Best Cities for Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenderss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	AlaskaState	1.39	$69,910	$67,028	23%
2	MississippiState	1.30	$53,170	$62,700	20%
3	MaineState	1.17	$56,200	$56,313	28%
4	WashingtonState	1.16	$59,980	$55,899	38%
5	IowaState	1.15	$49,330	$55,303	23%
6	North DakotaState	1.14	$51,020	$55,097	23%
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.14	$63,030	$55,144	42%
8	NebraskaState	1.12	$49,340	$53,923	25%
9	WyomingState	1.12	$50,220	$54,000	24%
10	ArkansasState	1.11	$46,380	$53,743	23%
11	MissouriState	1.11	$47,580	$53,702	26%
12	New JerseyState	1.11	$58,240	$53,529	37%
13	OhioState	1.11	$48,550	$53,706	26%
14	KentuckyState	1.10	$47,170	$53,299	24%
15	LouisianaState	1.10	$47,950	$53,219	26%
16	MinnesotaState	1.10	$52,210	$53,276	29%
17	South DakotaState	1.10	$47,980	$52,841	24%
18	WisconsinState	1.10	$49,170	$53,272	26%
19	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.10	$49,180	$52,996	31%
20	KansasState	1.09	$47,120	$52,356	26%
21	South CarolinaState	1.09	$48,220	$52,413	31%
22	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.09	$55,540	$52,495	36%
23	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$48,760	$52,714	29%
24	IndianaState	1.08	$47,320	$52,287	27%
25	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.08	$51,700	$51,960	34%
26	OklahomaState	1.07	$45,780	$51,729	25%
27	TennesseeState	1.07	$47,210	$51,596	32%
28	Columbus, OHMetro	1.07	$48,460	$51,829	32%
29	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.07	$49,780	$51,746	38%
30	West VirginiaState	1.06	$42,950	$51,010	23%
31	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$57,660	$51,117	42%
32	AlabamaState	1.05	$44,250	$50,804	26%
33	ColoradoState	1.05	$53,590	$50,844	41%
34	MarylandState	1.05	$55,510	$50,833	36%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$49,350	$50,772	39%
36	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$48,220	$50,334	37%
37	GeorgiaState	1.03	$46,450	$49,732	37%
38	New MexicoState	1.03	$45,730	$49,707	28%
39	North CarolinaState	1.03	$46,730	$49,502	33%
40	PennsylvaniaState	1.03	$48,340	$49,835	32%
41	Rhode IslandState	1.03	$49,850	$49,602	36%
42	ConnecticutState	1.02	$52,900	$49,164	36%
43	IllinoisState	1.02	$48,000	$49,281	33%
44	MontanaState	1.02	$47,380	$49,149	29%
45	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$50,900	$49,179	38%
46	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.02	$45,400	$49,348	34%
47	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.02	$58,910	$49,010	64%
48	TexasState	1.01	$46,750	$48,902	36%
49	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.01	$52,640	$48,831	41%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$47,810	$48,538	43%
51	MichiganState	1.00	$44,670	$48,397	30%
52	VermontState	1.00	$49,360	$48,156	35%
53	VirginiaState	1.00	$49,880	$48,193	38%
54	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$46,930	$48,481	41%
55	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.00	$54,560	$48,070	56%
56	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.00	$44,220	$48,487	33%
57	CaliforniaState	0.99	$52,950	$47,832	51%
58	OregonState	0.99	$49,400	$47,961	39%
59	UtahState	0.99	$47,880	$47,784	37%
60	ArizonaState	0.98	$47,860	$47,433	38%
61	FloridaState	0.98	$47,860	$47,153	43%
62	HawaiiState	0.98	$51,990	$47,264	55%
63	IdahoState	0.98	$45,810	$47,472	31%
64	MassachusettsState	0.98	$51,150	$47,143	53%
65	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.98	$54,870	$47,099	50%
66	DelawareState	0.95	$46,120	$45,663	35%
67	NevadaState	0.95	$45,750	$45,659	38%
68	New HampshireState	0.95	$48,410	$45,670	39%
69	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.92	$48,170	$44,396	51%
70	New YorkState	0.88	$48,000	$42,667	46%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).