The Salary Index
Salary data is based on the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area and applied to Fall River using local cost-of-living adjustments.

Molding Salaries in Fall River, MA

Average Base Pay

$40,710/yr

2% below national average

Monthly

$3,393

Hourly

$20

Cost Index

92

Molding in Fall River, MA earn an average of $40,710 per year, with most salaries falling between $32,568 and $48,852 depending on experience, employer, and specialization. At 2% below the national average, Fall River offers a more modest rate for this role, in part reflecting a local cost of living index of 92. For professionals evaluating a move or negotiating an offer, the headline salary is only part of the picture—what matters most is how far that income actually goes once taxes, rent, and daily expenses are factored in. The sections below break that down in full for Fall River.

Salary Range

The chart below shows the full compensation spectrum for this role, from entry-level to senior positions. The highlighted center bars represent the 25th–75th percentile band where most professionals are paid.

$31K
Low
$41K
Median
$51K
High
25th percentile: $35K75th percentile: $47K

About Molding

Manufacturing Engineers develop, implement, and improve manufacturing processes that transform raw materials and components into finished products efficiently, safely, and to quality standards. They design and commission production lines, select manufacturing equipment, develop process parameters and work instructions, and troubleshoot production problems. In new product introduction, manufacturing engineers collaborate with product design teams from early development to ensure that product designs are manufacturable—flagging design features that are difficult or costly to produce and proposing design changes that improve producibility. They conduct process validation studies demonstrating that processes consistently produce output within specifications, write manufacturing process documentation, and develop operator training materials. Process improvement is continuous: manufacturing engineers collect and analyze production data, identify sources of scrap, yield loss, and cycle time inefficiency, and implement lean manufacturing improvements including 5S, standardized work, and error-proofing (poka-yoke). In regulated industries such as medical devices or pharmaceuticals, they manage process validation per FDA and ISO requirements.

What Moldings Do

  • Design and implement manufacturing processes for new or existing products
  • Select, specify, and commission manufacturing equipment and tooling
  • Develop process parameters, work instructions, and operator training materials
  • Conduct process capability studies and manufacturing process validation
  • Troubleshoot production quality and efficiency problems
  • Collaborate with product design on design for manufacturability
  • Lead lean manufacturing improvement projects (5S, kaizen, standard work)
  • Manage process documentation and engineering change control

Key Skills & Qualifications

  • Manufacturing process design and optimization
  • CAD software for fixture and tooling design
  • Statistical process control (SPC) and process capability analysis
  • Lean manufacturing tools (5S, Kanban, SMED, poka-yoke)
  • Design for manufacturability and assembly (DFM/DFA)
  • Process validation methodology (IQ/OQ/PQ)
  • PLC and automation fundamentals
  • Engineering change management and document control

Career Path

  1. Manufacturing Engineer I
  2. Manufacturing Engineer II
  3. Senior Manufacturing Engineer
  4. Lead Manufacturing Engineer / Process Engineering Manager
  5. Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Molding Market in Fall River, MA

Salary Competitiveness

Fall River salaries for Moldings track closely with the national median, diverging by less than 4%. This alignment suggests a competitive but balanced local market—employers are broadly in step with national pay scales, which can make benchmark comparisons more reliable when negotiating.

Cost of Living Impact

Fall River sits close to the national cost average. Monthly essential expenses represent about 100% of take-home pay for this role—a midrange ratio that allows for modest savings and discretionary spending, provided housing costs remain stable.

Effective Purchasing Power

Despite a competitive gross salary, a Molding earning $40,710 in Fall River operates in a tight purchasing-power band once taxes and local cost of living are applied. Careful planning around housing, transportation, and discretionary spending is essential to avoid running negative disposable income month to month.

vs. National Avg

-2%

Cost Pressure

100%

Purchasing Power

Tight

Take-Home Pay Calculator

Enter any gross salary to see how federal and state taxes affect your actual take-home pay, broken down by year, month, and week. Results use an estimated effective tax rate of 27% based on this location and income level.

$
Take-home (73%)Taxes (27%)

Annual Net

$29,718

Monthly

$2,477

Weekly

$572

Eff. Tax Rate

27%

A gross salary of $40,710 for a Molding in Fall River translates to roughly $2,477 in monthly take-home pay after estimated federal and state taxes. Set against monthly living costs of $2,472—covering housing, food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare—that leaves approximately $5 per month in disposable income. That margin, not the gross number, is what determines whether you can comfortably cover rent, build savings, and afford discretionary spending in Fall River's current market.

How far does this salary go in Fall River?

Cost of Living in Fall River

Estimated monthly expenses for a single person in Fall River, benchmarked against US regional price indices for housing, food, transportation, utilities, and healthcare.

Cost Index

92

Below Avg — US average is 100. Based on a single person (1-bed apartment).

🏠Housing / Rent$1,350/mo
🍔Food & Groceries$475/mo
🚗Transportation$140/mo
💡Utilities$215/mo
🏥Healthcare$292/mo
Monthly$2,472
Annual$29,664
Disposable Income$5

Financial Reality Check

This section compares estimated monthly take-home pay against typical living costs in Fall River to show your real disposable income—the amount remaining after essential bills are paid each month.

Monthly Take-Home

$2,477

Living Costs

$2,472

Disposable

$5

Cost Index

92

Lifestyle

Tight

With a monthly take-home of $2,477, your estimated living costs in Fall River are $2,472 ($29,664/yr). This leaves $5 per month in disposable income, indicating a tight standard of living. Fall River's cost of living is 8% below the national average.

Overall, a Molding earning $40,710 in Fall River falls into a tight lifestyle tier and will need to budget carefully—essential costs consume a significant share of take-home pay, leaving limited room for savings or emergencies. With a cost index of 92, Fall River is 8% more affordable than the national average, which extends your purchasing power. Regardless of tier, prioritizing retirement contributions, an emergency fund of three to six months' expenses, and incremental debt reduction will yield the greatest long-term financial stability—especially as living costs in Fall River continue to evolve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Compare Instantly

See how Molding salary in Fall River stacks up against other cities.

Full breakdown: cost of living, net pay, lifestyle score

Share this salary

Molding · Fall River, MA2% below avg

Gross Salary

$40,710/yr

Take-home

$2,477/mo

Disposable

$5/mo

Lifestyle

Tight

Source: thesalaryindex.com · BLS data

Fall River City Overview

COL index, rent benchmarks, top jobs, and affordability score.

Explore Fall River

Explore More Salary Data

Related pages — all links are live salary pages

Highest-Paying Markets

Cities where Molding pays most

Most Affordable Markets

Cities with lowest cost of living

Salary estimates are based on BLS metro data and adjusted using cost-of-living indices.