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

BLS metro-level wage data places Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in Salinas, CA at a median of $52,320 per year ($25.16/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 +1% above. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 150 separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders are employed across the Salinas MSA in SOC 51-9012.

The Salinas pay distribution spans from $38,520 at the 10th percentile to $90,170 at the 90th, a 2.3× 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 $45,420 and the 75th at $63,000, so half of Salinas-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 Salinas, CA 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 CA estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.