Production Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 51-7042

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Median pay sits 42% below the mid peer in Production Occupations (neighbors include Nuclear Power Reactor Operators, Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters, Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers, Model Makers, Metal and Plastic).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators ($123K) , Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters ($63K) , Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers ($65K) , Model Makers, Metal and Plastic ($63K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 51-7042 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders…
  2. 2. Examine finished workpieces for smoothness, shape, angle, depth-of-cut, or conformity to specifications and verify dimensions, visually a…
  3. 3. Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly
  4. 4. Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications
  5. 5. Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards
  6. 6. Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations
  7. 7. Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules
  8. 8. Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools
  9. 9. Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written in…
  10. 10. Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components
  11. 11. Push or hold workpieces against, under, or through cutting, boring, or shaping mechanisms
  12. 12. Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing: O*NET ranks Operations Monitoring first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 51-7042 - lead skill Operations Monitoring at 3.6 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operations Monitoring 3.6
  2. 2. Operation and Control 3.5
  3. 3. Quality Control Analysis 3.3
  4. 4. Monitoring 3.1
  5. 5. Speaking 3.0
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.0
  7. 7. Equipment Maintenance 3.0
  8. 8. Troubleshooting 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 3.3
  2. 2. Production and Processing 3.0
  3. 3. Mathematics 2.9
  4. 4. Public Safety and Security 2.5
  5. 5. Building and Construction 2.4
  6. 6. Education and Training 2.4
Pay vs Production Occupations peers
-42%
vs mid peer median $74,450
This role $43,380/yr
$43K
National median
↓ -2%
Growth 2024-2034
6,400
Annual openings
61,420
Estimated US jobs
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators
Highest-pay peer · $123K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

1. Washington $52,980
2. Louisiana $47,170
3. Colorado $46,500
4. Michigan $47,680
5. Connecticut $47,140
6. Oregon $49,480
7. Nebraska $49,190
8. New Jersey $49,680
9. Iowa $51,200
10. Minnesota $51,540

Other Production Occupations titles

  1. 1. Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers $65,380
  2. 2. Model Makers, Metal and Plastic $63,340
  3. 3. Nuclear Power Reactor Operators $122,890
  4. 4. Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters $62,620
  5. 5. Chemical Plant and System Operators $78,120
  6. 6. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers $74,450

Among Production Occupations peers on this card, Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing sits 42% below the mid peer median ($74,450). Its own median is $43,380.

Employment Projections expect -2% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,400 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Washington at $52,980. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Nuclear Power Reactor Operators at $122,890. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing pay-rank #74 in Production Occupations

On the Production Occupations median table (105 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing lands at #74, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing pays 42% below its major-group peer median. See the state map and the peers closest to (and furthest from) this line.

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 51-7042

Washington · top state for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

$53K published median

Louisiana · #2 state pay

$47K · behind Washington

Nuclear Power Reactor Operators

Highest-pay peer vs Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing · $123K

Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters

Lower-pay peer beside Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing · $63K

Compare Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Against another occupation

Nuclear Power Reactor Operators card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing land on the Production Occupations median table? ▼
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing is pay-rank #74 of 105 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Etchers and Engravers ($43K), Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders ($44K), Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders ($43K), Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic ($44K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. Leading ones include: Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders…; Examine finished workpieces for smoothness, shape, angle, depth-of-cut, or conformity to specifications and verify dimensions, visually a…; Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly; Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing? ▼
For SOC 51-7042, O*NET importance scores lead with Operations Monitoring (3.6), Operation and Control (3.5), Quality Control Analysis (3.3), Monitoring (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Production and Processing, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $43,380 as the national median for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. The published 10th-90th range is $32,110 to $56,830. Beside Nuclear Power Reactor Operators ($122,890), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing is -2%. Projected annual openings: about 6,400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing? ▼
Washington ($52,980), Louisiana ($47,170), Colorado ($46,500) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 51-7042. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics