BLS metro-level wage data places Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Fort Smith, AR-OK at a median of $55,380 per year ($26.62/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $47,720, Fort Smith pays +16% above, signaling either concentrated employer demand, a cost-of-living premium, or both. Approximately 150 extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics are employed across the Fort Smith MSA in SOC 51-4021.

The Fort Smith pay distribution spans from $49,030 at the 10th percentile to $60,800 at the 90th — a 1.2× 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 $55,380 and the 75th at $55,380, so half of Fort Smith-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 Fort Smith, AR-OK 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 AR data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.