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Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $64,790 per year in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. It is $74,420 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is 12.9% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-4034 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 60 wage and salary jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO and 360 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.