Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Salary — Houston, Texas

The average Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Houston, Texas earns $50,140 a year.

$50,140 / year, mean
↓ 12.3% below national average 57th percentile in Texas

Houston sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within Texas — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's noticeably below the national average for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, worth factoring into any relocation math. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Texas

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
300
Estimate confidence
RSE 9.5%
Cost of living 99 #69 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2109 #114 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $308,306 #99 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $80,458 #49 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Houston ranks #69 for cost of living and #99 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Napa $74,220 Syracuse $71,200 Vallejo $70,470 Santa Rosa $70,000 Virginia Beach $67,010 San Francisco $66,860 Modesto $65,390 San Luis Obispo $64,550 Hanford $64,520 Kennewick $63,720 San Jose $63,640 New York $63,400 Austin $62,920 Salem $62,450 Santa Cruz $61,720 San Diego $61,570 Charlottesville $61,320 Seattle $60,980 Owensboro $60,270 Buffalo $60,060 Santa Maria $60,040 Sacramento $59,940 Salinas $59,610 Stockton $59,060 Albany $58,890 Merced $58,870 Allentown $58,670 Wenatchee $58,560 Louisville $58,540 Walla Walla $58,290 Portland $58,140 Baltimore $58,050 Richmond $57,770 Atlantic City $57,620 Bend $56,270 Roanoke $56,240 Spokane $56,230 Kiryas Joel $56,000 Bremerton $55,950 Rochester $55,690 Fresno $55,490 Chico $55,240 Indianapolis $55,100 Riverside $55,090 Albany $54,880 Oxnard $54,880 Philadelphia $54,640 Kingston $54,460 Bellingham $54,060 Staunton $53,800 Yakima $53,740 Tampa $53,600 Dallas $53,430 Chicago $53,240 Glens Falls $53,190 Ann Arbor $53,070 Medford $52,870 Kalamazoo $52,810 Lexington $52,670 Visalia $52,210 Lansing $52,190 Reading $51,910 Utica $50,970 Bakersfield $50,880 Pittsburgh $50,790 Grand Rapids $50,630 Detroit $50,340 Amarillo $50,200 Houston $50,140 York $50,110 Los Angeles $50,030 Lafayette $49,910 Lynchburg $49,820 Sarasota $49,310 Niles $49,260 Killeen $49,070 Blacksburg $48,970 Eugene $48,720 Lakeland $48,020 Chambersburg $47,680 Harrisburg $47,580 Traverse City $47,430 Vineland $47,430 El Centro $47,160 Fort Wayne $47,140 San Antonio $47,090 Altoona $46,970 Lancaster $46,860 Scranton $45,970 Hagerstown $45,230 Orlando $44,980 Jackson $44,280 El Paso $44,110 Miami $40,950 Erie $38,190
CityMean salaryvs. Houston
Albany, Oregon$58,890+17.5%
Albany, New York$54,880+9.5%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$58,670+17.0%
Altoona, Pennsylvania$46,970-6.3%
Amarillo, Texas$50,200+0.1%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$53,070+5.8%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$57,620+14.9%
Austin, Texas$62,920+25.5%
Bakersfield, California$50,880+1.5%
Baltimore, Maryland$58,050+15.8%
Bellingham, Washington$54,060+7.8%
Bend, Oregon$56,270+12.2%
Blacksburg, Virginia$48,970-2.3%
Bremerton, Washington$55,950+11.6%
Buffalo, New York$60,060+19.8%
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania$47,680-4.9%
Charlottesville, Virginia$61,320+22.3%
Chicago, Illinois$53,240+6.2%
Chico, California$55,240+10.2%
Dallas, Texas$53,430+6.6%
Detroit, Michigan$50,340+0.4%
El Centro, California$47,160-5.9%
El Paso, Texas$44,110-12.0%
Erie, Pennsylvania$38,190-23.8%
Eugene, Oregon$48,720-2.8%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$47,140-6.0%
Fresno, California$55,490+10.7%
Glens Falls, New York$53,190+6.1%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$50,630+1.0%
Hagerstown, Maryland$45,230-9.8%
Hanford, California$64,520+28.7%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$47,580-5.1%
Indianapolis, Indiana$55,100+9.9%
Jackson, Michigan$44,280-11.7%
Kalamazoo, Michigan$52,810+5.3%
Kennewick, Washington$63,720+27.1%
Killeen, Texas$49,070-2.1%
Kingston, New York$54,460+8.6%
Kiryas Joel, New York$56,000+11.7%
Lafayette, Indiana$49,910-0.5%
Lakeland, Florida$48,020-4.2%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$46,860-6.5%
Lansing, Michigan$52,190+4.1%
Lexington, Kentucky$52,670+5.0%
Los Angeles, California$50,030-0.2%
Louisville, Kentucky$58,540+16.8%
Lynchburg, Virginia$49,820-0.6%
Medford, Oregon$52,870+5.4%
Merced, California$58,870+17.4%
Miami, Florida$40,950-18.3%
Modesto, California$65,390+30.4%
Napa, California$74,220+48.0%
New York, New York$63,400+26.4%
Niles, Michigan$49,260-1.8%
Sarasota, Florida$49,310-1.7%
Orlando, Florida$44,980-10.3%
Owensboro, Kentucky$60,270+20.2%
Oxnard, California$54,880+9.5%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$54,640+9.0%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$50,790+1.3%
Portland, Oregon$58,140+16.0%
Reading, Pennsylvania$51,910+3.5%
Richmond, Virginia$57,770+15.2%
Riverside, California$55,090+9.9%
Roanoke, Virginia$56,240+12.2%
Rochester, New York$55,690+11.1%
Sacramento, California$59,940+19.5%
Salem, Oregon$62,450+24.6%
Salinas, California$59,610+18.9%
San Antonio, Texas$47,090-6.1%
San Diego, California$61,570+22.8%
San Francisco, California$66,860+33.3%
San Jose, California$63,640+26.9%
San Luis Obispo, California$64,550+28.7%
Santa Cruz, California$61,720+23.1%
Santa Maria, California$60,040+19.7%
Santa Rosa, California$70,000+39.6%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$45,970-8.3%
Seattle, Washington$60,980+21.6%
Spokane, Washington$56,230+12.1%
Staunton, Virginia$53,800+7.3%
Stockton, California$59,060+17.8%
Syracuse, New York$71,200+42.0%
Tampa, Florida$53,600+6.9%
Traverse City, Michigan$47,430-5.4%
Utica, New York$50,970+1.7%
Vallejo, California$70,470+40.5%
Vineland, New Jersey$47,430-5.4%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$67,010+33.6%
Visalia, California$52,210+4.1%
Walla Walla, Washington$58,290+16.3%
Wenatchee, Washington$58,560+16.8%
Yakima, Washington$53,740+7.2%
York, Pennsylvania$50,110-0.1%
Gross salary
50,140/yr
Estimated take-home
42,467/yr
Est. total withheld
15.3%

Single filer, federal income tax + FICA only, 2025 rates — Texas has no state income tax on wages. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders salaries in Texas → All Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 51-9012 SOC code
Official area Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 26420 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: tx_constitucion_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
PasadenaThe Woodlands
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Texas

Population (metro area)
7,274,714