Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in the Baton Rouge Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Baton Rouge, LA at a median of $49,460 per year ($23.78/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $51,610, the metro estimate is 4% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 100 separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders are employed across the Baton Rouge MSA in SOC 51-9012.

The Baton Rouge pay distribution spans from $28,660 at the 10th percentile to $86,460 at the 90th, a 3.0× 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 $36,680 and the 75th at $65,220, so half of Baton Rouge-based separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, 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 Baton Rouge, LA 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 LA estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.