Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Athens-Clarke County

BLS metro-level wage data places Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Athens-Clarke County, GA at a median of $37,530 per year ($18.04/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $48,250, Athens-Clarke County pays 22% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 100 coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenderss are employed across the Athens-Clarke County MSA in SOC 51-9124.

The Athens-Clarke County pay distribution spans from $33,830 at the 10th percentile to $59,400 at the 90th, a 1.8× spread that reflects experience tenure, specialization, employer size, and the difference between public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector compensation inside the metro. The 25th percentile sits at $37,530 and the 75th at $45,760, so half of Athens-Clarke County-based coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenderss earn within that middle band.

Metro figures capture where you actually work, not just where you live, which matters for commuters. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Athens-Clarke County, GA covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. Remember that OEWS wages reflect base pay only: employer-provided health insurance, retirement matches, stock options, signing bonuses, overtime, and tips are excluded and can add 20-40% to real total compensation. Before using this metro median as a negotiation anchor, triangulate against the same occupation's national profile (linked below), its state-wide GA data, and peer-metro comparisons, a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.