How much do Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in Chattanooga, TN-GA?

Percentile spread

For Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, the published 10th percentile is $33,890 and the 90th percentile is $60,670. The difference is $26,780, which is 53.2% 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 $48,110 to the 75th at $59,920, covers $11,810.

The mean annual wage is $51,480, which sits above the median of $50,330. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Chattanooga, TN-GA median is 0.1% higher than the national median of $50,270 for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. In 2024 national prices the local median is $55,027, which is 9.5% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 7.3% higher than the Tennessee median of $46,920.

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 $50,330 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders at $55,027 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

14 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Chattanooga, TN-GA ranks 2nd of 15 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).).

• Dalton, GA is 33 miles away, with a median of $35,560 and employment of 170. That median is 29.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $39,580, against $55,027 here.
• Knoxville, TN is 97 miles away, with a median of $46,920 and employment of 480. That median is 6.8% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $50,687, against $55,027 here.
• Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN is 105 miles away, with a median of $47,650 and employment of 530. That median is 5.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $49,461, against $55,027 here.

Employment share

Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders accounts for 0.12% of wage-and-salary employment in Chattanooga, TN-GA (320 of 268,750). Nationally the occupation is 0.06% of employment (96,130 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.93 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.