Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
SOC 51-9023 · 2024-2034
Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -8.5%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $51,796per year
- Projected openings
- 4,990
- Projected change
- -8.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Troubleshooting
- Equipment Maintenance
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $69,161 | 360 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $66,432 | 140 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $63,662 | 180 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $60,091 | 40 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $59,081 | 410 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $58,388 | 40 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $58,388 | 110 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $56,972 | 170 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $56,829 | 230 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $54,161 | 130 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $50,827 | 190 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $48,816 | 760 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $48,128 | 30 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $47,615 | 340 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $47,472 | 980 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $47,359 | 80 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $47,154 | 40 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $46,713 | 1,560 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $46,600 | 540 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $46,538 | 70 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $45,286 | 180 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | Not reported | 90 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $39,092
- A quarter earn under
- $43,920
- Half earn under
- $51,796
- Three quarters earn under
- $64,990
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $81,150
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $54,117 | 14,400 | -4.8% |
| Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $46,917 | 2,180 | -4.2% |
| Food Batchmakers | $42,621 | 17,970 | +7.9% |
| Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders | $46,180 | 2,970 | +3.8% |
| Machine Feeders and Offbearers | $41,264 | 5,140 | -10.2% |
| Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $48,379 | 3,540 | -2.4% |