SOC 51-9196 · Production Occupations · May 2025
How much do Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in Modesto, CA?
In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Modesto, CA is $59,150. The 10th percentile is $40,470 and the 90th percentile is $59,760. Employment is 370.
Median annual wage
$59,150
- 10th percentile
- $40,470
- 25th percentile
- $48,490
- Median
- $59,150
- 75th percentile
- $59,510
- 90th percentile
- $59,760
- Mean
- $56,020
Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

Percentile spread
For Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, the published 10th percentile is $40,470 and the 90th percentile is $59,760. The difference is $19,290, which is 32.6% 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 $48,490 to the 75th at $59,510, covers $11,020.
The mean annual wage is $56,020, which sits below the median of $59,150. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.
National and state comparison
The Modesto, CA median is 17.7% higher than the national median of $50,270 for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. In 2024 national prices the local median is $56,816, which is 13% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.
It is 21.4% higher than the California median of $48,730.
Price-adjusted pay
The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Modesto, CA is 104.108, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $59,150 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders at $56,816 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.
Nearby metros
6 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Modesto, CA ranks 1st of 7 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).).
- Stockton-Lodi, CA is 30 miles away, with a median of $49,100 and employment of 200. That median is 17% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $46,722, against $56,816 here.
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA is 71 miles away, with a median of $57,780 and employment of 240. That median is 2.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $49,977, against $56,816 here.
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA is 85 miles away, with a median of $53,870 and employment of 230. That median is 8.9% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $50,502, against $56,816 here.
Employment share
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders accounts for 0.19% of wage-and-salary employment in Modesto, CA (370 of 195,230). Nationally the occupation is 0.06% of employment (96,130 of 155,495,730). The local share is 3.07 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 Modesto, CA · Paper Goods 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 Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in Modesto, CA?
In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Modesto, CA is $59,150. The 10th percentile is $40,470 and the 90th percentile is $59,760. Employment is 370.
How does that compare with the national median for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?
The local median is 17.7% higher than the national median of $50,270.
What is Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Modesto, CA after local prices?
The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Modesto, CA is 104.108, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $59,150 is $56,816. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.
How does Modesto, CA compare with nearby metros for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?
Stockton-Lodi, CA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 30 miles away, at $49,100. Modesto, CA ranks 1st of 7 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.