SOC 51-4021 · Knoxville, TN metro

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in Knoxville, TN

The average salary for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Knoxville, Tennessee is $50,610 a year ($24.33 an hour), according to BLS estimates for May 2025. The median is $51,170: half of the 740 people in this job in the Knoxville, TN metro area earn more than that, half earn less. That average is about the same as the U.S. metro average for this job ($49,972).

$50,610average per year

$24.33 / hourMedian $51,170Take-home ≈ $42,845

  • $40K10th
  • $40K25th
  • $51KMedian
  • $64K75th
  • $64K90th

median average · bar = middle 50% of workers

740people in this job
+1%vs U.S. metro average
#1 of 8Tennessee metros
93cost of living (U.S. = 100)
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Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay range in Knoxville

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $39,600 a year or less, while the top 10% make $63,710 or more. The middle half of extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Knoxville earn between $39,600 and $63,710.

  • $40K10th
  • $40K25th
  • $51KMedian
  • $64K75th
  • $64K90th

median average · bar = middle 50% of workers

Pay levelPer yearPer monthPer hour*
Average$50,610$4,218$24.33
Median$51,170$4,264$24.60
Entry level (25th percentile)$39,600$3,300$19.04
Experienced (75th percentile)$63,710$5,309$30.63

*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary after taxes in Knoxville

On the average salary of $50,610, a single filer in Knoxville takes home about $42,845 a year, or $3,570 a month and $1,648 every two weeks. Taxes take 15% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and no state income tax.

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Is Knoxville a good place for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic? Pay vs. cost of living

Prices in the Knoxville area are 7% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 92.6), so the average $50,610 buys what about $54,673 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 1.1 times the median wage of all jobs in Knoxville ($47,080). A typical home costs $367,158, or 7.3 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $50,610 is worth in another city

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary in other Tennessee cities

Knoxville ranks 1st of 8 Tennessee metro areas for this job, the best-paid in the state.

All Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salaries in Tennessee

Highest-paying cities for extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

Baton Rouge, LA pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($73,940).

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary by city

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Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary in Knoxville: questions

How much do extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic make an hour in Knoxville?

$24.33 an hour on average, and $24.60 at the median (BLS, May 2025).

What is the entry-level extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary in Knoxville?

The lowest-paid 10% earn about $39,600 a year and the 25th percentile is $39,600, a fair guide to starting pay.

What is the extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic take-home pay in Knoxville?

About $42,845 a year ($3,570 a month) for a single filer on the average salary of $50,610. Tennessee has no state income tax.

Do extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn more in Knoxville than elsewhere?

The average here is about the same as the U.S. metro average for this job ($49,972).

Sources and how to read this page

  • Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates for metropolitan areas. SOC code 51-4021; area Knoxville, TN (28940). Relative standard error of the mean wage: 7.9%.
  • Cost of living: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (RPP), 2024; 100 = U.S. average.
  • Home value: Zillow Home Value Index. Typical-wage figure: OEWS all occupations, same metro.
  • Take-home pay: Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and no state income tax.
  • Job concentration: location quotient 4.45, this job is 4.5 times as concentrated as in the U.S. overall.

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