BLS metro-level wage data places Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Providence-Warwick, RI-MA at a median of $47,970 per year ($23.06/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $50,270, Providence-Warwick pays 5% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 370 paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenderss are employed across the Providence-Warwick MSA in SOC 51-9196.

The Providence-Warwick pay distribution spans from $37,000 at the 10th percentile to $56,660 at the 90th — a 1.5× 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 $37,720 and the 75th at $49,260, so half of Providence-Warwick-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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 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 RI data, and peer-metro comparisons — a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.