SOC 51-9041 · Production Occupations · May 2025

How much do Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is $38,370. The 10th percentile is $34,230 and the 90th percentile is $54,990. Employment is 620.

Median annual wage

$38,370

10th percentile
$34,230
25th percentile
$36,790
Median
$38,370
75th percentile
$47,500
90th percentile
$54,990
Mean
$42,290

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

A public high school teacher standing in a classroom in the United States
A public high school classroom in the United States. Photograph by Harrison Keely. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

Percentile spread

For Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, the published 10th percentile is $34,230 and the 90th percentile is $54,990. The difference is $20,760, which is 54.1% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $36,790 to the 75th at $47,500, covers $10,710.

The mean annual wage is $42,290, which sits above the median of $38,370. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median is 16.1% lower than the national median of $45,760 for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. In 2024 national prices the local median is $38,903, which is 15% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 1.8% higher than the Texas median of $37,710.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is 98.629, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $38,370 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders at $38,903 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

2 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX ranks 1st of 3 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • Longview, TX is 186 miles away, with a median of $35,210 and employment of 50. That median is 8.2% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $39,347, against $38,903 here.
  • San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX is 198 miles away, with a median of $36,170 and employment of 540. That median is 5.7% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $38,188, against $38,903 here.

Employment share

Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders accounts for 0.02% of wage-and-salary employment in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (620 of 3,289,720). Nationally the occupation is 0.04% of employment (58,770 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.50 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX · Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is $38,370. The 10th percentile is $34,230 and the 90th percentile is $54,990. Employment is 620.

How does that compare with the national median for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?

The local median is 16.1% lower than the national median of $45,760.

What is Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is 98.629, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $38,370 is $38,903. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX compare with nearby metros for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?

Longview, TX is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 186 miles away, at $35,210. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX ranks 1st of 3 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.