $151,390 | 470 |
Where cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $37,890 to $55,470. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $55,470 | 11,320 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $54,170 | 1,260 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $52,350 | 700 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $51,330 | 3,700 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $50,680 | 540 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $50,080 | 820 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $49,080 | 1,710 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $48,920 | 1,760 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $48,900 | 1,480 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $47,840 | 170 |
See the full national picture on the Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Detroit, MI?
The median annual wage is $55,470, or $27 per hour. That means half of the cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic working in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $56,480.
What do the highest and lowest paid cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Detroit, MI earn?
The bottom 10% earn $37,160 or less, while the top 10% earn $76,700 or more — a spread of $39,540 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $40,610 and $72,860.
Is cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic pay in Detroit, MI above the local average?
Yes, it is 9.3% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $50,740. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Detroit, MI pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $55,470 the metro median is 21.7% higher than the US median of $45,590 for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $37,890 to $55,470.
How many cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic work in Detroit, MI?
BLS counts about 11,320 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 5.93 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. Detroit, MI has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 5.24 means the job is roughly 524% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 4.3%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.