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 2025

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Southeast Minnesota	60	14	$26.55/hr	$23.33/hr	$23.35/hr	$26.29/hr	$30.69/hr	$32.13/hr

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

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	740	$26.56/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 2022-2032
Fargo ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grand Forks 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
St Cloud MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	30	$22.21/hr	0.0%
Central Minnesota	40	$25.64/hr	8.6%
Southeast Minnesota	60	$26.29/hr	N/A
Duluth MN-WI MSA	60	$24.76/hr	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	60	$26.08/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	120	$27.54/hr	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	130	$27.54/hr	7.2%
Southeast Balance of State	140	$26.56/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	170	$26.56/hr	2.5%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	380	$28.91/hr	0.2%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	490	$28.28/hr	N/A
Minnesota	820	$26.56/hr	1.3%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,330	$27.58/hr	1.9%
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,490	$24.04/hr	-4.0%
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	5,570	$24.90/hr	-3.5%
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	90	$20.33/hr	-4.2%
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	1,860	$23.31/hr	-8.9%
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	140	$25.89/hr	-5.3%
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	140	$23.85/hr	N/A
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	N/A	$25.08/hr	1.4%
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	110	$22.94/hr	-7.6%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,950	$27.26/hr	-5.6%

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.