Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in the Dover Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders pay in Dover, DE at a median of $36,800 per year ($17.69/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $43,220, the metro estimate is 15% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 310 packaging and filling machine operators and tenders are employed across the Dover MSA in SOC 51-9111.

The Dover pay distribution spans from $36,800 at the 10th percentile to $60,820 at the 90th, a 1.7× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $36,800 and the 75th at $45,440, so half of Dover-based packaging and filling machine operators and tenders earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Dover, DE covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide DE estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.