BLS metro-level wage data places Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Chattanooga, TN-GA at a median of $39,720 per year ($19.10/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $50,620, Chattanooga pays 22% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 30 lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics are employed across the Chattanooga MSA in SOC 51-4034.

The Chattanooga pay distribution spans from $30,690 at the 10th percentile to $54,530 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 $36,370 and the 75th at $43,640, so half of Chattanooga-based lathe and turning 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 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.