Production occupations · SOC 51-9023 · Indiana

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders in Indiana

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders in Indiana earned a median of $47,650 a year in May 2025, about the same as the $48,990 national median for the occupation. Indiana employs 4,840 of them, 1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the state. Most people entering the occupation nationally do so with a high school diploma or equivalent.

Data snapshot: August 21, 2026

Median annual pay in Indiana

$47,650

About the same as the $48,990 national median for this occupation

Median hourly pay in Indiana

$22.91

Published separately by BLS, not calculated from the annual figure.

Middle half earn between

$44,020 – $58,670

The 25th to 75th percentile of everyone in the occupation in this state

Employed in Indiana

4,840

1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the state

Concentration vs national

2.48×

much more concentrated here than nationally

Pay rank

#33 of 49

Among the states and DC that released an estimate for this occupation

Typical entry education (U.S.)

High school diploma or equivalent

What mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders actually earn in Indiana

The full published wage distribution, not one averaged figure. Pay inside a single occupation varies more by experience, employer and setting than most salary pages admit.

10th percentile
$37,390
25th percentile
$44,020
Median
$47,650
75th percentile
$58,670
90th percentile
$66,600

How Indiana compares

  • Against the rest of the country. $47,650 in Indiana against $48,990 nationally for the same occupation, which puts Indiana 33rd of the 49 jurisdictions that released an estimate. Neither figure is adjusted for cost of living, so a higher median does not by itself mean more money left over.
  • Against other work in Indiana. $47,650 against $47,860, the median across every occupation in the state — 0% below it.
  • How much of this work is here. The occupation is much more concentrated here than nationally (2.48× the national share of employment), 2nd of 49 for concentration. Concentration describes where the work is, not how easy it is to be hired.

Where mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders are paid most

The highest published medians for this occupation. Before reading it as a place to move, note that these are not cost-of-living adjusted and that the states paying most are often the ones where everything costs most.

How people get into this work

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as typical for entry nationally. Typical is a measurement of the people already doing the work, not a rule: some enter with less and some with more.

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work experience needed

None

On-the-job training

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Indiana licensing is not in these figures.

Many occupations, including most of health care, teaching, law, accountancy and the skilled trades, require a state licence, certification or registration before you can work. Indiana sets its own, and none of it is part of the federal dataset above, so CampusPin cannot tell you whether this occupation is licensed here. Check the Indiana licensing board before committing to a route, because where an occupation is licensed that requirement, not the typical credential, is the real gate.

Colleges in Indiana

Pay is one half of the decision. What it costs to get qualified is the other, and it is the half that varies most between two colleges in the same state.

Source & methodology

State wage and employment figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release. National median pay, projections and typical entry education are from the BLS Employment Projections programme (2024 wages). Both are public domain; credit BLS.

Wages are May 2025 estimates from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which asks employers what they pay everyone currently working in the occupation — experienced and new alike. They are not starting salaries, not the earnings of recent graduates, and not adjusted for cost of living, which matters when comparing one state against another. Self-employed workers are not surveyed.

Suggested citation

CampusPin. (2026). Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders in Indiana, pay and employment. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/careers/mixing-and-blending-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders/in/indiana

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