Best Cities for Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where crushing, grinding, and polishing 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	WyomingState	1.58	$71,300	$76,667	17%
2	IowaState	1.45	$62,590	$70,168	18%
3	West VirginiaState	1.44	$58,760	$69,786	17%
4	AlaskaState	1.36	$68,730	$65,896	24%
5	NebraskaState	1.33	$58,920	$64,393	21%
6	MontanaState	1.28	$60,110	$62,355	23%
7	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.28	$57,690	$62,166	27%
8	NevadaState	1.24	$60,180	$60,060	29%
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.24	$59,880	$60,181	30%
10	AlabamaState	1.23	$51,920	$59,610	22%
11	WisconsinState	1.22	$54,580	$59,133	24%
12	MinnesotaState	1.19	$56,550	$57,704	27%
13	VermontState	1.18	$58,890	$57,454	29%
14	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.18	$53,040	$57,341	27%
15	IndianaState	1.16	$51,150	$56,519	25%
16	MissouriState	1.14	$48,840	$55,124	25%
17	MaineState	1.12	$54,080	$54,188	29%
18	PennsylvaniaState	1.12	$52,560	$54,186	30%
19	KansasState	1.11	$48,570	$53,967	26%
20	OregonState	1.11	$55,600	$53,981	34%
21	IdahoState	1.10	$51,500	$53,368	28%
22	North DakotaState	1.10	$49,280	$53,218	24%
23	South DakotaState	1.10	$48,330	$53,227	24%
24	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.09	$50,600	$52,818	36%
25	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.09	$57,050	$52,922	38%
26	Columbus, OHMetro	1.08	$48,860	$52,257	32%
27	New YorkState	1.06	$58,090	$51,636	38%
28	UtahState	1.06	$51,770	$51,667	35%
29	MichiganState	1.04	$46,500	$50,379	29%
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.04	$49,720	$50,477	42%
31	ArizonaState	1.03	$50,270	$49,822	36%
32	LouisianaState	1.03	$44,900	$49,834	28%
33	ConnecticutState	1.02	$53,130	$49,377	35%
34	IllinoisState	1.02	$48,290	$49,579	33%
35	New MexicoState	1.02	$45,760	$49,739	27%
36	GeorgiaState	1.01	$45,920	$49,165	37%
37	North CarolinaState	1.01	$46,270	$49,015	34%
38	South CarolinaState	1.01	$45,280	$49,217	33%
39	OhioState	1.00	$43,850	$48,507	29%
40	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.00	$47,080	$48,636	41%
41	KentuckyState	0.99	$42,520	$48,045	27%
42	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$46,530	$47,870	41%
43	New HampshireState	0.98	$50,360	$47,509	38%
44	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.98	$43,220	$47,390	34%
45	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$49,020	$47,362	39%
46	TennesseeState	0.97	$42,950	$46,940	35%
47	TexasState	0.97	$45,090	$47,165	37%
48	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$50,860	$46,876	48%
49	FloridaState	0.95	$46,950	$46,256	44%
50	MassachusettsState	0.95	$50,110	$46,184	54%
51	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.94	$51,750	$45,595	59%
52	ArkansasState	0.93	$38,910	$45,087	27%
53	ColoradoState	0.92	$46,950	$44,545	47%
54	WashingtonState	0.92	$48,020	$44,753	47%
55	MississippiState	0.91	$37,420	$44,127	29%
56	VirginiaState	0.91	$45,560	$44,019	41%
57	OklahomaState	0.89	$38,380	$43,367	30%
58	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.89	$49,160	$43,010	54%
59	New JerseyState	0.88	$46,690	$42,914	46%
60	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.88	$41,210	$42,838	45%
61	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.86	$50,260	$41,814	75%
62	CaliforniaState	0.85	$45,870	$41,436	59%
63	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.84	$46,110	$40,878	52%
64	MarylandState	0.80	$42,280	$38,718	48%
65	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.77	$43,820	$37,614	62%
66	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.75	$38,730	$36,607	52%

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