What Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn in Lake County, IN
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $45,590: the median annual pay for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Lake County, IN. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $21.92 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $46,980, which is 3.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 7,910 people working in this occupation across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Lake County, IN has roughly 500,379 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $36,090 a year ($17.35 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $62,370 or more ($29.99 an hour). That is a gap of $26,280 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $38,940 at the 25th percentile and $50,080 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $21.92 an hour or $45,590 a year at the median for Lake County, IN. Before any deductions, that is $3,799 a month, $1,753 every two weeks and $877 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.99 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic this way: "Set up, operate, or tend metal or plastic molding, casting, or coremaking machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic parts or products."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Observe continuous operation of automatic machines to ensure that products meet specifications and to detect jams or malfunctions, making adjustments as necessary"; "Measure and visually inspect products for surface and dimension defects to ensure conformance to specifications, using precision measuring instruments"; "Set up, operate, or tend metal or plastic molding, casting, or coremaking machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic parts or products"; "Turn valves and dials of machines to regulate pressure, temperature, and speed and feed rates, and to set cycle times".
Job outlook for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 150,000 jobs in 2025 to 144,900 in 2035, a change of -3.4%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 13,800 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 9.2% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $44,350 for this occupation; the Lake County, IN median of $45,590 is 2.8% above it.
How pay in Lake County, IN compares
Compared with the Indiana average
Pay for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Lake County, IN is in line with the statewide figure: $45,590 locally against an employment-weighted Indiana average of $45,225, a difference of only $365 (0.8%). Within Indiana, Lake County, IN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $44,189 across the contiguous United States. At $45,590, Lake County, IN pays $1,401 more, which is 3.2% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Lake County, IN
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Lake County, IN, Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic ranks number 499 by median pay, ahead of about 19% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $173,760 a year, which is $128,170 more than the median for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earning the Lake County, IN median of $45,590, they add up to $8,168. The result is $37,422 of take-home pay a year ($3,119 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $29,840. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,342, an effective 7.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,827 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $661. FICA totals $3,488, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Indiana
Indiana income tax on this salary is $1,338 a year, or 2.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 40% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $111 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Lake County, IN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Lake County, IN show an average adjusted gross income of $73,507 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.7% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.7%, compared with the 7.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Lake County, IN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Lake County, IN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $37,422 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Lake County, IN, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,176 a month ($14,112 a year), and at $1,429 for two bedrooms. For Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, a one-bedroom absorbs 37.7% of take-home pay and 30.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.5% of gross pay for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Lake County, IN. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Indiana residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,560 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $366, for $1,927 in total. Gasoline in Indiana averages $3.07 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,421.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $20,896 a year in Lake County, IN. Subtract that from $37,422 of take-home pay and $16,527 remains, which is $1,377 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 36.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Lake County, IN
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Lake County, IN: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Lake County, IN, set beside the Indiana and national medians.
Property taxes in Lake County, IN
Homeowners in Lake County, IN pay a median of $2,112 a year in real estate taxes, 31% above the Indiana median of $1,614 and 32% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $230,600, the median tax bill is 0.92% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic median of $45,590, a tax bill of that size would equal 4.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Lake County, IN
Renters in Lake County, IN pay a median gross rent of $1,131 a month in the Census survey, 6% above the Indiana median of $1,062. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,176 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $230,600, 6% above the Indiana median of $218,200. Median household income is $71,493, in line with the Indiana median of $71,957, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 19.7% of that income.
Commuting in Lake County, IN
Workers in Lake County, IN who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.5 minutes each way, 18% above the Indiana average of 24.1. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 8.2% of workers in Lake County, IN work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic afford to live in Lake County, IN?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $45,590 that ceiling is $1,140 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,176 is $36 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.62 an hour; the median for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $21.92, which is 3% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.99 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 15.1 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,429 a month means $715 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,538 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $22,065.
How fast you can save
At $1,377 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 8 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 16 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Lake County, IN
How much do Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic make per hour in Lake County, IN?
The median is $21.92 per hour, based on $45,590 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.35 at the 10th percentile to $29.99 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic take home after taxes in Lake County, IN?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $45,590 becomes $37,422 a year. That is $3,119 a month, $1,439 every two weeks or $720 a week.
How much tax do Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic pay in Lake County, IN?
Total taxes are $8,168 a year, an effective rate of 17.9%: $3,342 federal income tax, $3,488 FICA and $1,338 Indiana income tax.
Do Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn more in Lake County, IN than elsewhere in Indiana?
It is about the same. The local median of $45,590 is within 0.8% of the Indiana average of $45,225.
Can Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic afford a one-bedroom apartment in Lake County, IN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,176 a month against take-home pay of $3,119, which is 37.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,140 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Lake County, IN?
About $1,377 a month ($16,527 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,896 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Lake County, IN at the 30% guideline?
$22.62 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,112 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is $21.92.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Indiana rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.