SOC 51-4034 · Production Occupations · May 2025
How much do Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic make in Spartanburg, SC?
In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Spartanburg, SC is $61,940. The 10th percentile is $47,690 and the 90th percentile is $74,270. Employment is 90.
Median annual wage
$61,940
- 10th percentile
- $47,690
- 25th percentile
- $61,290
- Median
- $61,940
- 75th percentile
- $65,800
- 90th percentile
- $74,270
- Mean
- $61,470
Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

Percentile spread
For Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, the published 10th percentile is $47,690 and the 90th percentile is $74,270. The difference is $26,580, which is 42.9% 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 $61,290 to the 75th at $65,800, covers $4,510.
The mean annual wage is $61,470, which sits below the median of $61,940. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.
National and state comparison
The Spartanburg, SC median is 22.4% higher 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 $68,028, which is 34.4% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.
It is 25.2% higher than the South Carolina median of $49,490.
Price-adjusted pay
The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Spartanburg, SC is 91.051, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $61,940 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic at $68,028 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.
Nearby metros
4 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. Spartanburg, SC ranks 1st of 5 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).).
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC is 63 miles away, with a median of $53,840 and employment of 130. That median is 13.1% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $55,307, against $68,028 here.
- Columbia, SC is 70 miles away, with a median of $45,040 and employment of 70. That median is 27.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $48,088, against $68,028 here.
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA is 164 miles away, with a median of $50,180 and employment of 60. That median is 19% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $50,151, against $68,028 here.
Employment share
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic accounts for 0.05% of wage-and-salary employment in Spartanburg, SC (90 of 165,150). Nationally the occupation is 0.01% of employment (16,710 of 155,495,730). The local share is 5.07 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 Spartanburg, SC · Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 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 Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic make in Spartanburg, SC?
In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Spartanburg, SC is $61,940. The 10th percentile is $47,690 and the 90th percentile is $74,270. Employment is 90.
How does that compare with the national median for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
The local median is 22.4% higher than the national median of $50,620.
What is Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Spartanburg, SC after local prices?
The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Spartanburg, SC is 91.051, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $61,940 is $68,028. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.
How does Spartanburg, SC compare with nearby metros for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 63 miles away, at $53,840. Spartanburg, SC ranks 1st of 5 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.