How much do Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic make in Chattanooga, TN-GA?

Percentile spread

For Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, the published 10th percentile is $30,690 and the 90th percentile is $54,530. The difference is $23,840, which is 60.0% 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 $36,370 to the 75th at $43,640, covers $7,270.

The mean annual wage is $41,230, which sits above the median of $39,720. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Chattanooga, TN-GA median is 21.5% lower than the national median of $50,620 for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. In 2024 national prices the local median is $43,427, which is 14.2% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 2.5% lower than the Tennessee median of $40,730.

Chattanooga, TN-GA covers more than one state. The state comparison uses Tennessee, the primary state on the BLS area record.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Chattanooga, TN-GA is 91.464, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $39,720 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic at $43,427 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

3 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. Chattanooga, TN-GA ranks 4th of 4 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).).

• Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN is 105 miles away, with a median of $51,850 and employment of 150. That median is 30.5% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $53,821, against $43,427 here.
• Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA is 106 miles away, with a median of $50,180 and employment of 60. That median is 26.3% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $50,151, against $43,427 here.
• Spartanburg, SC is 200 miles away, with a median of $61,940 and employment of 90. That median is 55.9% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $68,028, against $43,427 here.

Employment share

Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic accounts for 0.01% of wage-and-salary employment in Chattanooga, TN-GA (30 of 268,750). Nationally the occupation is 0.01% of employment (16,710 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.04 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.