BLS metro-level wage data places Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Chattanooga, TN-GA at a median of $46,220 per year ($22.22/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $45,760, Chattanooga pays +1% above, signaling either concentrated employer demand, a cost-of-living premium, or both. Approximately 160 extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenderss are employed across the Chattanooga MSA in SOC 51-9041.

The Chattanooga pay distribution spans from $37,510 at the 10th percentile to $51,310 at the 90th — a 1.4× 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 $41,020 and the 75th at $46,220, so half of Chattanooga-based extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting 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 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.