Printing Press Operators in the Cape Girardeau Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Printing Press Operators pay in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL at a median of $48,610 per year ($23.37/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $45,780, the metro estimate is +6% above. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 70 printing press operators are employed across the Cape Girardeau MSA in SOC 51-5112.

The Cape Girardeau pay distribution spans from $33,630 at the 10th percentile to $75,490 at the 90th, a 2.2× 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 $39,070 and the 75th at $61,450, so half of Cape Girardeau-based printing press operators earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 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 MO estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.