BLS metro-level wage data places Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Chattanooga, TN-GA at a median of $48,160 per year ($23.15/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $47,720, Chattanooga pays +1% above, signaling either concentrated employer demand, a cost-of-living premium, or both. Approximately 330 extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics are employed across the Chattanooga MSA in SOC 51-4021.

The Chattanooga pay distribution spans from $37,780 at the 10th percentile to $60,710 at the 90th — a 1.6× 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 $41,350 and the 75th at $59,960, so half of Chattanooga-based extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics 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 Chattanooga, TN-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 TN data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.