BLS metro-level wage data places Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA at a median of $49,430 per year ($23.77/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $46,550, Waterloo-Cedar Falls pays +6% above, signaling either concentrated employer demand, a cost-of-living premium, or both. Approximately 100 grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics are employed across the Waterloo-Cedar Falls MSA in SOC 51-4033.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls pay distribution spans from $39,350 at the 10th percentile to $73,930 at the 90th — a 1.9× 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 $44,230 and the 75th at $73,920, so half of Waterloo-Cedar Falls-based grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 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 IA data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.