Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Salary — Houston, Texas

The average Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Houston, Texas earns $42,290 a year.

$42,290 / year, mean
↓ 10.4% below national average 100th percentile in Texas

Houston sits at the very top of the range for this role in Texas — among the highest-paying cities in the state for this occupation. That's noticeably below the national average for extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting 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 high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Texas

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
620
Estimate confidence
RSE 2.4%
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.

Modesto $73,970 Philadelphia $57,520 San Francisco $57,040 Vallejo $56,820 Reading $56,010 Stockton $55,840 Terre Haute $55,020 Allentown $54,820 Pittsburgh $53,710 Portland $53,390 Lancaster $51,440 Fresno $51,110 Vineland $50,880 Blacksburg $50,380 Los Angeles $49,960 Fort Wayne $49,430 Kiryas Joel $49,140 Chicago $49,060 San Diego $48,930 Virginia Beach $48,890 York $48,820 Oxnard $48,760 Syracuse $48,760 Indianapolis $48,750 Gettysburg $48,710 Richmond $48,500 Rochester $48,290 Riverside $48,280 Sacramento $48,160 Baltimore $48,130 Columbus $47,740 El Centro $47,420 Eugene $47,240 Scranton $47,090 Winchester $47,020 Buffalo $46,890 Seattle $46,640 Louisville $46,490 Michigan City $45,820 Detroit $45,810 Elkhart $45,680 Tampa $45,230 New York $44,150 Grand Rapids $44,030 Bakersfield $43,680 Lakeland $43,010 Houston $42,290 Dallas $42,020 Longview $41,690 Evansville $41,010 Orlando $39,420 Miami $37,790 San Antonio $36,990 Huntington $36,620 El Paso $33,420
CityMean salaryvs. Houston
Allentown, Pennsylvania$54,820+29.6%
Bakersfield, California$43,680+3.3%
Baltimore, Maryland$48,130+13.8%
Blacksburg, Virginia$50,380+19.1%
Buffalo, New York$46,890+10.9%
Chicago, Illinois$49,060+16.0%
Columbus, Indiana$47,740+12.9%
Dallas, Texas$42,020-0.6%
Detroit, Michigan$45,810+8.3%
El Centro, California$47,420+12.1%
Elkhart, Indiana$45,680+8.0%
El Paso, Texas$33,420-21.0%
Eugene, Oregon$47,240+11.7%
Evansville, Indiana$41,010-3.0%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$49,430+16.9%
Fresno, California$51,110+20.9%
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania$48,710+15.2%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$44,030+4.1%
Huntington, West Virginia$36,620-13.4%
Indianapolis, Indiana$48,750+15.3%
Kiryas Joel, New York$49,140+16.2%
Lakeland, Florida$43,010+1.7%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$51,440+21.6%
Longview, Texas$41,690-1.4%
Los Angeles, California$49,960+18.1%
Louisville, Kentucky$46,490+9.9%
Miami, Florida$37,790-10.6%
Michigan City, Indiana$45,820+8.3%
Modesto, California$73,970+74.9%
New York, New York$44,150+4.4%
Orlando, Florida$39,420-6.8%
Oxnard, California$48,760+15.3%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$57,520+36.0%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$53,710+27.0%
Portland, Oregon$53,390+26.2%
Reading, Pennsylvania$56,010+32.4%
Richmond, Virginia$48,500+14.7%
Riverside, California$48,280+14.2%
Rochester, New York$48,290+14.2%
Sacramento, California$48,160+13.9%
San Antonio, Texas$36,990-12.5%
San Diego, California$48,930+15.7%
San Francisco, California$57,040+34.9%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$47,090+11.4%
Seattle, Washington$46,640+10.3%
Stockton, California$55,840+32.0%
Syracuse, New York$48,760+15.3%
Tampa, Florida$45,230+7.0%
Terre Haute, Indiana$55,020+30.1%
Vallejo, California$56,820+34.4%
Vineland, New Jersey$50,880+20.3%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$48,890+15.6%
Winchester, Virginia$47,020+11.2%
York, Pennsylvania$48,820+15.4%
Gross salary
42,290/yr
Estimated take-home
36,160/yr
Est. total withheld
14.5%

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 Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders salaries in Texas → All Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting 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 51-9041 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