Skip to content
lonen.se

How much do paper pulp plant operators earn in Sweden?

Paper pulp plant operators. 2,400 people employed in Sweden.

44,700SEK

per month is the median salary for paper pulp plant operators in Sweden in 2025. That is 17% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+2.5% since 2024

≈ €3,950 / $4,600 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 34,962 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 258 SEK an hour · 536,400 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

In 2025, paper pulp plant operators in Sweden earned an average of 44,700 SEK per month. The median salary is 44,700 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 38,100 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 50,900 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
44,700 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
38,100 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
50,900 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
2,400
Statistics Sweden's occupational register 2024

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among paper pulp plant operators in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

38,100 SEKLowest 10%44,700 SEKMedian50,900 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 41,600–47,800 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Paper pulp plant operators starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 18–24, earn 40,100 SEK a month on average — roughly 31,900 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 18–24 40,100 SEK 31,865 SEK
Average, aged 25–34 43,500 SEK 34,154 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 38,100 SEK 30,377 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 41,600 SEK 32,875 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Paper pulp plant operators pay in the private and public sector

What paper pulp plant operators earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 44,700 SEK 44,700 SEK 44,900 SEK 43,700 SEK
Private sector 44,700 SEK 44,700 SEK 44,900 SEK 43,700 SEK

Paper pulp plant operators salary after tax in Sweden

What paper pulp plant operators actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 44,700 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 34,962 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

44,700 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 34,962 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 35,602 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 34,896 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 34,950 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 35,989 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 33,988 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 18–24 years, earn 40,100 SEK before tax — roughly 31,865 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 50,900 SEK, which is roughly 39,136 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for paper pulp plant operators

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for paper pulp plant operators

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 40,000 50,000 Median pay Number
Men 44,900 SEK 2,000
Women 43,700 SEK 330

Women's average salary is 96% of men's average salary in this job.

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Paper pulp plant operators salary by age

Pay for paper pulp plant operators normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 40,000 50,000 Average pay Men Women Number
18–24 years 40,100 SEK – – –
25–34 years 43,500 SEK 43,800 SEK – –
35–44 years 45,400 SEK 45,800 SEK – –
45–54 years 45,600 SEK 45,700 SEK – –
55–64 years 45,300 SEK 45,400 SEK – –

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 40,000 50,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Upper secondary education, 2 years or less (ISCED97 3C) 44,700 SEK 44,800 SEK – –
Upper secondary education 3 years (ISCED97 3A) 44,500 SEK 44,700 SEK 43,100 SEK –
Post-secondary education, less than 3 years (ISCED97 4+5B) 45,400 SEK 46,000 SEK – –

Paper pulp plant operators salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 40,000 50,000 Average pay Men Women Number
East-Central Sweden 43,600 SEK 43,900 SEK – –
Småland and islands 50,500 SEK 51,000 SEK – –
South Sweden 47,700 SEK 47,900 SEK – –
West Sweden 45,800 SEK 45,900 SEK – –
North-Central Sweden 45,400 SEK 45,900 SEK 43,700 SEK –
Central Norrland 41,500 SEK 41,600 SEK – –

Paper pulp plant operators pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 33,400 SEK in 2014 to 44,700 SEK in 2025, +34% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

Guess the salary for another job

Think you know what people earn? Guess the Salary gives you five jobs a day and asks you to guess the monthly salary as closely as you can.

Play today's round

Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 8171, “processoperatörer, pappersmassa”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Kaustiserare
  • Massablekare
  • Massakokare
  • Massamaskinförare
  • Massaskötare
  • Processoperatör, pappersmassa
  • Provtagare, massa
  • Sodabrännare
  • Sodahusoperatör
  • TMP/CTMP-operatör
  • Torkmaskinförare, massaindustri

Frequently asked questions

How much do paper pulp plant operators earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 44,700 SEK a month before tax, against 43,600 SEK the year before (2024) — +2.5%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for paper pulp plant operators in Sweden?

The median salary for paper pulp plant operators in Sweden is 44,700 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so paper pulp plant operators sit 17% higher than the typical job.

How much do paper pulp plant operators earn after tax?

The median salary for paper pulp plant operators is 44,700 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 35,000 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for paper pulp plant operators?

The average (44,700 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (44,700 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what paper pulp plant operators typically earn.

What is the starting salary for paper pulp plant operators in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: paper pulp plant operators aged 18–24 years earn 40,100 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 38,100 SEK. More in the section “Paper pulp plant operators starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for paper pulp plant operators?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 50,900 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Is there a gender pay gap among paper pulp plant operators in Sweden?

Women's average salary is 96% of men's in this job. The median salary is 44,900 SEK for men and 43,700 SEK for women. The figure is not adjusted for differences in age, sector or working hours.

Where in Sweden do paper pulp plant operators earn the most?

Pay is highest in Småland and islands, where paper pulp plant operators earn 50,500 SEK per month on average.

Jobs with similar pay

Other jobs in wood processing and papermaking plant operators

See the whole occupational group Wood processing and papermaking plant operators or mechanical manufacturing and transport workers, etc.