Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in the U.S.

$56,030avg. a year
$26.94 an hour · 60,100 employed

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in the U.S. earn an average of $56,030 a year and a median of $51,610. Pay is highest in Wyoming ($88,980) and lowest in West Virginia ($38,210).

$51,610Median pay
$26.94Average hourly
+20%Avg. pay since 2020
60,100Jobs in the U.S.

Top-paying states for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders

Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.

1410 jobs
Wyoming
$88,980
$42.78 an hour
2270 jobs
Nevada
$64,590
$31.05 an hour
3930 jobs
New Jersey
$62,770
$30.18 an hour
42,130 jobs
Virginia
$62,230
$29.92 an hour
5590 jobs
New Hampshire
$61,080
$29.37 an hour
6270 jobs
North Dakota
$59,750
$28.72 an hour
71,520 jobs
Wisconsin
$59,740
$28.72 an hour
814,210 jobs
California
$59,240
$28.48 an hour
9430 jobs
Maine
$59,150
$28.44 an hour
101,210 jobs
Georgia
$59,040
$28.39 an hour

Why people trust JobPayFacts

Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Browse all jobs

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay, charted

Pay over time

United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian

Where the jobs are

Employment by state, May 2025

Average pay by state

May 2025 · tap a state
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL
Under $51k$51k–$54k$54k–$58k$58k+

Top-paying metro areas

Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
Metro areaAvg. payHourly
Napa, CA$74,220$35.68
Syracuse, NY$71,200$34.23
Vallejo, CA$70,470$33.88
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$70,000$33.65
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA$67,670$32.53
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC$67,010$32.22
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$66,860$32.14
Modesto, CA$65,390$31.44

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders pay in every state

States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.

StateAvg. payMedianJobs
Alabama$48,320$46,970140
Alaska$54,740$48,000100
Arizona$56,700$57,820970
Arkansas$43,410$41,720500
California$59,240$52,91014,210
Colorado$54,540$49,5901,970
Connecticut$54,190$50,370310
Delaware$49,480$47,520110
Florida$55,090$49,6101,150
Georgia$59,040$55,5001,210
Hawaii$53,270$51,070160
Idaho$54,690$52,160780
Illinois$50,730$48,440780
Indiana$54,140$53,9901,510
Iowa$55,970$52,2201,090
Kansas$54,330$48,790450
Kentucky$56,210$58,7701,500
Louisiana$57,590$58,640770
Maine$59,150$57,190430
Maryland$58,370$55,580580
Massachusetts$54,470$48,970510
Michigan$50,810$49,4802,230
Minnesota$56,400$57,1901,810
Mississippi$46,820$43,890100
Missouri$52,760$49,2901,590
Montana$51,350$47,920340
Nebraska$49,570$47,0801,050
Nevada$64,590$62,960270
New Hampshire$61,080$60,340590
New Jersey$62,770$58,140930
New Mexico$44,420$41,370370
New York$58,250$55,9903,490
North Carolina$52,520$49,1401,310
North Dakota$59,750$59,390270
Ohio$50,070$47,6401,470
Oklahoma$52,210$49,440260
Oregon$55,770$50,1601,340
Pennsylvania$50,210$48,3902,150
Rhode Island$50,250$46,710140
South Carolina$50,530$49,320470
South Dakota$50,950$50,780270
Tennessee$50,000$50,4702,450
Texas$51,330$46,9101,460
Utah$49,300$46,600480
Vermont$55,420$53,570230
Virginia$62,230$59,4802,130
Washington$58,880$56,1601,560
West Virginia$38,210$35,870110
Wisconsin$59,740$60,1001,520
Wyoming$88,980$108,900410

Metro areas with the most jobs

Napa, CA
$74,220
1,400 jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$63,400
1,140 jobs
Modesto, CA
$65,390
1,000 jobs
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
$56,940
980 jobs
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
$70,000
970 jobs
Memphis, TN-MS-AR
$49,310
930 jobs
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
$55,090
800 jobs
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$56,580
790 jobs

Questions and answers

How much do separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders make?

The average is $56,030 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $51,610 and half earn less (the median).

What is the hourly pay?

The average hourly wage is $26.94, and the median is $24.81 an hour.

Which state pays separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders the most?

Wyoming, with an average of $88,980 a year. The best-paying metro area is Napa, CA at $74,220.

What is the pay range?

The lowest-paid 10% earn under $36,200 a year, and the top 10% earn over $79,750.

Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 51-9012. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.