BLS metro-level wage data places Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY at a median of $48,760 per year ($23.44/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $50,270, Albany-Schenectady-Troy pays 3% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 280 paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenderss are employed across the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA in SOC 51-9196.

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy pay distribution spans from $34,900 at the 10th percentile to $62,860 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 $38,720 and the 75th at $61,950, so half of Albany-Schenectady-Troy-based paper goods 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 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 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 NY data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.