Best Cities for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenderss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting 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	West VirginiaState	1.32	$50,690	$60,202	20%
2	MaineState	1.27	$57,990	$58,106	27%
3	South CarolinaState	1.23	$51,620	$56,109	29%
4	ArkansasState	1.22	$48,320	$55,991	22%
5	IowaState	1.21	$49,340	$55,314	23%
6	PennsylvaniaState	1.21	$53,580	$55,237	29%
7	MississippiState	1.20	$46,560	$54,906	23%
8	MissouriState	1.17	$47,470	$53,578	26%
9	MinnesotaState	1.16	$52,070	$53,133	29%
10	NebraskaState	1.16	$48,760	$53,290	26%
11	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.16	$48,890	$52,854	29%
12	OhioState	1.14	$47,070	$52,069	27%
13	IndianaState	1.13	$46,790	$51,702	27%
14	VermontState	1.12	$52,340	$51,063	33%
15	Columbus, OHMetro	1.12	$47,830	$51,155	32%
16	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$46,870	$51,393	31%
17	WisconsinState	1.10	$46,370	$50,238	28%
18	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.10	$48,660	$50,269	40%
19	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.10	$48,120	$50,230	37%
20	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.10	$50,070	$50,322	35%
21	NevadaState	1.09	$50,050	$49,950	35%
22	North DakotaState	1.09	$46,220	$49,914	25%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.09	$51,830	$50,077	37%
24	KansasState	1.08	$44,290	$49,211	28%
25	GeorgiaState	1.07	$45,670	$48,897	37%
26	LouisianaState	1.07	$44,200	$49,057	28%
27	UtahState	1.07	$49,100	$49,002	36%
28	IllinoisState	1.06	$47,370	$48,634	33%
29	OklahomaState	1.04	$42,180	$47,661	28%
30	South DakotaState	1.04	$43,240	$47,621	27%
31	VirginiaState	1.04	$49,390	$47,720	38%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.04	$45,760	$47,568	41%
33	OregonState	1.03	$48,360	$46,951	40%
34	ColoradoState	1.02	$49,100	$46,584	45%
35	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.02	$49,280	$46,578	41%
36	ArizonaState	1.01	$46,440	$46,026	39%
37	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.01	$42,700	$46,013	36%
38	North CarolinaState	1.00	$43,050	$45,604	36%
39	TennesseeState	1.00	$41,970	$45,869	36%
40	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.00	$49,130	$45,575	44%
41	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.00	$51,360	$45,532	47%
42	New HampshireState	0.98	$47,730	$45,028	40%
43	AlabamaState	0.97	$38,650	$44,374	30%
44	MassachusettsState	0.95	$47,220	$43,521	57%
45	New JerseyState	0.95	$47,080	$43,272	46%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$42,770	$43,421	48%
47	ConnecticutState	0.94	$46,090	$42,835	41%
48	MichiganState	0.94	$39,790	$43,109	34%
49	CaliforniaState	0.93	$47,300	$42,728	57%
50	MarylandState	0.93	$46,640	$42,711	43%
51	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.92	$47,730	$42,053	64%
52	WashingtonState	0.91	$44,510	$41,482	51%
53	KentuckyState	0.89	$36,180	$40,881	32%
54	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.89	$39,530	$40,669	48%
55	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.88	$46,710	$40,094	58%
56	IdahoState	0.87	$38,580	$39,979	37%
57	New MexicoState	0.87	$36,710	$39,902	34%
58	New YorkState	0.87	$44,660	$39,698	50%
59	FloridaState	0.86	$39,800	$39,212	52%
60	TexasState	0.86	$37,710	$39,446	44%
61	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.86	$36,170	$39,315	43%
62	Rhode IslandState	0.85	$39,230	$39,035	46%
63	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.83	$43,280	$37,865	61%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$37,450	$34,516	65%

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