Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-4021 Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Occupational Description:
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2026

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Minnesota	900	197	$25.97/hr	$19.10/hr	$23.06/hr	$25.49/hr	$29.69/hr	$30.75/hr

Leading Industries for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	860	$25.49/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	N/A	N/A
Professional and Business Services	N/A	N/A
Education and Health Services	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2024-2034
Northwest Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	20	$23.26/hr	0.0%
St Cloud MN MSA	50	$22.24/hr	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	60	$24.19/hr	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	70	$27.07/hr	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	70	$27.64/hr	N/A
Duluth MN-WI MSA	80	$30.25/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	120	$27.07/hr	N/A
Central Minnesota	150	$23.42/hr	8.6%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	470	$27.13/hr	0.2%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	610	$25.32/hr	N/A
Minnesota	900	$25.49/hr	-5.1%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2024-2034
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,130	$28.65/hr	-8.5%
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,400	$25.47/hr	-11.1%
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	6,130	$24.48/hr	-11.3%
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	100	$20.39/hr	-9.6%
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	1,710	$23.79/hr	-16.5%
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	50	$29.82/hr	-7.3%
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	220	$27.15/hr	-17.6%
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	410	$25.87/hr	N/A
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	90	$20.21/hr	-12.8%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,960	$28.60/hr	-11.4%

Task for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Maintain an inventory of materials.
Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
Clean work areas.
Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.
Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.
Test physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers.
Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.
Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.
Adjust controls to draw or press metal into specified shapes and diameters.